Planting a church in Rio Rancho?
My buddy Los is planting a church in Rio Rancho, our family will be a part of this plant… when I read this post from LOS it made me beyond pumped for this!
New Mexico is not the place that movements start, or people come to plant churches. New Mexico is not sexy, or cool like Denver, Seattle and Phoenix. When I talk to people who want to plant a church usually they have those cities in mind and Albuquerque or Rio Rancho is not on the top of their lists, usually it is not even on their list.
For me though this is my state, this is my home, this is where my family has lived for centuries. I have roots that go back to the Spanish explorers that came to the New World. I have a deep passion and love for this area and feel connected to it in ways that are hard to explain, in some ways I feel like this is my state.
I understand the passion of Nehemiah when he heard the ruin of Jerusalem and felt a pull to be there to help lead the rebuilding of the city he loved, among the people he so deeply cared for. I feel the same way about New Mexico. I look out at the hurt and pain of a state that is always among one of the top 2 poorest in the country and where 60% of children will be born without a dad and my heart hurts. I look out at an area of the country where religion seeps into every pore and ideology of the people, where people must do, do, and do in order to feel accepted by God and I feel anger and pain. This state needs the gospel, this state needs people who love this area, and love the people, and are willing to jump in and work towards piercing the darkness with the light of the gospel. People who are willing to walk in an area where the devil so openly parades around with his servants, pushing and beating the people down with alcohol, drugs, sex, and religion. This area needs men willing to go to war following King Jesus for this state that not many people care about.
New Mexico is a desert land, not much grows out here, including church plants. However, I do believe that like Ephesus there are many whom God has yet to call in this area, and I believe that we are in a place where men are needed to rise up and get bloody for the sake that people may be saved and transformed by Jesus.
People have asked me why I want to plant a church in this area, the answer is simple, I love this state, this is my home, and this is where I am called to fight. I pray for a day that the people of God, and the gospel so saturates this area, that the devil is no longer comfortable roaming around this state so freely. I know that the final blow to the power of darkness is yet to come, but already the kingdom has come in the Son Jesus, and we are called to be lights in the darkness and more than anything I want to see this dark state pierced more and more by the light of the gospel through the planting of gospel centered churches who are faithful to the Word, who are willing to call men to war, to their knees and to their families.
I am planting a church, I am praying for a movement in the state I love.
Who’s in?
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