The Biblical Foundation

In Acts 2:42–47 we see the church in its purest form: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts… And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 5:42 adds: “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” And Jesus Himself promised, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). The church is not about buildings or programs—it’s about Jesus in our midst. It’s His church, His body, with Him as the head.

How It Started

It was a huge big-screen television I had just purchased from a warehouse store, one of those projection-type models. I had a football game on, my front door open, but the glass storm door closed. I was dozing in and out of sleep watching the game, but I could also see outside through the glass storm door. One time when I opened my eyes, I saw a twelve-year-old boy who lived in a fatherless home with a single mother and her live-in boyfriend. I had seen him before, but this time was different—the Lord broke my heart for him.

“The Lord said: Here you are in your house, watching television, while being divided by thin walls from your neighbors who are suffering.”

I immediately returned the television to the warehouse store and bought a pool instead—something that would get us outside rather than just sitting inside watching TV.

“It felt as though we had stepped right into the book of Acts—God was giving dreams, visions, and prophecy, and we watched Him heal the sick before our eyes.”

When God called us to begin the church, my wife, children, and I set aside Sundays to gather and wait on Him. We were prepared to do this for years if necessary—but God moved immediately. Neighbors we didn’t even know began showing up. Some came with questions, others looking for prayer. We simply said, “Lord, here we are, use our home,” and He did.

A Boy and His Mother

He and his mother connected with the church that met in our home and with others, our journey together began in the Lord.

God’s Pattern and Miracles

The Lord showed us right away that He is far more committed to building His Kingdom than we were at the time. Seeing our response, He immediately began adding to our number—giving dreams, visions, and prophecy, and allowing us to witness Him heal the sick.

“It felt as though we had stepped right into the book of Acts.”

I called a fellow member of the church that met in our home early one morning, after the Lord spoke to me in a dream about what would take place that day, and said, ‘I saw your son and his friends being arrested at school today in a dream the Lord has given me.’ The father kept his son home that day, and his son’s friends were arrested just as God said. His son, however, went on to great success—becoming the fastest runner in the state of Florida and later serving in the U.S. military.

God revealed that His pattern for the church is built on relationships—touching, caring, listening, sharing meals, and loving one another. As John 3:16 reminds us, it’s not about rules and regulations; it’s about relationship

By the way, we baptized the boy and his mother in that pool, along with many others since that day! In fact, God recently called us to baptize the city of Pensacola, like John the Baptist did, in the Gulf, which we did at Baptize Pensacola.

It’s an amazing journey with the Lord when you say ‘yes’ to Him and follow His leadership to ‘be the Church’ as Scripture tells us, ministering to those around us in a lost and dying world. It has truly been the greatest adventure of my life as we follow The Commands of Jesus!

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” — Jesus

Turning the Hearts of the Fathers

Years later, during a time of crisis in this same boy’s life, his father—who had been estranged and living in another state—turned his heart to his son, and the son to his father. In that critical moment, the father rescued his boy. He even slept on the floor beside his son’s bed at the mother’s house, just to watch over him, before eventually moving him into his home.

“He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” (Malachi 4:6, ESV)

“This has been our passion from the beginning, especially through the Next Step Outbacks, where for nearly ten years we focused on helping to turn hearts and strengthen families—restoring fathers to their children and children to their fathers.”

That twelve-year-old boy has grown into a devoted husband, a skilled hunter and fisherman, and a loving father of beautiful daughters. I couldn’t be more proud of him, his wife, and their children as they walk together under the Lord’s guidance and in a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

These are only a few of the countless stories from this amazing journey—stories God desires for all His followers, and even for those who have not yet begun to follow Him. And the good news is this: your own story of His goodness is waiting to be written.