Stories ::: The Emerge(ing) Journey - Part 3
If you missed Part 2 please click here and read it first!
After a refreshing time in the Caribbean with the family, I was off to the new sales career and rest. Well, we thought it was to rest…ha!
We started thinking about what to name the church (click here for that story) and then applied with the state of Indiana, purchased a website, and then it felt as though we were off to the races. There were a number of hoops to jump through for registering the church name, filing the 501c3 paperwork, opening bank accounts, etc.
I had a number of great pastors come alongside of me to pray with, encourage, and coach me through all of this and they are still doing that to this day (and going forward). One pastor came alongside and purchased Logos Bible Software and gave money to be a blessing! WOW!
I took on the task of applying for the 501c3 without legal help or asking anyone. I felt as though it was a daunting task but God would carry me through it. I mailed in the 30-page application with a check. I called the IRS as they cashed my check 5 days later so I could get an update. “Sir, we cashed your check but we likely won’t get your case assigned to someone and start communicating until April/May of 2020.” I replied.
“Thank you for the update and the disappointing news. However, I know my God is calling me to do this so I’m believing that I will receive the 501c3 approval by December 2019!”
She replied “If that’s the case, I want to know your God as that’s never happened. You are at the bottom of a 3 foot high pile.” I wish I wrote her agent ID number down …. we were approved on December 20, 2019!!
As I mentioned before, we did NOT ask anyone to join us nor did we tell anyone about Emerge up until this point in November. We reached out to the 136 that came to us about the church and invited them to informational gatherings so they could hear the vision of what we see Emerge becoming.
We held 4 informational gatherings in December and had 76 people attend the gatherings. The vast majority were an overwhelming YES to join us! After each gathering, we would ask the attendees to ask/invite others to join them at the next gathering.
We’ve had our share of opposition in the way of Spiritual Attacks but our God is Greater!
The story of Emerge will continue to emerge as we get closer to the launch date. We are currently meeting with 20 people each week to develop the game plan for when we open up to the public for our gatherings.
We are excited to see what’s ahead … following God obediently one step at a time … and praying for you!
Until The Whole World Knows,
Pastor Curt, Emily and family