All right. Hey, everybody, Welcome to Valley Creek. We are so glad you are here with us today. Whatever campus you're at, Denton, Flower Mound, Gainesville, Lewisville, online, somewhere in the world, let's just welcome each other together for a moment. We're so glad you're here with us today. And today is a great day. See, we are one church that meets in multiple campuses that carries the hope of Jesus to thousands of locations. We are a movement of hope for the city and beyond. A movement is simply a story being written by thousands of people all at the same time. We are a people who are creating the future with God. We were created to create. Love creates. Creativity is an act of love and the more we become people of love, the more we want to create things with God. We are not consumers. We are not entertainers. We are not people of the world. We have a divine nature. We've been made new creations in Christ. And we've been empowered and commissioned by God to create a future that does not currently exist. And we are literally creating the future that will become the present that we will eventually live in. Five years from now the future will become the present. The future we are creating today will become the present you live in tomorrow. And so, the question is, are you creating the kind of future that you will eventually want to live in? Are we creating the kind of future that others will want to live in? And this is a big question that we've been wrestling through much of this year.

You see, earlier this year we started a new chapter, a new era, a new season of our church. Missional Move: Create the Future. We felt called from God to move on into this new season, into this new reality and go create a future that does not currently exist with Him. So, we spent a bunch of time talking about the theology of creating the future. Dreaming with God, what all that looks like, what we're empowered to do. And we set off on the largest thing that we have ever pursued as a church, Missional Move: Create the Future. We feel like God's invited us to do five things in five years, and today I want to give you an update on all of it. And so, if you're new, you're about to catch up on where we've been and where we're going. And if you're here, you're about to see the future start to become the present. And so, what I want to do is instead of just me recapping it and telling you what we said, I want to take you back to the first time we spoke this into the atmosphere. I want to take you back to the beginning of our Create the Future series in February. This was just in February. And I want you to hear the first time we spoke it into the atmosphere. The rawness of it, the reality of it. The extent of the revelation we had on it. It's about 15 minutes. It's going to walk you through all of what we said originally in February. And then, I'm going to come right back and give you a full update on all of it. So, open up your ears. Open up your heart. We're creating a future that does not exist. Check this out.

Well, we believe it's time to start Missional Move: Create the Future. You say, "What's a missional move?" I'm glad you asked. A missional move is when we take a next step for the sole purpose so that somebody else can take a next step on their journey. And we believe that God is inviting us to create five things over the next five years. Missional Move: Create the Future. Five things in five years. Five, remember is the number of grace in the Bible. God's grace was on your life over these last 5 years. 2025, 5 times 5, grace upon grace as we go into the next five. There is grace upon grace to go with God and create that which does not exist. And I'm believing the Lord is going to restore the years the locusts have taken and that in our church and in your life, He's going to do more in these next five years than you could have or we could have done on our own in the last 10. So, Missional Move: Create the Future. Are you ready? First thing is this, five things in the next five years. First thing is this. We want to create a Prayer Center. We want to create a Prayer Center that is a sacred space devoted to the Lord. A place that is a freestanding building most likely on the Flower Mound property in the green square that's in the parking lot. But this will be a freestanding building that's a sacred space that's designed for one purpose and one purpose only. For people to come and meet with God. It will be a sacred space where people can pray, where they can worship. Where they can sit in His presence. Where they can intercede, where they can prophesy. A place of an open heaven. A place designed for signs and wonders and dreams and visions. A place where you know that God is in that place. And so, the moment you show up, your faith is already high because it's an open heaven and you know God is there. And the moment I say a Prayer Center we all have these weird views in our mind of what that looks like. It's not a shed. It's not a little room. It's not in the junk that we don't care about. This is a freestanding beautiful building. The center will be about 200- to 300-seat worship center in size. It will have little rooms within it on the outside where people can come in small groups or by themselves to pray and seek God. It is not a place. It is not a wedding chapel. It's not for funerals. It is not for teaching. It is not for food. It is not for student events or adult events. It is for one purpose and one purpose only. A sacred space that belongs to God because we are people of presence. And this is the next iteration of being a worshiping church. And if you have no concept of this, see it like this. It's a place that literally when you pull up, you know God is there. So, it's a college student before he goes back to college says to his mom, "Mom, I got to go meet with God and get a word from Him before I go back to school." It's a place that a single mom in the middle of the day when she's had enough of all of it, that she can just come and meet with God and cry and be comforted in His presence. It's a place where a business man who needs to make a major decision needs some wisdom from God and he says, "I'm going to the Prayer Center because I need a word from God on what to do next." It's the place that all the people in this church who pray for you that you do not know will be able to go and intercede and pray and prophesy for you and your family. It's a place that will be open morning, noon, and night when anyone from any place in the city can come and just meet with God. Surely God is in this place. And I was not aware of it. You see in the Old Testament there's the tabernacle of Moses. Tabernacle of Moses was the presence of God among the people. But it was very structured, very ordered, very set of description and prescription on how to do it. People would offer sacrifices, be forgiven and leave. It was very controlled though and structured. Kind of like a weekend service in a lot of ways. There are boundaries and borders that we have to put on here to make it work. But then, there's the Tabernacle of David. David shows up years later and David builds a tabernacle called the Tabernacle of David that he put the priests and the Levites to minister to the Lord 24 hours a day. This was a place of praise and worship ministry to the Lord. It was a place where the wild things grew. Where the signs and wonders and dreams and visions and the supernatural movement of God. And David didn't charge people to come. He didn't raise money from the people. He just said, "This is so important that we as a people are going to spend what's required to build this because we are people of His presence and what we want more than anything else is a place where God's presence is valued 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That's what a Prayer Center looks like. And we believe that through prayer, the future will be created. And so, if you're still like, "What does that look like?" If you came to Re, Re is an example of what will happen in the Prayer Center. And if you're still not sure, all you need to understand is we care about the presence of God more than anything else in this church. And there are no real great examples of this Prayer Center that I can give you other than to tell you, if my life has touched your life in any way 20, 30 years ago, people in Colorado built a Prayer Center and I was that kid that sat there and heard from God to do this with the rest of my life. So, I know God moves in and through this when we value His presence. First thing, Prayer Center, sacred space devoted unto the Lord. Second thing is we want to start a Training Center. We want to start a Training Center. Freestanding building, most likely around the Flower Mound Campus that is all about training up leaders. We want to take VCLA, Valley Creek Leadership Academy and turn it into Valley Creek College. We want to offer our students a fully accredited two- or four-year degree with our partner SEU, Southeastern University where they can pursue their degree in a variety of different career paths. Get a fully accredited degree, but while they're doing that, more importantly we are focusing on developing them as whole people. That while they're pursuing academic excellence, we're focused on helping them in spiritual formation, leadership development, relational skills and missional living. This is a place, a building, a space that will be designed and devoted to raising up the next generation of leaders who can then go out and create the future. And VCLA has been incredibly successful. We've raised up so many amazing young adults. 10% of our staff are VCLA grads. The other ones are all over in different areas of life as hope carriers doing amazing things in the world around them. See, here's what happens. We live in a world in an area that sends kids off to college when they're not ready and they go and get conformed by the world. And then, they don't show back up here until they're 40 years old. And then, we're left picking up all the pieces. And if you spent your life picking up all those pieces, you would get tired of pulling people out of the river too. So, instead of pulling people out of the river, we want to go upriver and figure out how to keep them from falling in. And if we can keep them from falling in, they then become the leaders who not only pull people out of the river, but they keep other people from falling into the river. See, we live in a world that overvalues academics and undervalues discipleship. We live in a world that's all about knowledge, but could care less about character. We want to offer academic excellence, fully credited degrees, but by focusing on the development of the whole person so they can become who God has created and called them to be. Identity, relationship and purpose. Body, soul and spirit. Healthy, holistic people who can change the world. And not only that, but we will be able to take the best parts of VCLA and turn it into a nine-month adult leadership experience out of this Training Center. Where any adult of any age who wants to grow in spiritual formation, leadership development, be a hope carrier, relational skills. We all need relational skills. I know we're like, "Oh, yeah, that generation." No, we all – you ever talk to another adult? We all need relational skills. In Jesus' name. But where we can focus on that because we believe God's answers to the world cries are leaders. And mandated on our family is the development of leaders. So, let's stop waiting for the world to do what God has asked the church to do. Train up our children in the way they should go. The commands that He has given to us to impress them upon our children. And we're at a point of maturity where we could actually do it. Just so you're clear, if you're catching it, you're not just like going to church. You're just like, "I go to Valley Creek." "I'm a part of a movement. I'm a part of a movement and we're creating a college that's going to raise up the next generation of leaders that are going to create the future. And no, it's not for everybody. And we don't think everybody should go to it. But we're going to provide an opportunity for those that God does call and those that are interested. And those that are looking for this, in Jesus' name. Okay? Training Center, third thing. Third thing is we want to go create the Argyle Campus. Now, if you've been with us since 2019, you're like, "Didn't we already do that?" Well in 2019, we did Missional Move: Hope for the City. We wanted to double down and go from four campuses to eight campuses. Gainesville, online Argyle and University. We've fully launched Gainesville campus. It's amazing. It's rocking in Cooke County. Online Campus is crushing it with people all over the world. And we were able to buy property in Argyle and at the University Campus. And so, the question you could just ask then is then, "Was that a failure? Was Missional Move: Hope for the City a failure because we didn't build the Argyle building? No. We were able to get 33 acres for $1.6 million in 2019-2020, which today would be about $500,000 to $1 million an acre. So, maybe just maybe, God knew the great interruption was coming and He said, "Let me get you that property now so you're prepared for what's going to come because it would be almost unaffordable at this point in time." So, I think that God saw what was coming and because we're not in a hurry and we go at God's pace, we're perfectly positioned to go and serve that city. The other thing I'm so grateful for is as if we would have started the Argyle campus on this time run, it would have been the most consumeristic good American church campus we would have ever had. The whole thing would have been about consumption, convenience, performance and entertainment. And so, we needed a little more time to mature before we were ready to launch it. See, because in 2019 and 2020, when people got excited about Argyle, just so you're clear, not one person, not one person, say not one person ever came up to me and said "I'm so excited about serving the City of Argyle." People were so excited about the Argyle Campus for them. But we don't start campuses for us. We start campuses for them. And so, now we're at a better position where we can say, "Yes, we're going to do it, but we're going to go and serve the city." Bring a Jesus-focused, Spirit-filled life, giving harbor of hope into that space. And it's not about us. It's about them. And when we make it about them, God does something great for us. So, those of you that look forward to the convenience and the opportunity to be closer to wherever you live, that's going to be amazing. But the motive of going is not to save you drive time. The motive of going is to serve a city in Jesus' name. Which brings us to the fourth thing. And the fourth thing Is to go ahead and start our University Campus. We have two acres literally right across the street from the UNT welcome center. Absolutely outstanding, prime location. Same thing, right at the COVID time before it happened, God was able to give us access to that property where we were able to buy it, secure it. We've got it. We're ready to go. It's time to put a campus in the middle of a worldly institution. A worldly institution that is dark and has lost sight of Jesus and a generation that is hopeless. And if you would just go stand on that property in the middle of a school day, you will see hundreds if not thousands of students walking by, all day every day just looking for hope in their life. A generation that the world has all but given up on. We're going to say, "No, we're going to go." And we're going to invest. We're going to go and reach you and raise you up and offer you a harbor of hope in Jesus' name. It's time for us to go and serve that entire university area with college students, young adults. Our young adult ministry, we have so many young adults in this church, but we don't want to do a young adult ministry. You're like "Why?" Because we only do five things. We keep it really simple. Because we believe that's how you grow. So, we're just going to let all these young adults that have come together be the launch team for that campus so they can have their own campus and keep reaching the generation around them. And then, the fifth thing because if we're going to do it, let's do five, is what I would call the seven-continent strategy. Seven-continent strategy. You say, "What's that?" It means we want to identify a strategic partner on all seven continents and build a long-term strategic relationship with them where we can send wave after wave of resources, support, relationships, engagement, prayers. Where we can see a significant difference in that nation and therefore, that continent. If you know anything about [Strategic Partner in Asia] for about 20 years, all the way back to 2013, is when we helped him build his ministry school for church planters. And he is the prototype of what we're talking about because through him over these last 10, 15 years we've been able to plant more than almost 500 churches. You have literally touched tens of thousands of slum orphan children with the gospel, with education, with food. We've helped them build probably the best church building in all of New Delhi and now it's expanding to all of the nations around them. And so, we want to do that on all seven continents. So, [Strategic Partner] is Asia. We're North America. So, we need South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Oceania area. And since it'd be really hard to reach the penguins, we're going to replace Antarctica with Israel. And we're going to go find great people that are doing great things that are crying out for the Lord for help, for resources, for partnerships. And instead of putting a little here, a little here, a little here, we're going to go find seven and invest everything we got to see a significant return in Jesus' name. Five things. Five things, five years. We're called to create the future, but the future doesn't just happen. Future never just happens. It's not like coincidence or happenstance. It doesn't just appear. Somebody has to go and create it. And if we don't create it, it won't appear. The future doesn't just happen. It has to be created.

That's a lot. You remember that? And if you're new, that's what we're doing. And if you remember when we first started and I shared it with you, all I said was, "Can you see it?" Because at the time there was nothing to see. There were no blueprints. There were no renderings. There were no things. It was simply an idea and our Imagination. A dream in our heart and hope in the atmosphere. We felt like we were invited from God to move on and go create things that didn't exist for the good of others and the glory of God. To literally be people of love because love creates and creativity is an act of love. And even though we couldn't see it with our eyes, some of us could see it with our heart. And that's what faith is. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. See, I think a lot of times we're more sure of what we have than what we hope for and we're more certain of what we see than what we do not see. I think this is why it's so hard for us to live with faith because we're more sure of what we have than what we hope for.

And we're more certain of what we physically see than what we can see with our heart. But faith is saying, "No I'm sure of what I hope for and I'm certain of what I do not see. So, I will move by faith into the unknown." And so, for the last eight months after we shared that, released it to you, let you respond we've just been quietly moving forward. Sure, of what we hope for, certain of what we did not see. Quietly behind the scenes at work for the last eight months and God's been moving. So, here are your updates.

We're going to start with the Prayer Center. Maybe the greatest thing that we will ever create as a church. I think it is the greatest gift we will ever give to our city. And the first question we had to ask was, "What does it look like and where are we going to put it?" Because we honestly had no idea. The only thing I said wrong to you on February 2nd was that the Prayer Center will be on the green square on the Flower Mound Campus. That's the best guess I had, but it was wrong. Because God had a better idea. So, let me show you where it's going to be. We are going to actually be able to put the Prayer Center on the pond at the Flower Mound Campus. We are going to be able to move the main entrance and literally put the Prayer Center literally overlooking the fountain, overlooking one of the busiest roads in the entire area. And it will be an incredible gift to you, to the city and an offering to the Lord. So, that's where it will go and this is what the floor plan of it will look like. There will be an atrium about the size of the Denton Campus Atrium. There are prayer rooms, both personal prayer rooms and larger prayer rooms where you can go in and meet with God and pray and read the Scriptures and seek and worship and rest in His presence. Larger ones where you can come with your family, with your circle, with your serve team. With the people in your life to come and pray. Where will be a porch that overlooks the pond where you can go out and watch the city drive by and pray for them and seek the Lord. There will be a space where you can literally walk around and just do a Jericho March in Jesus' name, praying and moving around. And then, there will be the gathering room. That will be a room in the round fully immersed in the environment and the presence of God with LED screens that will be an immersive experience. An open heaven unto the Lord. It is a profound space. That's where it goes. This is the floor plan and here's what it looks like. That is the rendering of the Prayer Center. You can see open glass front, looking out to the pond, looking out to the city. You can see that green ring. We call that the open heaven ring. That literally represents an open heaven that this is a place where the heaven is open and God's presence is. And we're believing that as people drive by and see that especially at night, something will call to the spirit inside of them. This heart cry, longing that people from all denominations and all walks of life and any church and every place that they – you can imagine people are welcomed and wanted to come in and meet and experience the presence of God. And so, let me show you a different angle. Here, you can see it from the side. You can see the porch a little better where people will be out praying and moving around. Here's where it is kind of from the main entrance that will get moved on the Flower Mound Campus. People from all walks of life I believe are going to be in this building meeting with God, morning, noon and night. Here's the backside of it every time you drive out of the Flower Mound Campus. This is the back of what you're going to see in our prayer that God's kingdom will come and His will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here's the atrium, open heaven ring. People praying, seeking God together and individually. This is the backside that kind of has this contemplative, reflective experience where you can just rest and just think and just meet with God. And then, here is what the gathering room will look like. A giant open heaven ring, LED screens all the way around so that we can create immersive environment. Where people will worship and where people will pray and where people will cry out and where people will meet with God. I think this may be the greatest thing that we will ever create as a church. I think it's the greatest gift we are going to give to the city. So, all the plans are drawn. Things have been submitted to the town. We're waiting for approval. And when the town gives us approval, we are off, baby, go, go, go. Creating a sacred space devoted to the Lord. A place of beauty and presence. A place of sacredness and holiness. A place of joy and laughter. A place where just God's presence resides because we are people of presence and what we offer this city are not entertaining services, but the presence of God. And intercession, and prayer, and worship, and prophecy so that they may come to know Jesus and experience the life that He has created for them. So, 2026, breaking ground on the Prayer Center off and running going to be amazing.

Training Center. Training Center, we knew we wanted to start VC College, but that's about it. This time last year VC College did not exist. Today VC College exists. There are more than 40 students that are now a part of VC College and we knew we needed a facility. We weren't sure what that looked like so we finished sharing the Missional Move with you, let you respond. And then, we were able to find this building one mile down the road from the Flower Mound Campus. 40,000 square foot building already standing on a couple of acres that was perfect because now the Prayer Center gets to be a part of a college campus because it's within walking distance. And so, we took this building. We say, "How do we want to redesign it? What do we want to make it look like?" So, we created the floor plan, and the floor plan on the bottom floor will be this. It will have a library and a lecture hall and learning labs and a patio and a cafe and a chapel and a courtyard. On the second floor are all the learning labs and learning studios and classrooms and study space. And so, this is what this is going to look like. That's how that building will look from the outside. Here's another angle for you. That's the library with the green shining through. That study space on the second floor that you can see. Here it is on the backside. This is kind of on the – I don't know what direction that is, but it's on the backside. You can see that space. Let me show you this. That's what the field is going to look like. Because it's the development of the whole person. So, VC Fit is a part of VC College. So, pickleball courts, athletic fields, fire pits, hangout space, all that great stuff. Here is the reception desk inside. You can kind of see what what's starting to look like. Here's a shot of the café, hangout space. Here's it from another angle kind of a lot of space where this is a college. This is their space where they get to just be and do whatever they're doing. Here's some learning studios, some learning labs, classrooms if you will. Here is a lecture hall where they'll have profound lectures from profound people bringing amazing things. And so, all of the plans are drawn. All the plans have been submitted to the city. We're waiting on final approval. We're hoping to start construction and remodeling that place in December. And the hope is, is that the entire thing is remodeled and done for the 2026 August launch of back to school. That's creating the future. That's fast. That's fast. And this matters. This matters because in the world of AI and a generation that is lost, lonely and broken, we must think differently. We must live differently. And we must refuse to allow the world to conform the next generation into its pattern. This is not for everybody. And so, if you're a family or a student or a young adult, don't ever feel bad when we talk this is not for everybody. We know that. But it is for somebody and it is for a lot of bodies. It's for a lot of people who just want to be developed as a whole person. You must have a vision for who you want to become. And then, you have to ask the question, "Is what I'm about to do going to help me become who I say I want to be?" And if the answer is no, then you got to pick something else. Because I think we pick college because the world says we're supposed to go there. And then, we pick it because it sounds fun or we want the experience or we like the city. While there's nothing wrong with those things in and of themselves, they will not help you become who you say you want to become. There are a thousand things you can do in this life, but you only get one soul. Guard that soul with everything you got and make sure you're getting around people who want to shape it and form it and mold it into the image and likeness of Jesus. Church, here's what I want to say. I heard this quote and I think it's amazing. If we send our children to the professors of Babylon, we shouldn't be surprised when they come back looking like Babylon. You can go into Babylon if you've been trained and you have a plan. You cannot go to the professors of Babylon if you have not been trained and you have no plan on how you're going to become who God has created and called you to be. This is why this matters and this is what we're building. So, we're hoping to start construction in the next few weeks, and this is going to be an amazing place of raising up next generation of creators.

Third thing, Argyle Campus. We know so many of you are so excited about the Argyle Campus. It's time. It's time to move. We're ready for this. We've matured to the place where we are ready to go. And so, this is our 33 acres. That's right by 407 in the corner of 35 West. It's an amazing piece of property with a beautiful creek running through it because our name is [Valley Creek]. I mean, I guess. I don't know. So, then the question was, what does the floor plan look like? It's about the size of the Lewisville Campus. Atrium, next steps rooms, kids' space, worship center, 700 to 700-people. A café, a patio 5hat overlooks that creek that will be amazing relational space. And so, here is what the initial renderings of the Argyle Campus look like. It's going to be built up on a hill so we wanted to do that open heaven ring as thousands of people drive by that very, very busy corner of 407 and 35W. Speaking to something inside of them, calling them into a harbor of hope. A Training Center of life and hopefully eventually a family on mission. Here's another example from it. You can see the café. The porch will be overlooking that. That's your Atrium parking lot and this is kind of it from another angle. And so, we have worked through the design. We are at this place where we're submitting things to planning and zoning. Waiting on approvals from the Town of Argyle. And then, it will be off, go, go, go, go, go. The biggest thing that I would ask you to pray for, it's just that we have favor with all the towns. Favor with all the planning and zoning. That God would give us people of peace in these roles to approve things because we're ready to go. We just need approval from planning and zoning and from the town. We've doing all of our diligence. It's all ready to go. We just need approval on different things and then we're off and running. So, here we go. This is going to be an incredible home. A beautiful place. And for those of you that live out there and you can't wait for this, here's what I want to say. Don't grow weary and doing what is good for at the proper time you will reap a harvest. You've chosen or God has planted you to be a part of this church because of the culture and the body and the life. Don't now in this last little bit where it's so close bail because of convenience or comfort. Because this is going to be your home. And this is going to be a beautiful family on mission. And God is going to do amazing things. And as soon as we break ground, you'll start hearing things about building the launch team. And we'll start gathering you together for the launch thing, but you can see it. Can you see it? Can you? I mean Jesus give us favor with the town because we're ready to move in Jesus' name.

Fourth thing, University Campus. So, here's our couple acres right across the street from the UNT Welcome Center. We're super excited about that space. That's UNT. That's the whole campus right there. That's where we are. Here's the floor plan about the size of the Gainesville Campus. Worship center, outdoor seating, hangout space, open heaven ring, atrium, a coffee shop. There's a second floor that's not on here that has study space, hangout space because we're just believing that students from all different walks of life are going to come out and hang out in this place all of the time. We're in the process of doing renderings as soon as renderings are done. We will work on final documents. Documents will get submitted to the town. As soon as the town gives us approval, we're off and running and we will go, go, go.

And then, the last thing, seven-continent strategy. We weren't really sure what all this was going to look like, but we knew we wanted to walk it out with the Lord. And so, here's the seven continents. Kingdom of God is movement of hope. So, the first question we had to ask to create this future was like, "Well, what does a strategic partner look like?" Because can you see it? I don't know. So, we wrestled through. Here's what a strategic partner looks like. They are a leader of a movement of hope. They have grace-based theology. Jesus-focused, spirit-filled, life-giving. They're involved in either church planting or leader development. They're strategic in their stewardship and they have a Macedonian call. It's a scriptural reference basically saying, "Come and help us."So, we wrestled through those and they're like, "Okay, this is what a strategic partner looks like." And so, I'm very excited to announce to you that we have added a strategic partner. We're North America. [Strategic Partner} is Asia. And we now have Africa. So, here's who Africa is, Pastor Kenneth. Eden Ministries, the nation of Uganda. He's an amazing man and he is focused on equipping pastors and raising up generations of hope carriers. He does amazing things. He is a young [Strategic Partner in Asia]. I can't wait for you to meet him. Our teams have been going over and getting to experience. VC College has gone. We just had a team that just came back. And what he does is he equips pastors, raises up hope carriers just like we do. So, it's very exciting, very kindred spirit. He's very excited for us to be a part to meet you. I'm excited for you to meet him, and he has this profound influence. If you remember a few months ago, I told you a story of a team that we sent over that just got back and he had built this pastor's conference. He gathered all these pastors together, and we got to teach these pastors the four core truths that we teach kids. God is good. And it's like they had never heard it before and they thought kids should be just left outside while the adults did church. And they were cut to the heart and they repented. And those pastors collectively oversee half a million kids. That now we get to be a part of with what Pastor Kenneth is doing, investing in their lives. So, he's Uganda, but he also serves in Rwanda and the Congo and Sudan and Tanzania. And so, we've been able to already buy him a Land Cruiser because if you live in Africa, you need a Land Cruiser in Jesus’ name to get anywhere. We're able to support him and we're already dreaming with him on what does it look like to build a permanent Training Center.

And so, here's my question for you. Are you starting to see it? Are you starting to see it? Because only eight months ago is an idea and our imagination. A dream in our heart and hope in the atmosphere. Quietly we just went to work. Creating a future that doesn't exist. And that's when we're at our best as a church. See, we're a secret place church. We do our best work in the secret place, in the hidden place. Most of what we do as a church is not Instagrammable. It's not cool. It's not popular. It's not trendy. I get it. We do our work in a secret place and then we take what we create in the secret place and we set our light on a stand. To shine in the darkness for whoever wants it. And so, quietly that's what we've been doing and this is the progress that we have all made together as a church. And if you remember, when we started this, we said it's going to take all of us to do it. We just said it's three things. Choose to commit to Valley Creek as your church because you can't create a future you're not committed to. Give a sacrificial financial gift over and above the next two years beyond what you're currently giving, tithes and offerings. Because to do all this is $50 million. We said we have $25 million saved up. We're a debt-free church. We own all of our campuses, all of our facilities. And so, we need $25 million more to go and do it. And everything we need is already here in this room. And then, take one tangible next step of faith. Each year over the next five years because we have to become the people that can steward the future that we're creating. And so, over these eight months, so many people have said, "This is my church," and I'm hearing people use language like "Our church." Our church. Whenever you say "Oh, they," just understand you've already positioned yourself distant from us. But our, I've put myself right in the middle of it. And this has to be our church if I'm going to create the future because I have to be committed to it. And I told you it was $50 million to do all that. We have $25 million saved up so we invited you guys. Two years, let's all do it together. $25 million so we had almost 2000 families commit over $23 million over the two years and $9.5 million has already been given towards that. So, in less than a year, $9.5 million has gone from consumer to creator. Released into the kingdom of God to do that which He has called us to do. And so, many people have been taking next steps. If you've seen the movement boards, I wish I would have had the movement board when we would have done this because I would have said five movement board steps, one over the next five years. Every year that's really what it was, but we're creating the future. You can't see it all, but you can see some. And so, you move forward by faith. And so, here's a great picture. This is what we need and here's progress. We need $25 million. $9.5 million has already been given. We need five strategic partners. We already have one. We need 25 new staff to do all this. We have already been able to hire nine new staff since February. We're going to need 250 new leaders to lead all this. We have 20 additional leaders that have joined us since then. We're going to need 100 new VC College students to really get this whole thing going. We have 40 already. And we're going to need to reach 2000 people and we've been able to baptize more than 200 people since February. And so, it's lots of progress, lots of moving.

And here's what I want to say. I just want to celebrate you and say thank you. Thank you to every person that's creating the future. Thank you to every person that is giving and serving and leading and creating and being the culture and praying. And just having a heart for the things of God. You can sit in church your entire life and be a consumer. But then when God speaks to you and puts you as a part of a movement of people that are moving on mission towards maturity, the game changes overnight. And you realize your life is so much bigger than you ever thought. See, the greatest way to create your future is by creating the future for someone else to enjoy. We spend so much of our life trying to create our own future when Jesus teaches us that if we'll just create the future for others, in the process He will create the best future for us. So, He says, "Give and it will be given to you. He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." So, create something and then you will reap. Whoever loses his life will find it. When we spend our life creating the future for others, God creates the best possible future for us and you see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus created your future and in the process, He got the best possible future for him. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. He created the future for you. Oh, yeah, when you are an enemy, when you are hostile, when you are dead in your sins and your transgressions, when you are literally trapped in the past, Jesus came to create a future that did not exist for you. And in the process, He got the best possible future for Himself. Because now He is the resurrected, glorified, victorious Christ seated at the right hand of the Father with a family He has gathered unto Himself. This is why Philippians tells us, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." In other words, don't create your future, create the future for somebody else. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who being in very nature God. Did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing. Taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient to death. He gave His life away. Even death on a cross, therefore God exalted Him. He was elevated to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It says, "Jesus created the future for you and now you're responsible to create the future for them."

And if you can catch it, the Body of Jesus created the future for you. The Body of Christ now creates the future for them. The Body of Jesus on the cross created all five initiatives for you. The Body of Jesus on the cross created a future where you could be a Prayer Center. Because Jesus says, "My house will be called a house of prayer," and He lives right here. So, wherever I go I can talk to Him and speak to Him and listen to Him and relate to Him. He made you a Training Center because wherever you are, that's the center of where He is training you to become like Him. See, before the cross you couldn't be a disciple of Jesus, but after the cross you now can. A learner, a student, a follower becoming like Him. So, he is training you to become like Him wherever you are. He made you a campus because you are now the Temple of God, the dwelling place of God, a part of the Body of Christ. And He made you the seven-continent strategy because He said, "Therefore, go make disciples of all nations," and has empowered you to disciple the areas of life and the nations of this world. He has literally made you a missionary, an ambassador, a representer of Him. So, what we're doing is not new. No, Jesus has already created that future for us individually. He now invites us as a people to create that kind of future for them. That was my favorite thing to find this week. That the five initiatives Jesus created for me. For me, on the cross. And my life is a Prayer Center and a Training Center and a campus. And I'm a missionary. That future didn't exist before He came. And that future won't exist for them if we don't. Jesus didn't come to make you a new creation so you could spend your life consuming. He came and made you a new creation so you could spend your life creating with God a future that doesn't exist for the good of others and the glory of God.

So, how do we do it? It's the same three things. Choose to commit to Valley Creek as your church. Have you done that yet? Have you done that yet? And if you have, are you grateful for it? And have you thanked God recently for what this is? And if not, why? Maybe today is the day. There's no class. There's no card. Maybe it's a conversation on the drive home with your family to say, "Today's the day. This is our church." It's no longer a place we go. It's no longer a they. It's an us. I believe God has brought many of you since we started this missional move for such a time as this. And here's how you avoid – if you've come from another church – here's how you avoid losing 2, 5, 10 years of your spiritual journey. You get involved in creating immediately. You don't sit on the sidelines consuming for 2, 5 or 10 years. And then, one day be like, "There's got to be more." No. The way this becomes yours is by creating. This isn't a "You should have been here when kind of church." This is a, "My gosh. We're so glad you're here. Let's go create the future together kind of church." So, by faith I just declare over some of you, God's brought you here for now. For such a time as this. So, receive it from Him. Then, we've got to give sacrificially over the next two years. We're eight months into that journey. So, for those of you that have made a commitment, I say to you, “thank you.” How's your commitment going? Remember, giving towards the future means we're not consuming in the present. We're rediverting resources to say, "Yes, I could consume this for myself, but instead I'm going to use this to create a future that doesn't exist for others." And if you've come or you haven't made a commitment or you're joining us, can I invite you? Man, boldly I invite you to use your resources to create the future because God doesn't give you resources to pay for the past. He gives you resources to create a future for others. And missional moves are activation points. They activate us. They move us. My encouragement is if this is your church, every person gives something because then you get to be a part of saying, "I am literally writing that story." Some of you can give millions. Some of you can give $50. It's not the number. It's the heart posture of saying, "Yes, Lord, I will use what I have to create the future with you. And so, next weekend, once a year, around this time every year for these five years, we're going to do a special offering to the Lord in service. And it might be something that if you've made a commitment, it might be giving towards that commitment. If you finished it, you might want to go beyond it. If you're new, you might say "I just want to give something to be a part of it." I want to ask you this week to ask God what He wants you to do. Even if you've already said I would make. Okay, great. What does He want you to do this week? And we're going to actually give an offering in service. If you've been here, you've realized that we give boxes on the doors and we give online all during the week. We're going to actually take a few moments next week to give an offering to the lord. You can do it physically if you want at the boxes in service. We'll have a moment together or you can do it digitally or however you do it you can do it. Prepare during the week. But I want to make an offering to the lord. I do. He who has been forgiven much loves much. And like the woman with the alabaster jar, I want to lay something at the feet of Jesus. Like the wise men who come from afar, I want to lay treasures at the feet of Jesus. Like the elders in heaven, I want to take off my crowns and lay them at the feet of Jesus because He's worthy of it. So, this week, will you pray about making an offering to the lord that will be used to keep creating the future? Because now you're actually starting to see it. I believe there are some of you here today, you didn't make a commitment in the beginning because you couldn't see it. Can you see it? And then, the third thing to take a next step. Every year over the next five years, have you taken a step this year? Like go out and look at the movement board. Or go online and look at those 10 foundational steps. Take one of those. Just one. Just one a year for the next five years and you will create a future that will become the present that you'll actually want to live in. Because you don't want five years to go by and not become who God has created and called you to be. And then, wake up in that present and be bitter and resentful about the life that you're living. So, just one and watch what God will do. This is what a movement of hope for the city and beyond looks like. This is a physical representation of the entire collection of talks of movement, mission, and maturity. Moving on mission towards maturity, and then as we mature, we go on mission to help other people move in Jesus' name. So, close your eyes with me. Come on. What's the Holy Spirit want to say to you today? Come on. Have you said, "This is my church" yet? If not, why? Maybe wrestle that out with the lord this week. What are you waiting for? Have you given? Are you giving? Have you surrendered that area of your life? Maybe not everything, but something. And would you wrestle with the Lord this week what it looks like to bring Him an offering next week? And then, have you taken a step that you can boldly, definitively declare because it was tangible? No one can take it away from you. This is who we are. This is what God has created you to do. We are creators. We are people of love and the more we become people of love, the more we create. Because creativity is an act of love.

And so, Jesus, thank You for creating a future for me that did not exist. Thank You for the cross. Thank You that You humbled Yourself and poured Yourself out and You rescued me from the past, from the grave, from my brokenness, from my sin. You made me a new creation and now You invite me to create a future with You. So, Jesus, we keep creating the Prayer Center and the Training Center and the campuses and the seven-continent strategy not for You, but with You in Jesus' name. Give us favor. Release the resources. Tap people on the shoulder. Ignite a fire in people's hearts. Raise up leaders. Show us the way. Teach us Your paths and may we walk with You and create that which does not exist for the good of others and the Glory of God, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.