I want to keep it short and sweet. God is doing something, at PTG we want to join Him. 

I am traveling with a team from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church to Ambler, Alaska. We are asking God to do something big, that only he can do. We want to be a part of catalyzing a church planting movement. Pray God would use us for His Kingdom. This is the beginning of a great partnership.

Pray for Planting the Gospel. So much is happening in our ministry. We have so much to celebrate and so much work to do. Keep praying we would catalyze and plant gospel-centered disciple-making churches. Pray God would fund our ministry. We have seen in the past month new Church partners join in covenant with our ministry. Pray God would continue to allow us the privilege of partnering with 100’s of churches to go on mission together, taking the whole gospel to the whole world. 

Ignite is evolving…

Planting the Gospel’s vision is to take the whole gospel to the whole world.

It sounds simple. But I really believe we can change the world.

For example, Planting the Gospel founder, David Putman, got an email a few months ago from a Haitian Christian leader, Jean Dorlus. He said “David, our churches are full, but our pastors are not able to lead their people, will you come teach us the Jesus way?” David has already gone to Haiti once in the past 12 months and we have a trip planned in the next 8 months to return. You see, there is great opportunity in Haiti to transform lives. We have a relationship with Jean and we will continue to go to Haiti and catalyze gospel movements, train pastors, and plant churches. 

We will also be traveling to Kenya, Dominican Republic, and Turkey in the next 12 months. We have relationships with key leaders in these countries and they will give us access to the right people to start gospel movements that will transform lives and societies. 

We are also at work here, domestically. We have a call to rescue church planting. We are going to partner with the right guys who have a heart for starting gospel movements through church planting. We really believe the answer to all of our problems is the gospel. We want to disciple pastors and church planters in gospel ministry and send them out to do gospel work. 

We will also partner with existing churches that are open to a relationship with us to do gospel ministry in their communities. We believe that when a church is willing to release it’s people to do gospel ministry then we will see community transformation. We will partner with these churches to equip people in gospel ministry where they live, work and play. We want to see an army of gospel disciples unleashed in the market place. I want to encourage you to become an industry leader in your discipline and allow the gospel to work through you to change the culture of an industry. 

We believe the gospel can transform individual’s lives and the communities where they live, work, and play. This is hard work. It is always changing. It takes resources and relationships. Sometimes we will use events, other times it will be relationships, but the core of our work is always the gospel. 

Would you be willing to partner with a gospel movement?

Help make this vision a reality by giving to Planting the Gospel through the Ignite Campaign. We are a religious non-profit organization and our budget comes from generous donors like you.

Thank you.  

There are 5 days left in the Ignite Campaign. We have a long way to go but I still believe we can make it. 

I’m asking you to give today. 

We are a religious not for profit organization. Therefore, our budget comes from the generosity of our donors. It is time to add staff. The Ignite campaign will make it possible to bring on new staff at Planting the Gospel, Matt and Paige Herring. Our work and our vision is larger than our staff. The founder, David Putman, can’t do it alone. Please, help us transform our world through the gospel.

Would you be willing to help us reach our goal of 50K.

Will you give to Ignite today?

“What’s Next” is a three part series designed to give you a clear pathway to partner with us and join the movement. 

This is the 3rd and final blog of the “What’s Next” series: Commit.

Did you realize that everything takes commitment? You won’t do well in school if you are not committed to it. Healthy marriages are ones where husband and wife are committed to one another. It takes serious commitment to your profession to be successful and move up in your career. Think about your true friends; it takes commitment to make it through the years. If you aren’t committed to your friends, at the first argument, problem, or conflict, the friendship is lost. It takes commitment to make it through the difficult things in life. Look around, everything takes commitment.

Will you commit to the ignite campaign? Will you do the hard work with me? Will you become a partner?

I’m asking you to make an investment in our vision. Invest in me, invest in PTG, invest in the kingdom. 

We have a vision to take the whole gospel to the whole world.

1 Gospel

10 years of prayer and preparation

100 Gospel Hubs

1,000 Partnering Churches

10,000 Church Plants

1,000,000s of lives changed 

Invest in our vision. There will be a kingdom return on your investment. We want to see lives transformed. Remember my story about Kevin. We want to see more Kevins. People invested in me; I was planting the gospel. God brought Kevin into my life and by God’s grace He transformed Kevin. That happened because someone, well multiple people, invested in me and in a single church planting mission. I think my investors would agree with me that the return was worth it. 

Now I’m asking you to invest in not a single church planting mission, but in thousands of church plants. In partnering with Ignite, you are making an investment in a gospel-centered kingdom movement that will transform lives. 

How? How are you going to do it? Our plan is very simple; it’s the Jesus way.

1. Go where the soil is fertile. What is that? Remember when Jesus told the parable about the seed and the sower. Only one of those soils was prepared for the seed. When the seed is planted in the right soil it produces a 30, 60, and 100 fold return. 
2. Plant the gospel. As we mobilize church planters, they aren’t tasked with starting a gathering or gathering a group of church goers. They are equipped and sent out to plant the gospel. 
3. Make disciples. As the gospel is planted, God will transform lives through the gospel. Just like He did with Kevin. 
4. Form the church around those disciples. Then, as God continues to transform lives and make disciples, we simply bring them together and form the church around them. It will be a church full of Kevins. 

Our strategy is very simple because we believe the gospel is enough. It is God who saves, God who grows, and God who plants His church. 

The Gospel is enough.

Will you invest in Planting the Gospel. Will you invest in me? Will you invest in the kingdom by mobilizing a church planting movement?

I honestly believe it is worth the investment. The return will be life transformation. As Jesus prayed “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” You are investing in bringing heaven to earth. The return is in the gospel.

Will you commit to giving to the Ignite campaign? Will you become a partner by making an investment in a gospel-centered kingdom movement to plant the gospel here and around the world?

Do it now by giving here

I have been reading the Gospels lately. And this phrase continues to stick out. I keep thinking about it. I keep writing about it.

“I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Jesus said this twice. Twice! (Matthew 9:13 & 12:7) 

Jesus was quoting Hosea 6:6

And you know what - he said it in the same context. He was replying to comments from those who were more righteous, or at least thought they were more righteous, than everyone else. The first time he was accused by these moralists, he was eating and drinking with sinners. The second time these same moralists, the righteous Pharisees, accused Jesus and his disciples for eating on the sabbath. 

I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Jesus isn’t interested in what you sacrificed for the gospel. Have mercy. Love people. What are you doing to love?

Are you proud of what you’re not doing?

Have you been satisfied with giving God all your sacrifices?

Do you think you’re more righteous than all those other people? You don’t do all those bad things; do you stay away from all those sinners?

Do you find yourself saying, God I go without… God I live on so little… God I did this for you… God I’m sacrificing so much…?

Ouch!

That hurts me. I do that. Do you?

God is not interested in what I give up. God wants me to give myself to him. 

God is most interested in His own glory. 

It’s our job to give Him everything. It’s not about sacrificing so much.

Give Him the glory.

“Yes, Lord we walk in the way of your Laws; we wait for you. Your name and renown are the desires of our heart.”

Connecting is just good for your soul. Have you realized that? It is good to connect with people. I was reminded of this fact this past weekend. Paige and I went to visit her grandparents in Memphis. It was so good to spend time with them, to share life, and to love them. It was good for our hearts. It was especially good to be able to share Reid with them. There is something about having four generations together that is inherently good. Connecting is just good for the soul - I lived that this past weekend.

This is part 2 of a three part series. Yesterday I talked about considering a partnership in the Ignite Campaign. There is a tab on the left side of your screen called “whats next”. There you will see the three parts of the process:

1. Consider
2. Connect
3. Commit

Connect - To join together to do life. (my definition)

Over the next two weeks we are going to try and connect with the people in our circles or people who have shown interest in the ignite campaign. It is an important step to have a personal connection as you consider joining Ignite. We want to talk with you on the phone or meet with you in person and share the Ignite Story. We want you to be able to ask questions and connect the ignite website to our personal story. 

If you have been, or are considering joining the Ignite Campaign and becoming a partner, reach out and let us know. We really want to connect with you. This is only going to happen if God does it, and He is going to use people like you to do it. Help us connect with you. If you have a minute, pick up the phone and give us a call. (706) 888-6288

Yes, we do want to talk about Ignite. But, honestly, it’s more than that. We want to hear your story. We want to know what you are doing. We want to be a part of your journey and we want you to be a part of ours. Yes, I want to raise the 50K in 50 days, but, people are so much more important and we honestly desire a relationship with our partners. We want to connect. 

Your Part:

Reach out to us; let us know you are praying for us. Let us know you are considering a partnership in Ignite. Help us reach out to you.

My Part:

Expect a phone call or an email. I want to connect with you and I am going to make that happen over the next two weeks. 

There is a tab on the left side titled, “what’s next?”, in that tab I’m asking you to: 

1. Consider
2. Connect
3. Commit

We are 15 Days in and we have 35 Days to go.

Over the next week I want to focus in on what I mean when I say: consider, connect, and commit. 

Consider - Will you consider being a part of Ignite and joining the movement?

Your Part:

It is so important to pray for Ignite. How are we going to raise 50K? Only God can do it. We are asking God to lead us and lead others to join ignite. Will you pray for us? Will you pray with us and ask God to lead us to reach our goal. This is something we can’t do on our own and we wouldn’t want to. This is something we are asking God to do. Please join us in praying for Ignite.

Also, will you pray and ask God to lead you in considering a partnership in Ignite. We would be so excited to know that you are praying and asking God for guidance on becoming a partner. We want you to really pray to receive wisdom and guidance. We want you to join Ignite and give toward God and His Kingdom movement. He must be at the center of your joining us in Ignite. 

Last, will you continue to discuss becoming a partner with your spouse or friends? Is it a wise decision for you. Start the conversation and see where it leads. Continue to stop by the website, read the stories, and watch the numbers as God continues to bring new partners. 

My Part:

I will educate you through the website, facebook, and twitter. I desire to give you all the information you need to understand the need for the Ignite Campaign. I will continue to share stories, write blogs, and show the need. You can learn everything you need to know on our website. 

I will be available. Please, if you have any questions or just want to connect, please reach out to us. Email us or call us.

To Finish:

• answer this question:

Will you consider joining the Ignite Campaign?