November Update - Leaning on Promise!

We are settling into month two of our time in Macon. This last month we as a family have encountered many trying situations both emotionally, financially and socially. In the midst of such circumstances though one thing has become apparent. 

We have an enemy, but there is a Savior. 

www.21st-century-christianity.com

The worst thing you can do is go into a battle not prepared or worst not knowing there is a battle. Our battle so far as been an attack on the mind to undermine the plans and promises of God. The enemy likes to use the age old trick he used in the beginning "Did God really say?". 

I look at the vastness of this place the Lord has called us to and feel so ineffective, inadequate, so unprepared, but I hear the Holy Spirit urging me to lean upon promise and not strength. If I lean upon my own strength, that limits the realm of my influence, but when I lean upon promise my possibilities are unlimited. Jesus promised that He would build his church and that He would give us power through the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses.

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us."

Jesus has plans for Macon and Middle Georgia that are far bigger than I can imagine or accomplish. Which is why my most powerful tools now are not strategies and tactics but rather scripture, prayer and the Holy Spirit. As I write this I am reminded of Paul's words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18 "This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare..".

Words of advice I would give any aspiring missionary/church planter, either domestic or abroad, do not naively step out being unaware of the tactics of your enemy. You have one and he wages war against your soul. But meet him on the offensive because he is a defeated foe! 

As a church we believe that the battle is always won in prayer. Ephesians tells us that we battle not against flesh and blood but spirits in the heavenly places. So everyday do battle in the place of prayer by declaring what Jesus has promised us.

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October Update

Well we have done it. We have moved to Macon. With the help of great team members we have been able to finish bringing all of our things from Tennille to Macon. So we thank everyone who made this move possible!

We are still adjusting to our new life. My wife, Sophia, was horrified at what our little apartment looked like when we began moving in because we went from 1500 square feet to 700 square feet. I promised my wife that we would make sense of it and that in time it would all come together. As i have been unpacking though i have realized that not everything is working the way i want it to. Unpacking everything right now is just not possible because we don't have the space. We are already tripping over each other. So several things will be put back in boxes until we get a bigger place.

We sit in Macon, Georgia with a dream in our hearts. Not just for Macon but for all of Middle Georgia. Our dream is to see people come to know Jesus and be changed by his grace. I meet with our team every week full of vision for the future, but realizing that it is not time for most of it. If i were to unpack everything that was in my heart it would make things confusing and hard to navigate. Just like my little apartment we are only unpacking things when we find the right spot for it. So in time we will do the same for the things the Lord has put in our hearts. So I sit with many things still packed away in my spirit waiting for their appropriate time. 

I look at what we are doing and i don't know what it is going to look like. I don't know how God is going to do it. But what I do know is that Jesus is faithful and he said he would build his Church. I just resolve myself to be a faithful servant over his house. 

If you are in the Macon area or looking to move to the Macon area and would like to know more about how you can get involved in seeing Jesus build his church you can email us at pharlan@vc2online.com or visit us online at macon.vc2online.com.  As we always say at VC2 (Victory Central Church) "Together we are stronger".

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All Moved Out

Hey guys. We just wanted to let everyone know what is going on. 

In case you didn't know

My wife and I moved out of our house in Tennille, Georgia to pursue a new life in Macon, Georgia to take on the task of planting a church. We will be doing this along side our local church VC2. This work will also bear the name of VC2 and embody the same vision and values as our main church because we believe that God has a plan for Central Georgia and where better than the Heart of Georgia. 

Inbetween

We have been staying at Sophia's parent's house this month as we transition our life to Macon. We plan on living in Macon hopefully in the next week or so. I'll continue working at my current job in Sandersville until the Lord opens a door to transition the rest of my life there as well. The Lord has been extremely faithful so far and I don't expect him to fail me anytime soon!

The 60,000

We have also began meeting with a great group of people who's heart is also to see Jesus do something great in Central Georgia. We are believing to work with this group of people to see the gospel go forth to reach the 60,000 people who do not attend a church on Sunday morning in Bibb County.

I believe this statistic is actually worse but we use it to remind ourselves that we are not after those who are faithfully involved in a local church but that we are after those who do not know Jesus and those who love Jesus but are not presently in a local church.

We are for the local church and believe that it is the only institution that Jesus said he would build to get HIS mission accomplished. 

We need Your....

Prayer.....We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we launch out to do what the Lord has put in our hearts. We need boldness to do all the things He has put before us. We also need the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives because i can't preach good enough to get people saved. 

Encouragement.....We thank everyone who has been a help in this whole process. We thank everyone for their kind words and prayers of encouragement as we have stepped out into this unknown territory.

And as always if you would like to know more or want to know how you can get involved you can email us at pharlan@vc2online.com or visit us online at macon.vc2online.com.

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VC2 - Macon

The other night was pivotal for us as a family because we announced to our church family, VC2, that we are moving to Macon, Georgia to plant a church. After spending almost ten years with my home church and almost three years there with my wife, we have fully bought into the vision and values of our VC2 family and want to endeavor to extend the reaches of our church to Macon. So we will be planting VC2 - Macon.

I know that many people have questions about the "Who, What, Where and When" of everything and we want to assure everyone that those answers will roll out in time. For now we are asking for people's blessings and prayers. We announced this to our church last night and know that word will spread. So there are a couple of things we want to make sure stays clear.

This is the result of CHURCH VISION not CHURCH DIVISION: At VC2 We are a REGIONAL church of diversity preaching the life giving message of Jesus Christ with Central Georgia and the World. We totally expect people to leave and go do Gospel Work!

This is a VC2 Church/Campus: The vision of VC2 has always been to plant churches across Central Georgia and this we will do as long as the Lord allows.

Statistics show that almost 60,000 ppl do not attend a Church in Bibb County: We want people to stay in their churches, we just want to reach the 60,000 that don't know Jesus.

When do services start? : Alot of ground work has to be done before services start. Which is why it is imperative we get on the ground as soon as we can. What is more important is that we begin to make disciples.

We are packing up this weekend and moving to Dublin to stay with family through September and are planning to move to Macon in October. We will continue to have periodic updates from this blog and our facebook pages. If you have any questions or are curious how you can be involved you can email us at pharlan@vc2online.com or visit us online at macon.vc2online.com. 

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Torrent 2014 - Reaching Maturity

Message I delivered at the 2014 Torrent Conference at VC2.

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