Mentor Monday's ~ Meet Jessica

I have the pleasure of knowing Jessica in real life. Her and her husband ooze creativity... I mean really, who would think to use a black and decker light to replace a blown bulb in the middle of the night ? Seriously you will have read about it!

Anyways Jessica is so sweet and we served on staff together for about a year before they went back on the road again. Show Jessica some bloggy love in the comments after you read about her and her husbands new church plant Faith Family. If that's not exciting enough than check out their awesome ministry Servant Hands seriously check it out!

On with the interview...

Tell us a tiny bit about yourself ?

*There is me, the husband, 2 girls and 2 dogs. I'm a cleaner and an organizer but not a cook or a baker!

How did you and your spouse come to the conclusion to start a church.

*Paul and I started out as Children’s pastors. The phone keep ringing of the hook for us to travel and do children’s programs, speaking at camps, schools and churches. So in 2000 we went full time on the road. From there we found that all ages enjoyed our programs, from the age of 2 to 92! After years of Children's programs, we switched the concept from not just children but to family programs. That switch was our nitch. Family ministry is were it’s all at. With the girls getting older and having traveled 34 different states for the last 10 years we’ve decided to refocus. As of last September we’ve come of the road and planted a church that is family centered and God focused.

Where is your church meeting ; how did you decide the best location ?

*We met in the YMCA in their gym. The door just flew open for us here! It was amazing!

In a sentence tell us about your church ?

Our Church is focused on the family, we have a multi generational service. We’ve deiced that families need to be together for church instead of going their separate ways. With that being said we get to be very creative in our approach to ministering to the family.

How many original people helped you begin your church ?

*My husband and 2 other couples.

How did you start off your church ? Small Groups ? Sunday Service etc ?

*We started with a GRAND OPENING!!

How are you handling children that are coming to your church ? Do you have a nursery, or a special place for them in the service ?

*We have a quiet play area in the back of the gym for ages 3 and under. We have a rubber mat down on the floor with a shelf that holds bins and we’ve placed quiet toys in the bins. We ask that parents stay with their children in the area and help keep them quiet.

Where did you come up with the funds to purchase things for your church prior to opening the doors ?

*We are self employed and our business has help us in this area. We own several inflatable games and this has help not only with income to fund the church plant but we have the best outreaches!

What is the greatest Victory you have felt ?

*We have been blessed with the acceptance and support of other church domination's in our city.

What advice would you give to another church planting wife ?

*Support your husband, be his helpmate, share idea’s, dreams and goals together, Than do what you know in your heart you're called to do.

What role do you play @ the Church if any ?

*I think this question should be what roll don’t you play. Hehe

Finally if there is anything else that you want to share that is on your heart!

*Just an interesting fact. 56,000 churches need to planted this year in order to keep up with the population growth of today. With that being said, we the body of Christ have a lot to do!

Thanks Jessica and we pray nothing but many blessings over your family and the days to come of Faith Family!

Don't forget to check out their website for their church plant, their on the road ministry (total fun), and Jessica's Blog!!!

Mentor Monday's ~ Meet Dianna

This week is extra special because I know Dianna in real life! She sung on our worship team when we were back in Michigan and she is such a sweet friend!

Tell us a tiny bit about yourself ?

I'm 45 yrs old, married with 4 children and 2 grandchildren. My Husband and I Pastor a church in Flint, Michigan , an outreach center/campus that many local churches come to help "find the need and fill it", for many people that are in need in the Flint area.

I Love to sing...I've been singing since I was a young girl at church, in groups and on praise and worship teams. After being mentored from my previous Worship Pastor (Ben Scott) I now lead praise and worship at our church. I love to cook, scrapbook and spend time with girlfriends.

How did you and your spouse come to the conclusion to start a church. My husband went out to the LA Dream Center and fell in love with the outreaches there and wanted to bring those concepts back to Flint. It didnt happen right away like we thought...God has HIS own timing. With alot of time,prayer, growing, learning to be patient, and building our faith...it finaly happened.

Where is your church meeting

At our church in Flint Michigan

How did you decide the best location ?

After visiting the Dream Center in LA...My husband did alot of driving through Flint as he was praying...asking God where God wanted us to be.

In a sentence tell us about your church ?

Many people say that our church is not just a church...it is a campus. We have the church building as well as 5 other buildings that we have turned into tools that help the community...like our Pregnancy Center and our Freedom In Learning Center which will provide free education.

How many original people helped you begin your church ?

10 core people

How did you start off your church ? Small Groups ? Sunday Service etc ?

We started right off the bat with Sunday services...but at 3:00 so that people from our mother church could come help with music, children church, etc. This lasted for about a year. Then we went to 11:00 service after we reached 100 regulars.

How are you handling children that are coming to your church ? Do you have a nursery, or a special place for them in the service ?

We have a great Nursery, K-5, 5-8th and youth programs on Sunday's. We got blessed from the very begining with someone that is doing an awesome job runing the programs, that has a heart for children. She also runs our Freedom In Learning Center which offers free GED prep as well as free tutoring.

Where did you come up with the funds to purchase things for your church prior to opening the doors ?

From private donors as well as the support of our Mother church. We still continue to send out updates to local churches, keeping them updated on our outreaches so if they would like to physicaly or monetarily be involved they can.

What is the biggest opposition you have faced ?

Being white and Pastoring to a mostly African American community. People thought it couldnt be done, but we are proving them wrong, because we are breaking those racial devides and bringing "Unity To The Community". At our church everyone is welcomed...reguardless of color, race, social or economic status.

What is the greatest Victory you have felt ?

Wow! several. Each person that we help to get out of poverty, shelters, give them education...get them a job and on their feet is a Victory.

What advice would you give to another church planting wife ?

Pray for your husband daily...for God's strength and wisdom. Take time for yourself and do not try to do it all...just do what you can do for today.Find what you love to do in your church that is your passion. Be yourself...dont think you have to be what people expect you to be. Learn to say No (nicely of course)...you cant do it all.

Has planting a church affected your marriage or your children ? If so How ?

Yes, it is an adjustment...but we have learned that you have to have a no contact day once a week...to recharge your battery and spend time as a family or you will burn out fast. So make sure you keep a good balance between your personal life and ministry.

. Any websites you would care to share with us ?

Just our website, if you would like to know more about what we do: FreedomCenterNorth/Flint Dream Center

What role do you play @ the Church if any ?

I'm the Pastor's secretary, the Fine Arts Director as well as the church office manager. I over see all the ministry leaders and assist them any way I can to help them reach their goals.

Thank you so much for taking time to tell us about your journey! Dianna does not have a blog so leave her a comment telling her how much you enjoyed reading about their awesome church!

Oh and she didn't mention but they got a several million dollar building GIVEN to them for FREE!!!!

Mentor Monday's

There is so much that we can learn from each other. I know other blogs that interview women and ministry and i think it's great that there are many areas. I will be highlighting a point of view and answers from women who are in the midst of planting brand new churches. That's the season I am in and quite frankly there is not a whole lot out there on this topic, for us girlfriends.

So i would like to introduce to you Bonnie! I am getting to know this amazing chic and she is def. someone that I will have to meet in real life one day. Her and her hubby just launched

Freedom Church . Thank you to Lori and Brandi over at Leading and Loving it for making these friendships possible!

If you want to be considered for a spot on Mentor Monday's let me know! Bonnie does not have a blog but leave her some bloggy love in the comments!

Tell us a tiny bit about yourself ?

My name is Bonnie Ruth I have been married for almost 9 years to the most amazing man ever, my best friend Jason Rolf. I will be 30 this March. Not to excited about the big 30 but I am sure I will survive. I love singing/worshiping, Starbucks (which is why I work there part time. LOL ) I love planning events & parties shopping of course, I like scrap booking but never have time to do it and I am not that good at it. Mine and Jason's favorite thing to do is watch our favorite shows or go to the movies together, or drive around our city dreaming of how God will allow us to bring influence and impact. We hope to parents someday sooner than later I hope. LOL I love friendships, I love a good challenging conversation that causes me to grow.

How did you and your spouse come to the conclusion to start a church?

It was a long journey for us. We spent two years on what we call the shelf life, we had no idea why we were just idle in life at that time. Both longing to be doing something more and even though we tried to make things in ministry happen and even life itself presented what looked like dream jobs it just never was right. We began meeting with a pastor at our church just feeling down. We had been in full time ministry for 5 years and then now this waiting season just felt so empty. He encouraged us to seek the Lord on what our promise land was. We were like ok, sure, then as we began to seek the Lord he showed us a city and a people group. He began to birth in us a church. the desire to be apart of a community do life with them and watch God reveal his love.

Where is your church meeting ; how did you decide the best location ?

We meet at a YMCA in McKinney, TX. There was a pastor friend who had been in ministry for years that gave us the best advice that has ever been given to us, he said "follow the favor" So that is what we have done. ALL the places we had gone to were going to be a stretch not only for our budget but for time and set up. Then we found the YMCA and it had children's facility and all that we needed. It even has a church on Sunday that meets in there and so we meet on Saturday nights and use all of their equipment. So we set it up and they tare it down. It saves the energy of both our teams.

In a sentence tell us about your church ?

We believe that every story matters, and that as we engage God and embrace people and expand his kingdom in our daily lives doing life with people, we will see their stories connect with God's story.

How many original people helped you begin your church ?

34

How did you start off your church ? Small Groups ? Sunday Service etc ?

We have from the beginning looked at it as we are a family so every one works together to set up, and clean up. then we honestly just went with the areas that were needed most to function: Sound, Childrens 6 weeks to 1st grade is all we could do at first. Then we rotate worship leaders. We start small groups end of Feb. We rotate the whole team for greeting, ushers, security ect... As we grow everyone will get to be in a place of serving where they are more drawn and gifted.

How are you handling children that are coming to your church ?

Do you have a nursery, or a special place for them in the service ? We have a nursery room. We have the parent fill out a form they keep part of it and we keep one, then the kids get a name tag and the parents bring the form back when they come. The next week when they come in the forms are laminated so that they will last long. this is until we can afford a check in system. We have biblical lessons and activities for the kids each week.

Where did you come up with the funds to purchase things for your church prior to opening the doors ?

We had a benefit that someone hosted for us, we would meet with other churches, pastors & business men that we know and many would donate, we raised monthly support from friends and family for one years commitment, and shared the vision no matter where we went and God would just bring in the funds.

What is the biggest opposition you have faced ?

Finding a worship leader that is willing to take this journey with us. Also my own faith sometimes.

What is the greatest Victory you have felt ?

Watching our church has already made an impact on the community, and that we are as of date still functioning debt free, but doing things with excellence.

What advice would you give to another church planting wife ?

I think the first thing would be to discover her own love for her community, her own role as a woman of God that she will play to bring Godly change to the places she has influence. That this church plant would not just be about her husband but about them as a family reach those that God has called them to. The second thing would be to not try to be perfect, or to "Play a role" or try to make you and your family appear perfect or all together. No one is really looking for that it is a lie and trap that satan convinces us we have to work out in order for this whole things and our hubbies to be successful. Success is being fully you all the time and allowing your kids and hubby to do the same. It is allowing others to see that it is ok if they do not have it all together, that we all have bad days and hard moments and hits from life but how we walk through that is in our moments with God and by accepting and loving each other where we are. I live out loud all the time because I want others to know that we all have the good, the bad and the ugly and we don't always handle well and other times we do. Dont compare or you will never be able to fully be you. EVERY church planters journey is different I have yet to meet any other pastor or their wife that has had the same. Have strong couples that are available to you for encouragement and accountability.

Has this affected your marriage or your children ? IF so How ?

It has honestly effected us for the better, we have learned to communicate to one another about everything but in the right timing. We don's always get it right but we try. It has caused us to listen to one another more and what we are sensing in the spirit. We are strong believers in marriage counseling/mentoring. We have been to counseling on a regular basis for the last 4 years in order to keep things from getting unhealthy. Why wait till it is bad when it does not have to get bad. When we first moved to McKinney it was very hard for me and I death with a lot of fear and loneliness and it really effected Jason a lot. It was hard on him to see me walking through that, but with a lot of conversations, prayer, getting in the word and well honestly just time I came out of it and still have moments but I believe that it is vital that we be honest but just in the timing that is right.

What role do you play @ the Church if any ?

I cover the responsibility of the administrative assistant and service coordinator. Now both roles can be tricky being those and the wife, we have had to work really hard at making our priorities be God, Family then work, It is a daily thing but we refuse to be down the road 5, 10 years and only know how to connect or relate to one another when it is church related. So I am the wife first and he is the husband first. We get it right sometimes and not so right other times.

This is the greatest journey of my life. It is also the hardest thing I have ever done or journey before. But I have seen God be God in a more real way than ever before. He wants to show off and change lives. this is his church and he will grow it and make it all he desires it to be for the people he has called you to. He makes the change we are the ones that get to walk it out.