by Wayne Guinn
It is always a joy to hear a report from a church planter. Here is a letter from Josh Todd, one of our guys who went to Philadelphia about two years ago:
I firmly believe every church planter goes to their field with the belief that God is going to do great and mighty things. But when He does them, no matter how prepared you think you are, it still takes your breath away.
I remember so vividly the first gathering we held in our very small 1920s bungalow. We didn’t advertise, market, or launch as a church. We simply told some neighbors and people in the community that we were having a Bible study. God did the rest! In our first Bible study we had a doctor and a gang member sit next to one another. The gang member accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Before he left, I told him he could invite anyone to the Bible study as long as they didn’t bring a weapon or drugs, and as long as they were respectful. He turned to me and said, “Josh you wouldn’t want the people I know here in your home.” I told Vinny, “We let you here.” He smiled. The following week Vinny returned with his cousin and she accepted Christ. The following week he returned with a fellow who left prison and came straight to our home for the Bible study. He didn’t go home to see his family; he didn’t call some old friends; he left prison and came to hear what this Jesus is really all about. I quickly came to the realization that this church I was planting wasn’t my own, but was God’s! Over the months that followed, God continued to grow our Bible study with no marketing and no advertising. It was simply God bringing people to Himself.
We planned to launch on Christmas Eve that year. But with the number of converts and those who were being baptized, we knew we would have to make the move from our small bungalow to an actual church building. The time had come to launch True Vine Baptist Church. We launched July 1, 2012, six months ahead of schedule with minimal advertising and had a full house, 73 in total.
We hosted the Delmar state meeting on February 5, 2013, to share with our local state fellowship what God is doing in the city of Philadelphia. He is doing what He has always done — saving and changing lives! We have seen 22 saved in the last six weeks and have 26 to baptize later this month. We have over 73,000 people within one mile of our church building. There are over 3.1 million people in our target zone. Less than one percent of the population can fit in a church building in the greater Philadelphia area. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the workers are few. Please pray for us as we facilitate God’s mission here in Philadelphia.