And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” | Matthew 28:18–20
This Sunday, we had Bart Hodgson from Crossway Fellowship with us to deliver God’s Word. Bart is in the process of moving, with his wife Kristen, back to NW Arkansas to plant a new church. As a church, we are going to support them as they do this. Our hope is that through partnering with them on this effort, we will be spurred on to plant more churches in our region.
This weekend, your pastors joined with the elders of the 3strand Network churches at a retreat designed to strengthen the individual churches as well as strategize to work together to fulfill the Great Commission. One of the things that we worked on was a unified vision of church planting and a desire to pray specifically for this as a Network. I would like to share with you a letter that is addressed from this group of pastors to our churches, asking you to join us in praying and preparing to plant more churches.
Dear members of 3Strand churches,
We, the elders of the 3Strand churches, thank God for you, rejoicing in our unity in Christ and partnership in the gospel. Our churches are healthier and stronger because of our commitment to one another.
As you may know, 3Strand exists to strengthen the local church and make disciples in Western Washington. Our network is presently made up of six churches, which are listed below. At the core of our cooperative are three values: Covenant, Commitment, & Commission. The focus of the network this year is Commission. As a network, we desire to develop leaders, send missionaries, help existing churches, and plant churches to be faithful in the Great Commission. We are excited to support Bart Hodgson, who is being sent out from Crossway Fellowship to plant a church in Arkansas. We are grateful for Bart’s time as a pastor in the network at Seed Church and Crossway Fellowship. We will be supporting him with prayer, encouragement, and finances.
Throughout our history, we have had the opportunity to plant churches in our region through our network. However, we have not done so for several years due to numerous challenges. The elders of the 3Strand churches are eager for the Lord to use our partnership to help existing churches and plant new churches. This will require all the members of our churches to have the mindset of missionaries who are willing to serve, give, and sacrifice for the Kingdom of God.
Although we desire to do this, we have yet to determine how, where, or when it will happen. So, we will continue to pray, and we are asking you to pray with us.
Please pray for the Lord to:
• Direct our steps through this process.
• Raise up members within our churches to do the wonderful, challenging, and rewarding work of helping plant a church.
• Raise up elders to faithfully shepherd a new congregation.
• Empower every one of us to be faithful in the work of evangelism and making disciples.
As you pray, consider your part in this. How can the Lord use you to strengthen your church, help other churches, and plant new churches? We are eager to see how the Lord will use our partnership to advance the gospel for his glory in our region.
In Christ,
The elders of
Anchored Faith Church (Stanwood)
Communion Church (Mt. Vernon)
Crossway Fellowship (Lynnwood)
Restoration Road Church (Snohomish)
Roots Church (Stanwood)
The Bridge Church (Snohomish)