·         How is God blessing the Journey?

1.       Nearly 200 saved in last three years

2.       Baptized around 60

3.       Church has grown to approx. 150 in two services

4.       In July we hired our 2^nd full-time staff member
We have actually hit a plateau this year in attendance because of our limited space

5.       Because of that, our goal in 2008 is to build a new sanctuary that will literally double the size of our current building.

6.       In essence, the building that we are in used to house a dying little church called Beacon Baptist Church. In 2003, Granite State Baptist Church acquired the property and re-launched the church as The Journey. From its launch in July 2003, the Journey has grown from about a dozen people to a church of over 150 people.

·         How important it was to have a church you knew you could lean on

But there has been a huge key to our success as a church.  Some would point to me and say, “Gee, Rob, you must be a pretty good pastor to grow a church like that in New England in just a few years.” And I would say, “Thank you – God has been good to me.” But the story of the Journey does not hinge entirely upon me and my abilities.

You see, I remember the very first day I ever laid eyes on the property of The Journey at 124 Milton Road in Rochester – it was Saturday, September 6, 2003. My family and I came up to New Hampshire to see if perhaps we should come and take the pastoral leadership of this brand new little church plant called “The Journey.” I remember very vividly that Saturday afternoon arriving at the Journey property with Pastor Anthony & Christy, Steve and Dawn, and the rest of the staff.

When we first arrived, Pastor Anthony took time to show me the property. He brought me out back to see the 5 and a half acres of land that the church sits on. And he began to say, “You know, Rob, this place is a great location – it is a main road, it is going to grow, and someday, this land we are standing on will have a brand new sanctuary, and I just need somebody with vision – somebody who will accept the challenge to come up here and work hard, and love on people, and lead people to a new life in Jesus Christ.”  And after Pastor Anthony and the staff gave us the grand tour of Rochester, and Krista and I experienced The Journey for the first time, there was no doubt in my mind that this was where we would be. Two days later, after I saw the vision for the Journey (the vision which is still being carried out to this day), two days later on Monday, September 8, 2003, my wife and I accepted the call to lead this brand new church plant. And it was one of the best days of my life.

Now I would LOVE to tell you that once we accepted the position, and we moved to New Hampshire, that we only ever experienced joy and peace and prosperity and success. But that would not be true. I never thought pastoring would be/could be so difficult. I NEVER thought that planting a church would be as challenging as it was. And quite frankly, I feel I was born for this challenge! I started preaching when I was 8 years old – I was called to preach when I was 11 – and I surrendered my life to pastor in New England when I was 16! So you would think that me moving here with the clear calling of God on my life would be a sure guarantee of successful church planting. And you would be wrong.

I realized within a day of moving here that this challenge – to pastor a church plant in New Hampshire – would be the biggest of my life. You see, Rob Willis alone – even Rob & Krista Willis and the great team we make – heck, even Rob, Krista, Seth and Kayla – both of my kids are gifted in ministry – the four of us together would have a hard time planting a church here alone.

You see, the huge key to our success that I NEVER in my wildest dreams anticipated UNTIL I moved here and began pastoring was the key of having a church be our “momma” church – our mother church. From the first moment that my family and I stepped onto the property of the Journey, Pastor Anthony made it clear that not only would we not fail, but the entire Granite State Baptist Church was with us every step of the way.

Let me clarify by way of demonstration – would somebody sneeze for me? When someone sneezes, what do you say? God bless you, right? Now why do we say that? Courtesy. Manners. But what is the real value of saying “God bless you”? Will it save my life when I sneeze if you say it? What if no one says “God bless you”? Will I not be blessed by God? NO.

You see, “God bless you,” while good manners and expected among friends and it makes you feel good for a second, is actually pretty worthless.  And if I’m being honest this morning, I know TOO MANY new church plants that are started, and the most they get from other churches are “God bless you.”  Forgive me, but I can’t survive on a “God bless you.”  A “God bless you” doesn’t pay the bills, or put food on my family’s table – and for too many new churches, they literally DIE because they get too many “God bless you’s.”

But you know what I pray for you, church? I pray that GOD WILL BLESS YOU AS YOU HAVE BLESSED THE JOURNEY AND CROSSROADS AND THE DIALOGUE! GOD BLESS YOU, GRANITE STATE BAPTIST CHURCH!  BECAUSE you NEVER once looked at the Journey and Rob Willis and simply said, “God bless you!”  MAY GOD BLESS YOU for that!  Because you have blessed the Journey beyond words – you have done it with action.

§         You see, there were MANY times where The Journey couldn’t pay its bills in 2003 and 2004. You stepped in and made sure we were never ONCE late on any payment.

§         There were times when Krista and I were discouraged about lack of progress or some area of defeat, and your Pastor and your church provided encouragement and insight for us.

§         There were times when The Journey needed workers to help us with our music or youth or children, and Granite State helped us by sending people regularly to work alongside us and help us.

Put it this way – Pastor Anthony told me in 2003 – and I quote, “Rob, we did not bring you up here to survive. We brought you up here to thrive.” The ONLY reason that I can stand here today and tell you that the Journey Church is a growing, thriving, effective, God-honoring church where the good news is preached and where people invite Jesus Christ into their lives, get baptized, and grow in their faith – the only reason I can stand here today and say that goes on every week – even right now – is because of the support and vision of Granite State Baptist Church.  This church never has given lip-service about supporting a church plant – it gets behind it, and because of that, today we have four churches that have started and are successfully growing.

·         How important it is to make sacrifices for people you may never know on this side of eternity.

But let’s bring it home for a minute – how many of you were here in 2003 when the Journey was started? How many of you contributed in some way – financially, of your time, your volunteerism – how many of you contributed and felt like you were a part of the Journey’s beginnings? Would you stand? I want to thank you. You gave, and because of you, lives in Rochester have been impacted for eternity – you have changed the eternal destinies of hundreds of people (with hundreds more to come) because of your giving to the Lord towards the Journey. I pray in eternity that you will get the chance to see the lives you have impacted.

But now let’s come back to 2007 – getting ready for 2008 with great plans on the horizon. Many of you weren’t here for the Journey’s beginning, or for the Dialogue’s beginning – and now there is a new campus beginning. You see, we start new churches not to boost egos or to brag about numbers – we start churches because as we do, men and women all over New Hampshire will not have to die and spend an eternity without God in hell. The kingdom of God will continue to expand as we start churches that change destinies and lives. And now YOU – Granite State Baptist Church 2007 – YOU that call GSBC your home now have a chance to get involved where maybe you weren’t before. Or maybe you were involved in other church plants before, and the time has come again. It’s time to take living up again to a “whole nutha level” – here’s one last thought before I give it back over to Pastor Anthony.

One of my spiritual heroes, Jim Elliot, made this statement – “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  For some of you, God is going to speak to your heart about getting involved with planting more churches. Your pastor will challenge you to get involved and you will feel the tug at your heart to give your time, your money, and your strength to see another church get started. Can I tell you – DO IT. If you need to sacrifice to see God’s kingdom expand and see another church start succeeding, DO IT. As you surrender your time, your money, and your strength to see more churches like GSBC and The Journey get started, know that you will gain rewards from God that you can never lose. He will bless you, He will enable you to do more than you think you can, and you will impact people that you might never meet until eternity begins. But you will gain rewards you cannot lose as you give up things in this life – time, money, strength – that you cannot keep. Let me encourage you, take life to the next level.

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