Provision

As we set out to start a Costa Mesa church, my family was not in a place to just go with no income until Echo could pay us. We desperately needed God's provision to be able to survive this church planting journey. So we began to pray.

Within a couple weeks, as things began getting really concerning financially and I was feeling more desperate to take any job - whether I liked it or not - God provided. A job opened up for which I was not fully qualified in an industry where there are many people looking for work. However, I sent an email off immediately after seeing it. Within 24 hours of the time the job was posted, I had emailed, spoken with the owner over the phone, had an in person interview, and had gotten the job (to start 2 days later). Amazing!

Months later the job continues to go well. Furthermore, it is very flexible which allows me to pastor at Echo. Although it does not fully pay the bills, we have yet to go hungry. God has also provided a few other project jobs here and there along the way. This last week God brought about two more projects and a couple more potential ones.

Life is far from comfortable, but God continues to provide just at the right time. I take comfort not in my situation, but in Him. Things like this stand as signposts in the path forward that reassure us that God is with us.

Unity Among Costa Mesa Church

As a church in Costa Mesa, a city with around 110,000 people it can seem a daunting task to care for that many people. In fact, since Echo Church is only 12 worship services in, it is absurd to think that we can even come close to caring for the needs of our city. But as a church on a mission to change our world one life at a time, starting in Costa Mesa, we have to pursue this purpose.

One Church for Our City

That is why I am so encouraged by the One Church for Our City movement that is taking place here. Christian churches are beginning to come together to see how we can collaborate in the building of God's Kingdom. These churches are working together in Christian ministry to care for the homeless, help children read, and stand together in times of trial in Costa Mesa.

While this (hopefully) is just the beginning, the Holy Spirit is moving. People are being cared for. Churches are uniting and sharing. Jesus name is being proclaimed. Echo Church could never imagine to do this on our own. But by uniting as the Church (note the capital "C"), we are seeing God bless that. It has been very encouraging.

This is what it's supposed to be like

One week to the day after we decided to start Echo Church, we were at a meeting for the One Church for Our City movement in Costa Mesa. A little while before the meeting ended a pastor snuck out a few minutes early. As he did so he handed me his business card (having heard that I was part of a new church plant) and said we should get together for coffee. Little did I knew where this would lead.

Soon thereafter we arranged to meet for coffee. During that time, this pastor, John Blue of Pacific Pointe Church, showed an incredible amount of enthusiasm about what we were doing. He asked questions, offered some wisdom, and encouraged me thoroughly. As we were winding down our time, I was thinking how this relationship was the result of God's blessing.

The blessings would continue however. That morning John invited us to join his church for their Palm Sunday worship service (which was 1 week before the launch of Echo). We heartily agreed.

On that Sunday, this church that had no prior relationship with us made us a key piece of their service, interviewing us, having their elders come up and pray for us, and even taking an offering for us (we found out later that they raised $1,200 for us that morning). John went on to ask that ALL of their members pray about whether God was calling them to join us at Echo.

We were blown away by the open-handedness of not just this pastor, but the entire church. What an incredibly Kingdom-minded approach! We walked away that morning feeling blessed, encouraged, and attached to this community. We were no longer alone in this; we were partnering with other members of the One Church. That day a new level of anointing came upon the work of Echo. Our God is good!

Before I Even Asked

It was a great morning. God had blessed our worship service at Echo Church in exciting ways. The service was far from polished (just how we like it), but the Spirit had led and moved during our time together. Daniel, my co-pastor, was visiting another church to share what we were doing and I was sure it had gone well. I was feeling good about things.

That elation would be sucked out of me like a beach ball that meets the wrath of a grumpy baseball fan just minutes after I left. When I dropped off a family I had given a ride to and found out that they desperately needed rent money by the end of the week or they would shortly be out on the street. The family is in an incredibly difficult place, and hear this really weighed on me.

As I drove away I prayed. I asked that God would provide the funds for this family and that it would come from some unexpected, unknown source from out of the blue (as there were no obvious sources for this to come from). I knew that we were utterly dependent on God and only He could provide.

A little while later I headed over to a meeting. At the end of the meeting Daniel showed me a check that had been given to him while sharing at this other church. I opened it up and it was exactly the amount the family needed. Daniel had received the check from someone who he had never met before and who had no idea about the situation. Furthermore, he had received the check just minutes before I had prayed the prayer. God answered the prayer before I even asked.

His blessings continue!