Followers Of The Call - The Pursuit

I would like to start a new series of posts. These posts will highlight people who I believe have followed God's call outside the camp.

I am going to dedicate this first post to my friends, Matt and Janie Mehaffey. You can read about their entire journey (so far) of following their call by clicking on The Pursuit link on the right. But, for right now, I just want to mention some of my observations.

I met Matt during freshman orientation at Cincinnati Christian University (back then it was Cincinnati Bible College) in the fall of 1994. We instantly became friends and have remained close ever since. Matt and I both served as interns at large churches in Indianapolis following our college careers. It was a blast to be done with school, but still working and living in the same city as Matt.

But, as our internships came to an end, our paths finally split. The church Matt was working for decided to keep him on staff (which I believe says something about the kind of guy Matt is). The church I was working for, on the other hand, didn't give me that option (which I believe means absolutely nothing, so don't try to read into it). So, I moved to Virginia to serve at a church, and Matt stayed in Indy.

Matt is from Indiana, and I believed that he would always be a resident of the Midwest. I didn't blame him. I, too, am from the Midwest and I couldn't wait to move back someday. But, God had other plans for Matt. Not only did God lead Matt to a wonderful wife, Janie, but He also put a call on his life to go outside the camp.

I remember when Matt first started talking about planting a church in Miami, FL. It was exciting to hear about, but I really couldn't believe it. I know Matt himself would admit that transplanting this Indiana kid into such a diverse city seems crazy. But, God was calling Matt and Janie to something VERY important. The city of Miami has a tremendous amount of need and God is preparing Matt and Janie and the rest of the staff of The Pursuit to meet those needs.

I am just so impressed that Matt and Janie listened! It would have been a lot easier to stay inside the camp. When you start to understand the needs, culture, and process of planting a church in Miami you begin to realize that a ton of sacrifice and suffering is involved. In fact, as I write this, some big challenges have come up in reference to the location of The Pursuit when it launches in January. Matt and Janie could have easily decided to stay within their borders, but they didn't. They followed God outside the camp so that others can come to know Jesus Christ.

Please pray for The Pursuit.