The Puzzle
When I started the World Race in January of 2015 I thought I knew the answer to the question, “What will you do next?”. I was simply going to return to my previous employer. Question answered! No puzzle. But as I journeyed over the last year, God started stirring desires and dreams that had laid dormant in my heart. He began handing me puzzle pieces and the picture that was forming wasn’t what I had thought.
The Pieces
After 11 months on the World Race, these are the puzzle pieces God has revealed to me:
- I desired to continue on the mission field in some capacity. I want to help build or support something greater than myself. And I want to love the people God puts in front of me each day. I’m never perfect at it and it looks different almost every single day but I love it.
- I want to get back into the business world and pursue restoring distressed organizations. This is a dream I have had since I was 8 years old and I’m trusting God that He will lead me into this. Also, God gave me a heart for leaders in the business world. They have so much influence in our country and they need Jesus just as much as anyone else.
- I desire community. I need people who are pushing me to be more like Jesus and who are focused on pursuing what God has planned for them. I also need some good mentors, ideally men who love Jesus and are active in the business community..
- I want to be learning, growing, and maturing in my relationship with God.
The Completed Picture
So, I am sitting at Project Search Light (a gathering of World Racers in search of their next season) and a man named Jeff Powell begins talking about church planting. I listened for 30 seconds and zoned out. But I felt the Holy Spirit say, “Jason, I want you to pay attention.” So I straightened up and focused. Jeff is actively pursuing, with Jesus, his vision to create a network of home churches around Atlanta. He is calling it the 320 Network, based on Ephesians 3:20. What happens is he takes 4 “church planters” and puts them into a community, generally large apartment complex. The “Planters” begin to build relationships in the community and in the process creating a small Bible study group. As the small group gets larger and larger, eventually out growing the apartment, the group splits into two groups, then 4 groups, and so on. Each with a large focus on relation evangelism and discipleship. His rallying cry is, “making disciples by planting disciple-making churches”.
After he finished I felt uncomfortable, irritated, and anxious. “There is no way I am going to plant churches.” I confidently said to myself. I got up and headed to another talk but the Holy Spirit said, “I think you should go talk to Jeff and get some more information.” I quickly replied, “Ummm….how about I don’t and we forget this whole church planting thing.” Fortunately for me, God is full of mercy, grace, and patience. He gently and lovingly convinced me to go back and talk with Jeff.
As I talked with Jeff and told him about my life, my work experience, and some of the puzzle pieces God had given me, I heard God say “Go”. I unconfidently said, “Ok, LORD…(sigh) I will go.” Jeff then gave me a little more information and told me he wanted Planters for a town in Atlanta called Dunwoody. His goal is to bring Jesus to the “up and out”, focusing on the business community in Atlanta.
So here I am in Atlanta. I have been here for about a week and it has been AWESOME!! God has done some amazing things, this is without a doubt the place where I need to be. On top of building relationships and a small group, I am managing all of the finances for the 320 Network and also helping them translate their vision into a focused, actionable strategy. I’ve been actively expanding my network and have met quit a few individuals who are involved in restoring companies. God has blessed me with a great community of Jesus focused individuals. I am also outside my comfort zone and learning to depend upon God to provide financially again. I will spend about half my time working on church planting and 320 Network stuff and as part of the program I am required to raise around $1,000 per month. This pays for a portion of my rent, utilities, health insurance (which I still have to get), and food. I will also be getting a part-time job, hopefully a working with distressed companies in some capacity. If you feel called to support me, I definitely would appreciate it. There are instructions on how you can do it below.
I am very excited for this new season of my life. I am going to be able to live in some awesome community, grow in my dependence upon God, and pursue people by loving them as Christ loves me. It is going to be a grand adventure and I am excited to walk it with all of you and Jesus.
Support:
If you would like to support me, either a one-time thing or monthly, I would appreciate it. For now, please send a check to 2409 Summerlake Drive, Atlanta, GA 30350. Put “Jason Kelley” in the memo line. We are currently working on a website that should be up in the next few weeks where you can read more about what the 320 Network and also support me online via electronic payment. If you have any questions about the 320 Network or want to chat, please feel free to contact me.
