Bob and former OU athlete Leonce Crump, now an A29 church planter in Atlanta

In 2006 we linked arms with a fledgling church-planting movement called Acts 29. The movement was made up (at that time) of less than 100 churches. We joined primarily because of the influence and invitation of our sister church Core Community, which was one of the first in the network.

I’ve always had the sense that God is up to something through A29. I am real skeptical and hesitant to use words like “renewal” or “revival” or “reformation” because they seem to require the judgment of history, not just the emotion of the present. But something God-sized is going on. Consider these evidences of God’s grace:

• 256 Acts 29 church plants in the US
• 339 current applicants (potential church planters who want to be assessed)
• 135 potential church planters assessed in the past year
• 2,450 people attended an Acts 29 boot camp in the past year
• 800 pastors trained internationally in the past year, in places like Uganda, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Czech Republic
• Missiologist Ed Stetzer says that A29 is now the leading church planting movement in the US, and that its influence is spurring traditional denominations to increase their own efforts in church planting
• New England is widely considered by missiologists as the hardest place in North America to plant a church. This historic region, once home to the Great Awakening, is now 90% unchurched. Five years ago there was one Acts 29 church in NE; now there are 25, with 12 more in the planning stages.
• TIME Magazine last year called “New Calvinism” the #3 most important idea shaping the world. Many influential Acts 29 pastors are at the forefront of this resurgence of Reformed theology within the American church.
• One of the most obvious evidences of grace to me is the cultural diversity within A29. A few years ago the joke was that we were a bunch of “angry young white men.” Not anymore. In Vail with me right now (at the A29 pastor’s retreat) are five African-American couples whom God has raised up to plant missional, Reformed churches. My bro Lorenzo pastors a Latino church in the heart of gang territory in south Dallas. We have a Russian dude planting among Russian immigrants in NYC and another guy reaching second-generation Asian immigrants in Philly. The strong sense of unity and brotherhood in the gospel among these men suggests to me that God is up to something that can’t be explained through natural means.

Sometimes we get so focused on our own context (Omaha) that we forget about the bigger picture of what God is doing. He is worthy of worship not just for what he’s doing among us, but for how he’s at work around the world. You are a part of all this through your prayers and giving, as Coram Deo contributes to the work of church planting around the world.

Please be praying for the pastors and leaders in Acts 29, that we would remain faithful to Jesus and zealous for the glory of God. Pray that God would graciously allow us to be part of His means to renew the church and advance His kingdom in our generation.