We at CCU thought some of you may be interested in what our Students are thinking….. This Testimonial is regarding our new Church Planting Certificate! The Lord is working in lives as a direct result of their CCU education!
Picture of Payton Jones of New Breed Church Planting who is one of our Professors for our Church Planting Courses…..
I just wanted to let you know how God has been using Peyton Jones and CCU in my life. God has been directing my family into church planting for about 2 years now, and about 10 months ago made that call very clear. For a long time all i knew was that i was called, but had no idea where i was called to or even what i was supposed to do.
The way i found out about CCU and got enrolled was totally a God thing, and it has been amazingly fruitful so far. God has “opened a great and effective door” for my wife and i to minister in some pretty remarkable ways in the apartment complex that we live in. Eventually we will begin holding church services here after we lay some groundwork. My pastor and church fully support what we are doing.
This upcoming Spring Break my family and i will be taking a trip to Utah. We believe this is where God is calling us to eventually plant a church, and want to make sure. God has given me a burden for Mormons, but for all my efforts i have never been able to reach them. I felt like Utah is where God is calling us, but i kept telling God that i can’t do it and He burdened me with 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. I spoke to another church planter who is already in Utah, and he said that recently God has been calling people to Utah. There are several church planters in Utah from all different church planting networks, and they are all working together for one common goal: reach the lost. They are all helping eachother to accomplish this goal.
Before i started at CCU all i knew was that church planting was what God was calling my family to. I go to a fairly large Baptist church in the Bible Belt, but no one has ever really herd of church planting before, so i get a lot of blank looks when i tell people where God is leading me. My pastor supports me because he sees God working in my life, but i don’t think he totally gets me. My church is very missions oriented, and heavily supports missions. But i don’t think that until very recently anyone viewed church planting as missions or important. Because of this i haven’t had anyone who has really been able to give me much direction (except for one family that spent 30 years as missionaries in Columbia) or guidance.
Since i began course at CCU, Peyton has helped me understand what God is doing in my life and what He is calling my family to. The course i took this summer was “Church Planting in the Book of Acts.” I have herd many people talk about how we need to do church exactly like it was in the Book of Acts, like there was exactly one set format for church. I never really new how to respond to this line of thinking. I do think that Acts should give us insight into what we do, but i don’t know that it gives us an exact formula for church. Since taking this course, i believe i have a much better understanding of Acts, how it applies to what we do, and how it should influence our actions.
Aside from course, Peyton has spent countless hours on the phone coaching and mentoring me. God has been using him as a tool to refine me. Much of what God is doing in my life is a direct result of Peyton’s influence. He is probably a bit unorthodox as a teacher, but there is a method to his madness. What he is doing works. I have spent several years in school already (i am working on getting my transcripts), and feel that i have learned more from Peyton than any other teacher i have ever had. He is an asset.
Yours in Christ,
Chris Randall