WH Family,

First of all, let me say “Thank You!” from both Kandace and I. We have been so incredibly blessed by your love and support all these years and specifically over the last few days. It wasn’t easy to share the news that we will be moving, but nonetheless, you’ve been so encouraging as we pursue God’s call on our lives! We can’t wait to see what happens with the Wichita church plant and the relationship between that congregation and this one that we love so much!

Secondly, we want to invite you to a special event on August 23rd where we will share more information about our journey, our vision for church planting, and our specific call to the city of Wichita! We truly want our Western Hills family to be a part of this with us. So, we invite you to come learn, ask questions, and be encouraged by our amazing God! We will meet in the WH Gym at 6:30p that evening and plan to also record it for anyone who’d like to view it online.

With that in mind, as today’s devotional I want to ask you a question that might make you a little uncomfortable. But don’t worry, it’s made me uncomfortable for the last 15 months as Kandace and I’ve been praying about this big adventure.

Here we go…

Have you ever told God, “No!”?

Boom! That’s a biggie!

There’s so much in that little question. Our answers to it truly have long-lasting consequences for both us and those around us. Yet, we ask it all the time. Moreover, we wonder, “Maybe everything will be fine if I just ignore what God is telling me to do?” We become those little kids playing hide-and-go-seek that simply put their heads under a blanket though the rest of their body is in clear sight. We think that if we just avoid God it will be easier for Him to receive our “No” or that He’ll eventually give up asking. Trust me, I’ve been there!

So why do I ask this question? Because last year I told God “No!” Let me explain…

In the Spring of last year, after Kandace left her administrative job to start her photography business, we both started thinking that maybe it was the right time to start praying about our future in ministry. As many of you know, since 2017 I’ve felt that God was preparing me to be a Lead Pastor some day. But when Kandace left her job to pursue what we believe God had uniquely equipped her for, we began giving my pastoral call a little more thought. So we started praying, “God, if you want us to start a new chapter and for Parker to become a Lead Pastor, guide us and make it clear.” And then we waited.

After a couple months we had a few interviews with some awesome churches, but it still didn’t seem like the right time or the right fit. But interestingly enough, two of those churches, at two separate times, in two separate states, in consecutive months, asked me if I’d ever considered church planting. I guess they saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and they were interested in getting me connected with their network of churches that planted all across the Midwest.

When those churches asked me if I was interested in that sort of thing, I said, “Nope, not at all!” You see, I hadn’t really had the best experience with church plants in the past. Having a front row seat to two different plants before moving to Kansas, it seemed like a grueling, time-consuming and sometimes hurtful process. I’d seen a leader experience burnout after trying to start a church from scratch and another church plant close after only a year because some folks that joined didn’t have the best of intentions. So as you can imagine, that kind of thing didn’t exactly bring about the “warm fuzzies” for me. So I told those churches, and ultimately told God, “No.” And then, I became the child that hid his head under the blanket. Kind of sounds like Jonah, huh?

But when I told Kandace about these two churches and the question they asked me about planting, she said, “Well, maybe you should pray about it and not tell God ‘No’ before speaking to Him? Maybe He is trying to tell you something?” Then she reminded me of something I encouraged her to do before she left her job last April. She said, “Maybe you should pray an ‘open-handed prayer’ to God and see if church planting is exactly what He wants you to pursue?”

Man oh man, do I have an amazing wife?!? I’m so thankful for that reality check and the encouraging words she gave me in those moments! She is truly out of my league and a blessing each and every day. I love her so much!

So, with the support and encouragement I received from Kandace, we started praying. More than that, I felt like I should meet with godly mentors to better discern God’s voice. I didn’t want to be the kid with his head under the blanket.

And what’s crazy is that the more I prayed, the more God spoke! It was unbelievable how He used His Word, His people, and His Spirit to change my heart from being completely opposed to the idea of starting a church from scratch to realizing that it was precisely what He’d been preparing me for! He wanted to use my passions for vision-casting, preaching, coaching, and leadership for His glory!

Specifically, when it comes to His Word, I can’t tell you how many times He brought to my attention Matthew 16:18 that says, “on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Was Jesus talking about a literal rock that He saw on the side of the road? No. He was actually talking about Peter who had just confessed that Jesus was the Christ! The moment Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus prophesied that a movement of redemption, the likes of which the world had never seen, would start with Peter; he was the original “Rock!”

Then, last November when the WH Staff went to Texas for the RightNow Media Conference, God emphatically confirmed His call on Kandace and I to plant a church! That same passage in Matthew 16 was read left and right by several speakers, and it was like God was literally screaming, “Come on son! Join me as I build my Church!” It was incredible the moment Kandace and I looked at each other and said, “Ok, I’m in…Are you in?… Yep, I’m in!…Let’s do this!” And if you’re able to join us on August 23rd, you’ll hear more about what happened from that point until now!

So, I return to my original question. Have you ever told God “No!”? What if ultimate fulfillment, purpose, and joy actually lies behind a “Yes” instead? What if lives can be changed with a simple “Yes!”? And as Grant has said before, “What if your ‘No!’ prevents someone else’s ‘Yes!’?

Let’s be real. Saying “Yes” to God is uncomfortable, scary, and sometimes weird. But it’s also where we find life! It’s also where others find life! It’s the beginning of something new and can be the first chapter of someone’s redemption story.

So what is God asking you to do? Where is He asking you to go? Who is He calling you to share His love with?

In closing, I’d like to challenge and encourage us with Romans 10:13-15, “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News!”

Let’s say “Yes!” together as we go be the Church.

-Parker and Kandace