On Ramp

Here in Southeast Alaska our fall season starts most years in August. The fall of 2014 began in June. Record-setting rains all summer. Disgruntled tourists and soaked locals all around, and already too many articles in the paper about "'fun' things to do in the rain" (not helpful.)

But weather aside, the vacations are over, dreams of warm summer days dashed, and our Alaskan churches are on the on ramp. We are calibrating our budgets and setting up new systems for our weekly gatherings. New leaders are ready to lead new gospel communities, and the primacy of mission to our cities takes on more resolve.

In addition to this annual uptick, Plant Alaska churches are already in the initial stages of equipping a new generation of men intending to plant new churches in our state. Sooner than we were ready we already have Dakota in Anchorage (by way of Portland) and Jake in Juneau (by way of Dallas.) We have other names and faces in mind when we pray for others who may find a similar calling and/or possible relocation to Alaska in their futures.

Plant Alaska is trying to do something also being done in other places around North America. We exist as a community of like-minded churches to equip new leaders. Like other churches around the continent we are establishing a one to two year church-planter residency to encourage hands-on training and effective coaching relationships.

But because it's Alaska, we're doing this differently; as a team. Each of the seven churches already aligned with Plant Alaska is committed to sharing opportunities, resources, gifts, skill sets and intellectual capital. As a community of churches, albeit separated by hundreds of miles, we will together do our best to assess, equip and train for a year or longer, re-assess and send out called men to plant more gospel-centered missional churches in our state and the circumpolar north.

And we will do this while also leading our own churches fall on ramp. Each of our pastors, Brad, Chris, Gabriel and James in Anchorage, Caleb in Fairbanks, Chris in Galena, and Mike (me) in Juneau, together with elders in each church are already taking active interest in both Dakota and Jake. We hope to have many more churches align with Plant Alaska, so we can raise up many more church planters, so we can see many more churches planted here in the Great White North.