Wow!

The last month has been AMAZING, and God has been moving consistently from August 1 all the way through the evening of August 31.
The month got into full swing on August 3rd, as I began to fill in for Pastor Justin during the Connections (Mixed Adults) Bible Study at Westlake in the hour before weekly worship (yes, most folks call that time “Sunday school,” but I choose to call it Bible Study, haha). Each week of August (and finishing up later this week, on September 7), I have been leading the study through the Apostle John's first epistle.
Because I have had six weeks worth of time leading the class, it's made it possible for me to draw connections and really point out the continuous threads that the Apostle wove through the entire letter. I can only pray that the study group has been as blessed by those studies as I have been.
Then, on the 5th, we began walking through a topical Study for us to go through as a church planting team, which currently consists of myself, Patricia, our children, and Heather McCann. Heather, of course, is a member at Westlake and will be moving to Texas with us next spring. The study we are walking through together is called “Knowing God's Will: How to Make Godly Decisions,” and was written by one Joshua Davis.
That's right! Thanks to Patricia's encouragement, I have gotten back into writing, but instead of novels or essays, I am writing bible studies! I am in the process of reformatting the “Knowing God's Will” study into book form and will be releasing it sometime in the next few months. In the same way, I am going to convert the Bible study lessons I have been leading each week into a book as well, and will be making it available for sale at some point after I release “Knowing God's Will.”
But the month didn't end on the 5th…oh no, far from it. On the 9th, we had a three and a half hour conference call with Pastor Daniel Moreno in El Paso, who functions as something of a “planting supervisor” to Send Network church planters in West Texas. His official title is “Church Planting Catalyst,” and the purpose of our conference call was so he could prepare us for what was coming later in the month–our Send Network Assessment. Additionally, he spoke to Chris and Jess Belknap, the Director of Family Ministries at Westlake and his wife to prepare them for their roles as our “Sending Church Representatives.”

A few days later–on August 12–I went to Appomattox to attend the Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia's Rural Pastors Workshop, where I was able to make a few connections with other church planters in Virginia, as well as with some ministry leaders in Virginia and the International Mission Board. While there, I was blessed to participate in the worship service at the start of the “conference,” and study two issues that are very near to my heart in the ministry breakout sessions–men's discipleship and evangelism. I'm sure you can easily guess why I chose to attend those breakout sessions, haha.

The following Monday, Patricia and I had one of our regular “training” (for lack of a better word) with Pastor Justin. During those meetings, we have the opportunity to pray with our pastor and talk about life in ministry, the role of the pastor/pastor's wife, and other issues, and that day in particular was noteworthy because Patricia and I drove to Raleigh, NC that afternoon for our Send Network Assessment.

If you follow us on our Facebook group, then I'm sure you likely saw the pictures we posted, but we were blessed in an amazing way in Raleigh. I have told several people that IF we had any doubts at all about our call to plant a church in El Paso, those two days kicked the doubt in the teeth. During those days, we went through four hour long interviews as a couple, and then we each had to do one last hour long interview separated from one another. The interviews covered everything from our theology and missional strategy to our mental states and ability to deal with stress.

Meanwhile, while we were being interviewed, Chris and Jess were going through classes on how Westlake can be even more effective as a sending church. It was a truly intense experience for all of us.

Patricia and I were released from the assessment at noon on the second day, while Chris and Jess stayed behind to take part in the deliberations to discuss whether Send Network should declare us “Ready to plant,” “Further Development Needed,” or “Redirect.” Each of these grades are commonly called “Green,” “Yellow,” or “Red lights,” and determine if/when we are officially affiliated with the Send Network as church planters.

That evening, the Belknap's called us and told us to expect a good result, they thought we would get the green light, and on Thursday, August 28, we received the email saying that we had passed and are “Ready to Plant,” and I'll tell you…even though we were expecting that answer because of what Chris had told us after the retreat, I still cried about five times that night from sheer relief.

But the month didn't end there…there were still more blessings! On Wednesday, August 27–the day before we got official word that we had passed our assessment–I had the honor and privilege of teaching both the morning and evening sessions of Westlake's Wednesday bible studies, and there is something truly humbling about teaching a psalm to a room of people that are all at least old enough to be your parents, if not grandparents.

To round out the month, one of my oldest friends and a vocational missionary that serves overseas in a place I can't name for several reasons came to Westlake to give us an update on how God has been moving in their mission field, and I must say–seeing and spending time with the Dunn family is always a blessing to me and my family.

Now, I did say that God has been moving right to the very end of the month, and I wasn't just talking about the Dunns…

Yesterday morning during prayer requests at the beginning of Bible Study, I mentioned to the group that Patricia and I had decided to sell “our place” and begin looking for a short term rental to move into as we prepare to leave Virginia and move to El Paso. Then, this afternoon, Patricia got a phone call.

I knew something was up when I heard her say “oh my gosh, I can't wait to tell Josh. This is an answer to our prayers!”
As it turns out, some members (a married couple) of Westlake have a house that she is selling to a member of their family, and that family member offered to let us live there rent free until we move! I would share their names, but I have not received permission to share it publicly, so I won't name them unless/until they give that permission.

Of course, we really appreciate the church members and their family member, but that house is an answered prayer and a blessing, so we give thanks and praise to the one from whom all blessings flow, our only God and Savior, Jesus.

In the coming weeks, Patricia, the kids, and I will be going through the process of preparing our home of the last 2.5 years to sell, and we will be transitioning to a new (temporary) home as we prepare to pack up and move! Additionally, conference season is in full swing, so in the coming weeks, we will be traveling a good bit for conferences and speaking/preaching engagements. March will be here before we know it, so please be in prayer for and with us! If you want to see pictures from everything we are doing, make sure you join our Facebook group, Davis Family Church Planting Journey (click the name to go there now)!

Also, please consider going to our fundraising form HERE and signing up to make a recurring monthly donation, as our fundraising efforts are in full swing! Of course, as always, each donation is 100% tax deductible.

Thank you all for being a part of our church planting team!

Until next time,

Blessings,

Josh Davis

Lead Planter, Borderlands FBC

Romans 1:16-17