Outside the Box

I would say that one of the most influential churches in my life for the past few years has been Faithbridge UMC in Spring, Texas.  I became affiliated with Faithbridge because I heard that Ken Werlein, the senior pastor, was on the board of Breakaway Ministries at Texas A&M.  As a graduate student at Texas A&M, my fiance brought me to breakaway again and I fell in love with the messages of Ben Stuart.  As I researched his past, I found out that Ben was the youth director for Ken as soon as Ben graduated from Texas A&M and as soon as Ken Werlein launched Faithbridge.  As a lifelong Methodist and fan of Ben, I started podcasting the sermons and later the leaders in the know recordings on iTunes.  Through every sermon, every leaders in the know recording, and every bit of information I have read, I have been fascinated with Faithbridge, their ministry and been greatful for what they are doing in the North Houston area and for the United Methodist Church.  As I have become more affiliated with starting new churches for our denomination and trying to reach a younger generation for Jesus Christ, I feel that Faithbridge could be the leading agent for the reformation of our denomination.  I know that Ken feels he is not the best fit for our denomination, but I believe God has called him to stay and revive our church and it is his amazing leadership that could revolutionize the structure and worship for many churches.  That has been my prayer for a long time.  I invite you to pray that prayer as well if you feel inclined.  I will continue this series of posts with how Faithbridge has influenced me, my thinking about organizing churches, and my hope for the future of the Methodist church.