This is Ken, pointing to heaven, in his new sanctuary that doubles as a gymnasium.
After hearing from Ken we heard from five other local Methodist pastors who are in various stages of church planting. Some have more support from the Methodist powers than others. One pastor laughingly complained that he was promised money for the starting of a "parachute" drop church ("parachute drop" means that a church is planted without the benefit of a mother church sending some people), but that he didn't get a parachute. All he got was an "old mattress to land on" when he got shoved out of the plane.
The common theme for all of these church plants was the importance of prayer. This was strikingly evident as we listened to their experiences. They seemed to turn to each other when times were rocky. They appeared to be able to provide good support for each other.
We ate some excellent Tex-Mex food while we listened and asked questions.I will admit to feeling some concern that the focus of the prayer tended to be things like, "How can we get more people, more land, etc . . ." That may just be a reflection of the various stages of these churches growth. It may be a reflection of the fact that its easier to talk about those things to strangers than it is to talk about the lives that were changed and the communities that were changed.
Whatever the case, these churches are well-placed for potential impact on the community and the leaders we heard were all sharp and dedicated.
