That’s an incredibly moving video. This is what we get to be a part of. And this, this is what God is doing. And that is what a movement of hope for the city and beyond looks like. Tried so many times, in so many different ways to communicate with words, those realities. When you see those people and you're involved in this place and you know some of their names and their stories, and how God has moved in their life and how you got to be a part of it because you invited or gave, or led, or served, or created culture, or whatever it may be, it’s like a flash for me of like, this is our life. This is our life. What else do you want to do? Where else do you want to go? What else do you want to be a part of? It matters. Welcome. You're like, what's wrong with him? Yeah, this is our life. And that's what a movement of hope for the city and beyond looks like. That's who we are, a movement of hope for the city and beyond, a Jesus-focused, spirit-filled, life-giving church. We are one church that meets in multiple campuses that carries the hope of Jesus to thousands of locations, and I love where we're going. I love what we're doing. And I love how it's going in us. And today is a really big deal in the life of our church because today is the one-year marker point of Missional Move, Create the Future.

One year ago, we decided to start Missional Move, Create the Future. You say, what's that? A missional move is when you take a next step so that somebody else can take theirs. A missional move is when you move missionally for the sole purpose so that someone else might experience the hope of the kingdom. And we set out on this journey of faith, believing that God was in the midst of it. And we wanted to go create a future that didn't exist with him because that's who we are as a people. We are creators. We're builders. We're advancers. We're pioneers. We give, we serve, we bless, we sacrifice. We do all of those things. Why? Because that's who Jesus is and that's what Jesus does. We're people of transformation. We wanna be transformed, but then we wanna live our lives partnering with the transforming work of God and see other things be transformed into his image and to his likeness. And we were created to create the future with God. And so in Jesus’ name, that's what we do. That's who we are. That's what we're going after. That's the kind of thing that you get to be a part of. You see, if you go to the first line in scripture, the very first line in scripture says, in the beginning, God created. First thing God tells us about himself is that he is a creator, that everything that exists is there because he decided to create it. Now, the first thing you tell somebody about yourself is not necessarily the most important thing about you, but it's the most important thing about you that you want them to know. And so, when God tells us he's a creator, he wants us to understand that everything that exists came from his heart. And if we know that God is good and God is love, then creativity is an act of love. To love is to create. And God created a future that didn't exist not because he had to, not because somebody made him, not because there was a mandate or a duty, no, because he wanted to create a future that didn't exist for you. And we watch as this pattern develops in Genesis, it just keeps saying over and over again, and God said, let there be, and it was so, and it was good. Let there be, and it was so, and it was good. Let there be, and it was so, and it was, and he created everything: the sun, the moon, the stars, the plants, the animals. And then we watch as he said, let us make man in our image. And God comes down, and he scrapes the dust of the earth together, and he forms Adam's body, and he breathes life into him. And when Adam opens up his eyes, the first thing he sees is the face of love.

Did you ever just realize that the first thing Adam ever experienced, ever felt, the first reality he was ever brought into was that of being fully known, fully loved, with no fear of rejection? He started loved. And then God said to him, “Adam, let's go create this future together. Adam, what's in your heart? What are you dreaming about? What inspires you? What are you imagining? What do you want there to be? Let's go create the future together.” And he takes him, and he puts him in a garden. He gives him all these resources, which is fascinating to me, that when God made Adam, he made him as a man, and he put him in a garden. He didn't make him as a baby, and he didn't put him in a house. Why? Because it was a picture of maturity. That as a man, you're gonna have a bunch of resources and your job is to dream with me to create a future that doesn't exist. You're in a garden, not in a house, not in a neighborhood, not in a city, not in a nation. Why? Because those things hadn't been created yet. They were supposed to be for Adam to decide that which was going to be created with God, what kind of future was going to exist? That's why the first thing in scripture, God blessed them, that God says to humanity and said to them, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it using all its vast resources in the service of God and man. In other words, hey Adam, I've put you in a garden with a bunch of resources. Use these resources to generate resources and use those resources to create a future that doesn't exist for the good of others and the glory of God. You wanna know why you exist? This is why you exist. You wanna know your life purpose? It's not to make money, it's not to get that thing, it's not to have comfort. You were created and blessed by God to create a future that doesn't exist for the good of others and the glory of God. That's why you're alive. That's why you're alive. And the day you take your last breath is the day that this commission now transfers into the life to come, where we will still rule and reign with him. You're blessed, supernaturally empowered to create that which does not exist. And that's why God then brings all the animals in front of Adam, and he gets to name them. Why? Because they're creating the future together. And we see is God makes three types of things. He makes creation, He makes creatures, and He makes creators. He makes creation: the sun, the moon, the stars, the rocks, the sky, the earth, the water. He makes creatures: the birds, the animals, the fish, the narwhals, the leopards, the zebras, the eagles, the salmon. Then he makes creators, man and woman made in his image and his likeness. And out of all those three things, He only gave language to man. He didn't give language to the rocks, and he didn't give language to the narwhals. No, He gave language to man who is made in His image and His likeness. Why? Because everything God created was created through language. Let there be, and it was so. This is why John 1 tells us in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And everything that has been made was created by Him and for Him and through Him. Nothing that has been made was made without Him. The Word created all things, and then God made us in His image and His likeness and gave us the Word. Gave us language, the ability to prophesy, declare, decree, command, communicate ideas and images to create a future that does not exist. Your tongue is so powerful that you have the ability to say, let there be and it be so. And you have the ability to say, let there not be, and it won't be so in Jesus' name. And we watch as for six days, God creates all things, and on the seventh day He rests. And do you realize, He doesn't create another single thing until the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, where He makes us a new creation. And He now won't create another thing until the return of Jesus, when he makes the new heavens and the new earth. For six days, He created, and on the seventh day He rested. Why? Because it was our turn to start to create. He said, “I've created all the resources, and you, now you go create the future that you wanna see.” The problem is is we rebelled against God. We lost our ability to create a future that was for the good of others and the glory of God. So Jesus came, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. He made us a new creation. He created something that had never existed before. Man now included in Christ. And he recommissioned us by saying, therefore go make disciples of all nations. That's literally Genesis 1:28 again. You're empowered to create the future, and he won't create anything again until He returns and creates the new heavens and the new earth. And if you can catch the gravity of this, we are told that one day we will stand before God, and all of our lives’ work will face the fire of judgment. And it will go through that fire, and whatever burns up, the wood, straw, hay, stubble, all the things you did in the flesh and for yourself, will be burnt up. But all the things we did with God and for God and through God will be gold, silver, and precious stones. And we are told that the garden city, the final reality, the streets are made of gold and the walls are filled with precious stones. It's almost like God will take the things we create become the resources that he will use to create the eternal garden city that we will dwell with him forever. You were created to create, not consume. And when you stop creating, you start consuming. When you start consuming, you start dying. Adam and Eve were supposed to create a future that didn't exist. Instead, they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When they should have just said, buddy, we got some important things to do. We ain't got time to argue with a snake. I'm carrying on a great project. What project is that? I'm creating the future that doesn't exist for the good of others and the glory of God. I can't be bothered with you. Do you know how much sin we'd all be freed from in our life if we were just focused on creating the future for others? Because we'd be so busy creating, we'd have no interest in consuming. And so, we decided, let's go after this. Let's do this. Let's do five things in the next five years. Let's take God at his word, create a future that doesn't exist as if we're actually blessed, supernaturally empowered to do that which has not been done before.

So, we said we wanna do five things in five years. This is massive. We said first thing is a prayer center. We're gonna create a prayer center, sacred space devoted to the Lord, a place where, morning, noon, and night, people from all over the region can come and just meet with God. A place that's sacred, a place where there's an open heaven, a place where there's experiences and encounters with the presence of God, a place where a single mom who is wore out by life can just come and meet with God, a place where a college student who needs a word from the Lord can just show up and hear from him, a place where a businessman who has to make a very important decision can go in and hear from God, a place where our intercessors who pray for you every single day can just go and pray and see God on behalf of your family, a prayer center. Second thing is we said we wanted to create a training center. We wanted to start VC College, an actual college where our students can earn a two or four-year fully accredited degree with our partner Southeastern University in a variety of different fields. We wanna raise up a generation of students who really know who they are, who God is, what they were created to do, and act as if it were so, and actually walk out a life of faith in our five distinctives, our academic excellence, spiritual formation, relational skills, leadership development, and missional living. Third thing is we wanted to start an Argyle campus for the western part of the metroplex, a Jesus-focused, spirit-filled, life-giving, harbor of hope training center for life, family on mission. Fourth thing is the university campus. We put a campus right at the heart of UNT, one of the largest universities in Texas, that is full of lost, lonely, and broken people who need the hope of Jesus. And then the fifth thing was our seven-continent strategy. We said we wanted to find one person of peace, a leader of a movement of hope, a great person doing a great thing on all seven continents, and create a strategic partnership with them where, over the decades to come, wave after wave of partnership and resources could produce a profound return for the kingdom of God. And we started by simply saying, “Can you see it? And one year ago, if we're honest, most of you couldn't see it. That's faith, though, isn't it? Faith is being sure of what I hope for, certain of what I do not see, but I move forward anyway. And so, we started to move forward. And so here we are one year later.

And so here, in one year, ready? None of that existed. It was an idea in our imagination and a dream in our hearts. None of it existed. And so, here's where we are. Prayer center. Here's where the prayer center is going to be. It's going to be on the ponds at the Flower Mound Campus. That's the location. We had no idea where it was gonna go. There it is. Here's what the floor plan looks like. There will be an atrium. There will be personal prayer rooms. There will be larger rooms where you can gather together, a patio where you can pray for the city, a nice walk lap for prayer inside the building where you can go around, a gathering room that can seat about 300 people where we can come and worship and pray and seek God together. And here's what it looks like. This is what it looks like from the ponds. You can see the open heaven ring because we believe this will be a place where there is an open heaven where people meet with and hear from God in profound ways. You can see the deck on this side where one of the busiest roads in the area. People will be able to pray for the city as people are going by. Here it is, kind of from 2499 on the road. And so, you ready for this, 60 days we're starting construction. One year, none of that existed in about 60 days. Okay, training center. We had no idea what that was gonna be, where we were gonna do it, what it was gonna look like. We had the opportunity to acquire a 40,000 square foot building about one mile down the road from our Flower Mound campus. This is now VC College. And here is the bottom floor, floor plan. You can see there's a library, lecture hall, a cafe, learning labs, a chapel. There's activity space. Upstairs are all the classrooms. And so, here's a couple of renderings for you. Here's what it will look like because this is a legit, real thing that we're actually doing together. Here is what the front of the face of it will look like. So, keep that in mind when you see this because that's what it's gonna be. It is currently under construction. Here's some very exciting photos. You're like, wow. But yes, it is in progress. It is moving. They are doing great things. Lots of stuff is happening. So, you're ready for this one? The hope is, is that the entire thing inside is done for the start of the ‘26 school year. That's like what, five, six months? And then the hope is is the exterior is done by the end of 2026. You realize one year ago, when I stood up here and told you we were gonna do that, we didn't even have that building. We didn't even know where it was gonna be. That's creating something that didn't exist. Argyle Campus, okay, here's our property, 33 acres on the corner of 407 and 35. If you're ever out by that way, we're right by the Taco Bell. I mean, I got nothing on that one for you. Here's the floor plan. It'll be much like most of our campuses, kids’ space, worship center, atrium. There's a very cool patio because there is a beautiful view over a creek and all kinds of things. And so, here's a couple renderings that I've showed you. This is what it'll look like. Again, the open heaven ring, we just believe, speaks so much for this time in the season that we're in, for the people that live out there and that way. And so, for you people that live out there and that way, you ready? We just got approval from planning and zoning in the town of Argyle, and we just got approval from the Argyle Town Council. And so, we will be able to break ground in 2026. So, it's no more an idea. It's no more imagination. Over the next few months, here we go. So, if you live out that way, and it's a lot, don't grow weary now because your home is about to start turning dirt. And we can't wait to see you move into it and serve the city in Jesus's name. That is a profound announcement to be able to say that we have approval, our plans are in final construction dock phase, and then we will move on. Dirt will turn, building will be built, and we will go reach people in Jesus' name. The fourth thing is the university campus. Here's our property, two acres right across from the UNT Welcome Center. We have finalized our plans. Here's what the floor plan will look like, worship center, some study rooms, next step room, an awesome atrium, a coffee shop to be able to engage students throughout the week, kind of an outdoor space on the back. And so, here is our renderings that have just gotten complete. That's kind of what it's gonna look like from that side. Here's it from the other side. Again, open heaven ring, hoping to draw students in as they walk by. And here is the night version of that. So imagine, imagine being this drag racer right here. You're lost, you're lonely, you're broken. You're peeling out late at night, looking for the wrong kinds of things. And you drive by, and you see that, and something speaks to your heart. Like, there's something in there, and I need to go see it. And I need to go be a part of it because there is supernatural life. They're not looking for church, they're looking for life. They're not looking for religion, they're looking for Jesus. That's what we're gonna offer them in that space. So, our plans are now being finalized, and when they're done, we will submit them to the city for approval, and we will keep moving forward.

And then, we have our seven-continent strategy. And I got to tell you, in the fall, we were so excited because we have three of our seven partners. We're in North America, surprise. [Asia Strategic Partner], our longtime partner in India, is Asia. And we got to share with you that Pastor Kenneth, our new partner in Africa from the amazing country of Uganda, became our strategic partner in Africa, who is an amazing man. We are so grateful for him. And I have a great surprise for you today because he just happened to be in town. So, Pastor Kenneth, come on up. I want you to meet all these amazing people. So, this is Pastor Kenneth. He's an amazing man. He's our strategic partner in Africa from Uganda. They do amazing work. They train pastors. They raise up hope carriers. They do so many of the same things we do. We have such divine spirit, kindred hearts together in what we're doing. He is more of a gift to us than we are to him. You don't know this yet, but you'll figure it out along the way. And so, I just told him, I said, “Man, we just wanna, I just wanna introduce you and let you meet everybody.” And everybody, this is Kenneth. Kenneth, this is everybody.

Pastor Kenneth:

Thank you, thank you. Thank you. I think you are more a blessing to us than a blessing to you. Yeah, but it's a blessing, big, big blessing to have this kingdom relationship with Valley Creek Church. We consider ourselves blessed, but also we consider, we believe that God has something big he's preparing in future between us and Valley Creek Church. We are no longer just, no, friends who meet on the mission. We are partners in the kingdom work that is going on. We praise God for that. One quick thing is, Eden Mission, we serve with around slightly over 2000 churches in Africa, in six countries, and by average, each church would have 800 to 1000 people. So, the movement that Pastor John is talking about, that we are part of in Africa, is for at least, by average, slightly over two million people that are served through those churches. So that's, that's a movement just on the African leg of the bigger movement that you are doing. And if I was to say one thing is to ask, to request you to ask your neighbor if they are part of this movement. Are you part of this movement, or you are a spectator of the movement? Praise the Lord. It's one thing to come and sit in this church, and we talk about what is happening, but I was sitting there and said, is everybody sitting here and those watching us part of the movement, or they are spectators of the movement? So I want to encourage you to be part of the movement. Here in your Jerusalem, and to the ends of the earth in Africa and the other continents where God is taking us, where God is taking us. I'm now part of the movement, also. God bless you so much.

Pastor John Stickl:

Love it, love it. So, he said it better than me, so just listen to that part. So, here's what's very cool: we got to meet with him over the last few days as our team, and we have decided that we are going to be able to help him strategically build their headquarters in Uganda, their training center. We are going to, as part of our Create the Future initiative, resource and fund their home base, their headquarters for everything God has in store. So, wherever you are, whatever campus, will you just lift your hand? Just real quick prayer, so just Jesus, thank you so much for Kenneth and for his beautiful family and for this amazing movement of hope that he leads. We pray blessing, we pray favor, we pray protection. I pray that all the dreams that has been put in his heart would come to pass. I pray that all the resources that he needs to be fruitful and multiply, to fill Africa and subdue all things, to fill that space with the knowledge of the glory of the goodness of God may come to pass. We thank You for this partnership. We bless him. We are so excited for the days to come. We can't wait to see this headquarters be built and all of the ministry that will be done out of it in Jesus' name. So, we embrace him as part of our family because he is, and we are now a part of his family. In Jesus's name we pray, Amen, Amen. Come on. You didn't see that one coming, did you? I promise you, I don't over-promise and under-deliver in the way of communication by saying, get here, be here, don't miss it. Kenneth's here, you can't miss today.

Okay, so here's the question. Are you starting to see it? One year, one year. Come on, everything I just told you, that should be like a decade worth. That's one year, 365 days. And it doesn't just happen; we had to move forward. And so if you remember a year ago, here's what I just said, “The only way this happens is if we as a church, if we choose to not be spectators but be participants in the movement of hope, and we just say, choose to commit to Valley Creek as your church.” Why? Because you can't create a future you're not committed to. It's impossible to create something you're not committed to. You know why God could create the heavens and the earth, and the plants and the animals, and Adam and Eve, why? Because he was committed to it regardless of what happened. That's a fascinating thought. When Adam and Eve sinned, the reason some of us will be like, why didn't he just start over? Because he was already committed to that which he created. That's why he didn't start over. Because he knew what he was gonna do and he was gonna send Jesus, which was gonna cost him even more than creating it, to create a new creation. You can't create that which you're not committed to. This is why cohabitating never works. In a male-female relationship, you have to, why? Because you can't create a future you're not committed to. That's why you have to actually get married, why? Because we're now officially committed to each other, so now we can actually create a future together. Until we are, we're not creating anything. We're consuming each other and the world around us. So, we have to, so some of you, it was a thing. Like, put your roots in, say I'm here. I'm no longer, nomads don't create. They just move around. I gotta actually be somewhere.

The second thing was we said give a sacrificial financial gift over the next two years, above and beyond your current tithes and offerings. It takes us five years to do all these projects, but we just said for two years, will we all give to front load it with all the resources that are required so we can do this? We said it's $50 million to do all of those projects. We had saved up $25 million through generous giving and good stewardship. We're a debt-free church. We own all of our buildings. And so we said it's $25 million to be able to go and do all of this. So, we asked everybody to make a commitment to two years above and beyond what you currently were giving, funds the present. What you gave up beyond that creates the future. And thousands of families and individuals committed $23 million, and thus far, $13 million has already been given. So, one year in, $13 million has been given to every person that has made a commitment and has given, thank you. Oh, like I hope you can see it. I hope you can see what you're doing, man. I hope you can see how it changes. I hope you can see how you're bringing your resources and it's releasing a future that didn't currently exist in Jesus' name. And the third thing is just take one tangible next step of faith each year over the next five years, so we become the kind of people that can steward the future we're creating. This is where the marker boards came from. So why, it's just a simple way to say, like, have you put a marker board, this last year, have you been here, have you put one marker in? If not, year one's already over. So quickly, you can still do, come on. That's not the point. The point is to be moving forward with God, to become the kind of person that I ultimately want to be anyway, and this missional move keeps me moving on that way. And so, here's just an easy way of seeing it from tally marks: 25 million, we have 13, that's already given. Pastor Kenneth is our first strategic partner that we needed; we're still praying for the other four. We need 25 new staff, we've been able to hire 10 in this last year for the future that we're creating. We need 250 new leaders. That's the one that's definitely lagging behind. So, every time somebody joins a serve team, somebody leads; it moves us forward because we have to take responsibility for that which we're creating. A 100 new Valley Creek College students, we've got 40. There, you can see we've got a bunch more coming, and then 2000 people reached, we had over 400 baptisms last year. That's how we're quantifying that one, and we wanna keep seeing that moving forward as we're reaching people.

And so, here's just what I want you to see. This is what David says when they're building the temple. They're creating a future that God didn't tell them to build. They're creating a future that was in their heart. And they shared it with God, and God said, what you want is good, let's do this together. So, David says, “Who am I, and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this?” Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. David says, “Who are we that we have the privilege to create the future with God?” Like, who am I that I get to take my life's resources and use them to create sacred spaces for the good of others and the glory of God, where people will experience an open heaven and an encounter with Jesus himself? Who are you that you got picked for that? I think sometimes in these moments, we're like looking for the vision speech, like win me over. It's a total flip. Who are you that God asked you to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it? Like, what makes you so special? What makes you so special is that you are made in his image and his likeness, and he formed you in your mother's womb, and he made you exactly as he wanted you to be, and he's made you a new creation in Christ, and he has decided that you have everything you need for life and godliness to do the good works which he's prepared in advance for you to do, and somehow he will take all the work you do in this life and he will purify it and then use that as his resources to create the eternal dwelling where we will live with him forever. Do you know we have people that are complete strangers to us and people who aren't even walking with Jesus that are hearing about what we're doing and are coming and making significant financial gifts to this, because why? Because in their heart, they know they were created to create the future with God, because it's in our DNA, and even though they're not walking with God, there's something that speaks to them. So, they're hearing these stories, and they're coming, and they're finding, and they're not just, I mean, like, significant things to be like, I want in on that. So, if you're a Valley Creeker, don't miss out. If God is stirring up the world, if the world wants to be in on it, how much more so should the people of God say, I gotta be a part somehow? I mean, we've been talking about this, this fueling the fire thing, “The fire on the altar must be kept burning, it must not go out. Every morning, the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering; the fire must be kept burning, it must not go out.” For the last few months, we've been talking about that, but we've been thinking about it in our own lives. I want you to think about it bigger. The fire must not go out here. So how does the fire not go out here? By all of us bringing our firewood and putting it on the altar. Do you realize in context, the priests, they didn't have fields, and they didn't have businesses, and they didn't have enterprise, and they didn't have flocks and herds. No, they worked the temple. So, the people brought their sacrifices, their animals, their wood, their offerings, and presented them so they could be put on the altar so the fire of God would be burning for the people. So the question is, is are you putting a log on our fire? Are you bringing the firewood that's needed so we can keep the fire burning? And when you bring firewood to God, you don't pick up the little sticks of dead, discarded stuff that no one wants, no. What do you actually have to do? You have to look at your garden. And you have to say this is the garden that God has given to me, and here's a really beautiful tree, and it's meaningful to me, but how do I get firewood? So, for some of you, that's cutting down a retirement account, a savings account, tuition, the new car, the hobby, the collection, subscriptions, I don't know. But the question is, is are you willing to use resources in your garden that God gave you for the good of others and the glory of God to come and bring them to fuel the fire of that which he's doing in the here and now? He doesn't want our discarded leftover sticks of junk that we didn't want anyway.

And this is the whole point, the whole process of evaluating the tree, thinking about it, am I actually gonna use it? Well, I could use it for these 19 other things, I know. That's the journey, that's the journey. It's not the destination. It’s the process of actually deciding Jesus gave me this, and he's put it in my heart to give it to him, so I'm actually gonna do it. This is why David says, I refused, 'I will not sacrifice to the Lord My God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” He says, I refuse to give God something that costs me nothing. And if I can just go ahead and say it to you like this, here's why this is so challenging when you hit missional move points. Do you realize what's happening? What happens is when there's a missional move invitation, what gets challenged is the God of time, the God of money, and the God of comfort. And it's like most of us have the God of money, the God of time, and the God of comfort, some little idol in our temple. And whether we realize it, we worship it as a part, we're like, no, it's not the main, I know, but there's still this little idol there. And these are the moments where God's saying, I want that one out. And so, will you take it and will you bring it to the fire and will you lay it on the altar so that it can burn? And it's very challenging for you to face, but also make no mistake about it, there is a real power and principality hanging behind that idol that will do everything it can to make sure you don't get it out of the temple that belongs to God. Not a temple built with human hands, the temple of the heart resurrected by Jesus himself. Does this make sense to you? Get the idols out. I'm just telling you, get the idols out. Forget doing everything for anybody; get the idol out. I'm gonna be a part, why? Because I refuse to have this God of time control my life. I refuse to have money control my life. I refuse to have self and comfort control my life. I'm getting it out, I'm getting it out. The fire's hot right now, and if I throw it in, it'll burn. And I might throw it in and then be like, “Can I get it back? Ah, but once it landed, it's like, I can't, yep, nope, good, okay, yay. You're created to create, not consume.

Think about this, I told you this a year ago, and I just think it's such a good illustration. The average person spends $500 a year on Apple products, okay, Apple, the phone. The average person $500 a year. You're like, no, I don't do that. I bought a phone two years ago. And I know, okay, but if you average it out, the $1500 phone divided by three, you probably get one every three, okay, $500 a year. If 15 years ago, instead of spending $500 a year, you would have invested into Apple, not as a consumer, but as a creator, an investor, today that investment would be worth $200,000. It's the difference between consuming and creating, okay. Amazon, the average person spends $1200 a year on Amazon products. Now, if 15 years ago, you would have taken those $1200, and instead of spending them as a consumer, you would have invested them as a creator, as an investor into Amazon 15 years ago, today that investment would be worth $650,000. It might be better than the toilet paper and the batteries. Okay, one more, Tesla. If 15 years ago, a Tesla costs $100,000 to buy, if you bought that Tesla and you consumed it today, it's probably worth $7. But if you took that $100,000 and invested it as a creator, an investor, into Tesla at that time, today that investment would be worth $27 million. You could have funded the entire missional move. It's a little bit of a different way of thinking about it. What's that investment worth? That's a lot. So, here's the question. What's all this worth? What's it worth? If you're a part of the online campus, you realize a couple years ago, you didn't exist. Other people gave to create the future that you now enjoy. What's it worth to you? Gainesville, you're about five years old. Five years ago, you didn't exist. Someone else decided to not consume but to create. What's it worth to you? Not the building, just the life of Valley Creek, Gainesville. What's it worth? Louisville, you're about nine years old. Nine years old, you didn't exist. Other people decided to not consume, take trees from their garden, bring them to the altar of God, and offer them as a sacrifice. And so, here's my question, what is the Louisville campus worth to you? Denton, you're 13 years old. 13 years ago, you didn't exist. Other people decided to create a future that didn't exist and, by faith, step out into the unknown. What's that all worth to you? Hey, Flower Mound, you're about 30 years old, 30 years old, none of this existed, but other people created a future by using what they had for the good of others and the glory of God. What's all this worth? So, what's KLE worth? What's SLE worth? What's VC College worth? What's your circle worth? What's your serve team worth? What are the messages worth? What is the worship worth? What's the experience and the encounter with God worth? What's it worth? What's it worth? There's no number. The point is, is that someone else looked at their garden and realized God has given me all of this, not to sit here and consume it and sit on my rocking chair and just enjoy the fruit for myself. No, I'm actually been given this to do something great with it. So what future am I creating for the good of others and the glory of God? I think sometimes some of us, oh, we create, we just create for ourselves. Is there anything that you're dreaming about, giving towards, moving towards, a part of, that's making a future for someone else to step into? Because just so you're clear, everything in your life started with a future that someone else created for you. You didn't birth yourself. We can go all the way to that one. So, someone else created a future for you. And somehow God knit you together in your mother's womb. Whether that was a joyful story or a painful story of how that came to be, God still saw you and made you and said, “This one is mine. And they carry my identity and my image and my likeness. And I have designed them in such a way that I will give them a beautiful garden to tend. And they will be anointed and empowered and supernaturally favored, blessed to create a future for others that will glorify me.

And so, here's the ask: choose to commit to this as your church. Some of you, a year ago, you did that. Some of you, a year ago, you weren't ready to do that. Some of you have joined us in the last year. Why not now? Why not put in roots? Why not go deep? Why not say God has placed me here for such a time as this, and I need this in my life? And then, would you give a sacrificial gift over the next year? Because the first year is already gone. So, one year, some of you. Some of you have made your commitments. You're well on your way. I'm so grateful for you. Some of you maybe you made a commitment, and you haven't been tracking with it. Let me encourage you, bring it back out. Remind yourself, we're one year into this two-year journey that God has invited me towards, and I wanna take my resources and use them for him. And then some of us, you were here, and you weren't ready to do that then. And some of you have joined us along the way. Don't let the world give more to the future of God than you do. And you say, I don't have it. Listen, some of you can do $10. Some of you can do $100. Some of you can do $1000. Some of you can do $100. Some of you can do a million. Some of you can do $10 million. I'm not praying for 25 million. I'm praying for the full $50 million because then that sets us up with resources to keep creating the future. It's not like a finish line we're getting towards. And it's all here. It's all here. Everything we need it's right here. The question is, is will I? And I would hope for some of you, maybe a year ago, you sat here skeptical, like, yeah, we'll see. I don't know what else to do. I don't know how else to show you. And we can go as fast as we have the finances and the leaders. We will not go into debt, and we can't launch things that don't have leaders. Everything, and those two things are, here’s what, those two things are totally in your control. They're actually not in my control. The finances and the leaders are not in my control. I can make sure we're led well. I can make sure we're aligned. I can make sure we're clear. I can make sure we're doing all the things that we're, our team can do all. I can't release the resources from your garden, and I can't release the time of your life to lead somebody else. And then, will you take one next step of faith each year over the next four years, because one's already gone, to become the kind of person that you ultimately want to be in the end, anyway, that we say we're trying to become?

And so, here's the last verse for you. For our “God is a consuming fire and in the beginning God created.” So, if you can catch this, long before God created anything, He was a consuming fire. What does that mean? That means fire creates. He didn't create fire; He was fire. And out of that fire, He created. So, the consuming fire created you to be consumed by fire and create the future for others. The consuming fire did not create you to be consumed by the world and live in the past. So, if there is a fire within you, you can't help but create. You can't help but release. You can't help but jump. You can't help but dance. You can't help but release, what? Energy, life, spirit, the spirit of God inside of you. I'm consumed by fire, and I've been created to create a future that does not exist. So, I invite every person in this church, be a part of this. Don't sit on the sidelines, don't just watch. Don't be like, I'm looking forward to the day it's done. Come on, we're creating something together that God will use as his resources to build the garden city, which you will dwell in forever, and you will be able to walk by one day and be like, " That is the stone that I helped create. And it is in the wall of the eternal dwelling place of God and man, that is the golden brick that my life made.” That's how much God believes in you. That's how much God has redeemed you. That's how much God has empowered you. Let's live as if it's real and create something together that just one year ago was a dream and an idea. It is a lot more than a dream and idea today. What will it be a year from now? Two, three, four, five. So, here's what I wanna invite you to do: will you just stand up with me? Whatever campus you're at, will you just stand up? Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna close in prayer, but we're gonna do it a little different.

Jesus tells us that when we pray, we don't have to babble like pagans and use a lot of words. And that if two or three of his people agree on anything on earth, it will be done for them. So, I'm gonna pray a very simple prayer for each of our things, and I'm just gonna invite you to agree if you wanna agree. So maybe lift up your hands. So, Jesus, we just say let there be the prayer center in Jesus's name, a sacred place with an open heaven where people experience you morning, noon, and night. If you agree, say, I agree.

I agree.

Jesus, we say let there be the training center, VC College in Jesus' name, a place where young adults are raised up to know who they are, who you are, and what they were created to do, and act as if it were so, whole person development in the name of Jesus. If you agree, say, I agree.

I agree.

Jesus, we say let there be the Argyle Campus, a Jesus-focused, spirit-filled, life-giving, harbor of hope, training center for life, family on mission that serves the western part of the metroplex. If you agree, say, I agree.

I agree.

Jesus, we say let there be a university campus for lost, lonely, and broken college students and young adults. May that place be a place of an open heaven that literally calls to them when they walk by, that they might encounter and experience the presence of God that takes them from death to life. If you agree, say, I agree.

I agree.

And Jesus, we pray for our seven-continent strategy. Let there be amazing people like Pastor Kenneth and [Asia Strategic Partner] in all the continents. May we find them, connect with them, and resource them, and that your kingdom would come and your will would be done all around the globe. If you agree, say, I agree.

I agree.

One more, Jesus, we say let there be a people called Valley Creek Church whose hearts are on fire for you, that use their life and their resources for the good of others and the glory of God, that have decided to create the future regardless of what it costs them. If you agree, say, I agree.

I agree.

Jesus, thank You for what You're doing. Thank You for this journey. Thank You for this movement of hope that we get to be a part of. In Your name, we pray, Amen.