Church Outside of Church

DETROIT? Martial Arts? Church Planting?

God, You must have some sense of humor?!

But none the less here we find ourselves. It's another story which I'll share at another time, but for now know that less than a year ago we were content pastoring a great church with multiple campuses in Amarillo, TX. Then God! Then God stepped in and rocked our world.

So, obediently we packed our belongings and headed for Detroit believing we were to start a new "church." Little did I know that I had no idea what "church" really looked like, even though I knew all the language of "Organic," and "non-traditional," and "coffee-shop"... and other clever words to describe church outside the "Church." Now we are discovering what "Church" truly looks like outside of the church walls.

I grew up in Flint, MI. Yes, the Flint, MI of the now infamous lead water supply affecting thousands. But growing up in Flint, and now living in Detroit, I am reminded that strangers knock on the front door, but friends use the back door. I don't know that I ever used my friends front door for anything, but instead we always went to the back door, that's where friends entered the house. So, with that mind set we are building friendships so that we are welcome to come through the back door of people's lives with the Love-Life and Love-Light of Jesus.

So, I invite you to join us on our journey as we introduce Jesus through the back doors of people's lives. Our main outreach tool in doing so is Lion's Roar Extreme Martial Arts, teaching kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, striving to reach kids and families while building lasting relationships that form community revolving around Jesus, whether they realize it or not. Is it "church?" Maybe not in the sense most understand, and some will never approve of, but the more we engage with the lives of people and build lasting relationships we are convinced it looks more like "Church" as Jesus understood it then what most will ever experience without it.

So, thanks for joining us. Check out our websites: Mission: Go Detroit and Lion's Roar Extreme Martial Arts to gain a deeper insight into our ministry.

Till next time, blessings.

Shawn