In the summer of 2016, Anthem Church was born. At our very first service, I declared the words of Jesus over our young church.

“I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” - Matthew 16:18

What a powerful promise.

Regarding the church, I don’t know if there has ever been a more enduring or important sentence uttered. The fact that Jesus chose to make such an important promise to the church has given Christians the confidence to persevere over thousands of years in the face of great opposition. It has also given leaders the courage necessary to act in faith and start churches in every community, city, and nation for the glory of God.

Anthem was born because two congregations decided to lay down their past in favor of their future.

We truly believed that we would be better together and that the mission of Jesus would burn brighter with us standing as one church than as two.

How right we were. Or should I say, how right He was? Honestly, our story has been all grace and kindness. We have worked hard, prayed hard, and faithfully made much of Jesus.

But the fact that people show up every single week and make decisions to follow Jesus is not something we engineered. It is a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to build His church.

Here at the end of year six, I am celebrating:

• The 694 people who have raised their hand and made a decision to follow Jesus since our first Sunday. Only God could do something like this among us!

• The staff and elders of Anthem Church who serve our people and mission with faith and boldness.

• The countless volunteers who show up and give their best each and every week; especially the volunteers who work with kids and students and prove what it means for us to “give our best to the next generation.”

• All those who have prayed, served, sacrificed, and given in order to make this dream a reality. You are what makes Anthem what it is and why we say “we are anthem.”

I want to say a very personal thanks to a few of the people who made all of this possible:

• Pastor Paul & Linda Taylor who faithfully pastored Liberty Church for thirty years and so graciously passed the baton of their legacy to Christina and me. Their belief in the future of our church and their willingness to allow a new generation of leaders to point the way was one of the most incredible acts of visionary leadership that I have ever seen up close. They have my deepest respect.

• The elder boards from both The Gathering and Liberty Church who believed in the future that God was pointing us toward. This includes a special thanks to Derrel Fortner who has since passed (a great friend), and Paul Zachary and John Dowd who have both served for 6+ years as elders at Anthem Church.

• The staff members of each church who came together (even though we didn’t know one another!) and chose to trust that God would work all things for our good and His good. Special thanks to Doug Demaree, Debbie Giddens, and Rob McNamara who had no history of serving alongside me, but who jumped in and are still serving on our staff today. We have an incredible team at Anthem and you are part of the reason.

• The members of the past and the people who have joined us since, who have breathed life into our vision to make much of Jesus and have invested their life into all that God is doing these days. You are the real heroes and the body of Christ in action all around us.

On days like this, it feels important to look back and remember all that God has done. In fact, remember is one of the most repeated words in the entire Old Testament because it is something we so easily forget to do.

At the same time, I can’t help but peer around the corner of all that is yet to come and believe with confidence that we have an opportunity to see God do even greater things in the future.

What’s the next chapter in the story God is writing among us? Stay tuned.