In June of 2017, my wife and I stepped into a new season of ministry. We went from serving as ministry leaders on staff to serving in a lead pastorate position. We moved to Franklin, Virginia, to pastor the former Franklin Church of God (now Ignite Church).

For us, everything was different. We encountered all kinds of new sights, new people, new cities, new environments, and, of course, a new church. When compared to my previous ministry experience, Franklin Church of God was a more rural context and a smaller size congregation. However, this ministry has been so rewarding!

Since coming to Ignite Church, we regularly push our congregation to reach the community. We organized many different efforts with varying results. Sometimes our efforts didn't pan out the way we would have liked. But other times we reached large groups of people and made a big splash in our small town.

Whatever season we find ourselves in, I believe there are at least three things that Ignite Church will always be able to do:

1. Create a venue for Holy Spirit empowered life transformation.

It never ceases to amaze me how God can change and transform lives. Over our brief time at Ignite Church, we have baptized dozens of people. We witnessed many people accept Christ or recommit their lives to the Lord during our worship gatherings. We prayed with many that prayed through to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Others prayed and were delivered from their addictions, while others were physically healed.

Although, as a pastor, I always enjoy seeing a large crowd, the size of the congregation has rarely ever been a factor in the size of the move of God's Spirit that we experience. After all, Jesus reminds us that "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am with them." This is still true today as we face the coronavirus pandemic. We are always creating venues for people to encounter God!

2. Create a 21st-century expression of church ministry.

At Ignite Church, we take great joy in creating a 21st-century expression of the local church. Shortly after arriving at Ignite Church, we rallied together to update our sanctuary, update our online presence, and add online venues for tithing and giving. With the addition of online giving, we have essentially allowed people all over the world to financially support Ignite Church.

We believe every generation needs a modern expression of the church. It’s not that the gospel changes but that the environments and venues for gospel propagation get updated. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, we were blessed to have online giving already available as well as a foundation of equipment and experience to operate via livestream.

3. Launch evangelistic ministries that get the community's attention.

For several days leading up to Christmas each year, a team of volunteers from Ignite Church gather for a few hours each day at the local Wal-Mart. We set up tables and bring Christmas wrapping paper, bows, scissors, and tape. For a few hours each day, we offer to wrap Christmas presents for free. Over the years, Ignite has wrapped hundreds, if not thousands of gifts for people in Franklin and the surrounding areas.

Our goal is to love people, build relationships, invite people to church, and pray with them if the opportunity arises. Every year people get connected to our church because of this outreach. Some have been baptized, some now serve in kids' ministry, others joined the worship team, and others are simply part of our church now because of this simple event.

In addition, a few months back, we made a big splash on the front page of the local newspaper. We celebrated 75 years of ministry and invited the community to a series of revival services. I got to pose with one of our church’s founding members!

Another time we connected with thousands of families as we sold dinners to raise money for a man in our community who was fighting cancer. As we sold meals, cars lined up for hours to purchase meals and support this gentleman. I met every person that bought a meal! Later we gave his family a check for six thousand dollars for medical expenses and prayed with them. Because of these efforts and more, people know about Ignite Church!

If I have learned anything during my time pastoring, it's that the church always has the ability and opportunity to "be the church" if we will simply move forward in faith! We don’t have to let size, finances, or circumstances stop us from "being the church."

Ministry on the Margins at Ignite Church

1. Create a venue for Holy Spirit empowered life transformation.

2. Create a 21st-century expression of church ministry.

3. Launch evangelistic ministries that get the community's attention.

We are Spirit-empowered.

We are modern.

We are evangelistic.

We are the Church!