Hi Venture Church family. We often talk about “helping churches and leaders take bold next steps” as being our mission. But what does that look like? Let me give you an example out of our southwest region.

About four years ago, Craycroft Church that had been ministering in Tucson for some sixty-five years, decided it was time to close its doors. They handed over the keys of the properties to our VCN southwest leadership. The community around the church had changed. It was crime filled, with prostitution, drugs, and homelessness. And the question was, “How do we leverage these resources to reach that community?”

Well, God had also been working in Jeff and Heather Logsdon who connected with Craycroft over the last couple of years before it closed its doors. And God had given them a specific burden for that community. God was also working in some our VCN sister churches in that community. Canyon Del Oro Bible Church came alongside and brought funding for needed repairs and monthly support for Heather and for Jeff so that they could have a church launched in that community. Other sister churches provided human and financial resources. Greg Lavine from New Bible Fellowship, a VCN church in North Tucson, provided leadership to an executive team of pastors who served as the leadership team for the launch and development of this church. In August in 2018, Hope City Church launched.

For three and half years, this church has been serving in this area of Tucson, bringing the gospel of Jesus to a hurting community. In this time, which included covid and all the other stresses that you have faced, God has raised up a committed group of believers who serve, lead, and give. An internal leadership team has been developed, trained, and prepared for the mantle of leadership to be handed over to them by the existing leadership team of outside pastors. Our VCN regional executive director, Dr. Steve Engram and Steve Dorksin, our church planting director, were in Tucson last month for the handing off of the leadership to the church.

Hope City Church is now a self-funded, self-sufficient church with money in the bank, seeing people come to faith in Christ being discipled and being baptized. This happened because along with Jeff and Heather, kingdom minded churches within VCN took some bold next steps coming together to work, give, and support the work of the gospel. In fact, in the last six years, seven churches have been planted in our southwest region with the goal of thirty churches planted or replanted by the year 2030.

Whether you’re in the southwest or some other region of VCN, how could you and your church partner together with us to see the multiplication of gospel centered churches bringing the gospel of Christ into our communities around our country? No one can do it alone. Hope City Church is a great example of churches and leaders working together, taking bold next steps with a variety of investment to establish healthy churches in needy areas. We want to see that continue throughout our entire national region. Would you consider contacting your regional director? Let’s work together to see churches planted and replanted for the gospel of Jesus Christ. God bless you.

David Whitaker,
President