The Way: a letter

The new church (now known as The Way) had its interest meeting on Tuesday night, and it was a huge success. Here's how one person described her experience at our meeting:

"Wow...I could say "wow" a thousand times and not come close to expressing how amazed I am by this evening with the McMahons and everyone else that came to hear what he had to say.

It is truly amazing how God works! If I had to come up with a list of my most obvious "God moments"...this evening may be number one...atleast I have never been so blown away, excited, and literally in shock all at once as I was as I heard Pastor Mark speak of the vision he has been given for this new ministry. Oh my goodness...it was awesome! As I sat there, I felt like my smile would never again leave my face, like my heart was going to explode, like I was literally going to jump out of my seat in praise of God...and even like I was going to break down in to tears....what an amazing mix of emotions...all because of Him.

When God places a burden on your heart, a vision within you, a call upon you....that is amazing to experience as it is...but when you finally see it all coming together within one speech...now that is indescribable!

From God placing a certain vision of a ministry that He called us into over 4 years ago, to hearing literally EVERYTHING we have felt God saying to us being spoken through Pastor Mark this evening...Wow, Wow, WOW!!! I am not surprised by how God has been working in our lives in order for this to be, but I am honestly in shock! I knew that God wanted us to be a part of what He is leading Pastor Mark in...but I didn't expect it to literally match every core purpose we have been striving for in the ministry we felt led to begin...Things like that only come from God....miracles like what are happening as this is all growing only come from God....peace that covers you and makes it clear this is where you were meant to be all along can only come from God....It is beyond doubt, beyond words, beyond the scope of anything we could ever have imagined...God has worked miracles, is working miracles, and will continue working miracles!

What an amazing feeling it is when you know you are headed to where God wants you, when you know that the paths you have taken have led you to where you are, when you know that all along, you were being led to The Way...the way, the direction, the purpose that He wanted all along...and it is only just beginning!"

If you missed the meeting and would like to be added to our mailing list, please email your info to me at:
markmcmahon58@yahoo.com

Grace and Peace be with you.

The new church: getting better and better

It just keeps getting better and better. Just today a professional graphics designer has stepped up to do our graphic and website design. And, once again, God has extended His favor to us, as this person has offered his services completely free of charge. The graphics alone would have cost hundreds of dollars, and the website would have literally been a few thousand...BUT GOD IS WORKING ON OUR BEHALF!!!!!! Also, I toured our venue for the first time yesterday. OH MY GOODNESS it's perfect! I can't wait to get this started. In addition to that, I got some seriously good news from the government today. More on that later...

As for now, all of my energy is focused on our interest meeting this Tuesday night at 6:30pm. We're gonna have a great time! If you plan on coming, here are some instructions:

1) Bring a lawn chair
2) Park in the rear parking lot of Latrobe Elementary School
3) Be sure to RSVP so we have enough food

RSVP at markmcmahon58@yahoo.com

Grace and Peace be with you.

The new church: the moving mountains

What a blessed day it was for this new ministry. I got a phone call from the owner of the venue at which we will be meeting for worship, and she informed me that our ministry is going to be allowed to use their facility FOR FREE as we get on our feet financially!!! I don't care what anyone says, that's a miracle in my book. And it's further confirmation that this is God's plan for this church in this city at this time.

You know you have favor in your ministry when local business owners who have no ties to the faith and no interest in Jesus offer up all of their assets for the benefit of your mission. Think about this for a moment...they're letting us use the facility every week rent free with out even so much as paying a single utility bill...It's literally costing them money to have us in their venue under such terms, and they're offering it to us satisfied with the terms of the partnership. Wow...God is definitely at work here on our behalf...Business owners are sacrificing their "bottomline" for the benefit of our ministry. Thank you, Jesus!!!

Friends, our God is a mountain moving God. He's moved one huge financial mountain for us here, and I'm convinced that He's gonna move more for us in the future. Will you joining me in thanking God for the gift of a free worship space?

And don't forget to RSVP for the interest meeting!

Date - July 28th
Time - 6:30pm-8:30pm
Location - My house, 210 Irving Ave, Latrobe
Email your RSVP - markmcmahon58@yahoo.com

Keep up the prayers. God is hard at work!

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: an email

I just got this email regarding my new church. In as much as it inspires and encourages me, it is a reminder of what God has invited me to do:

Dear Mark,

Although we've known each other a relatively short amount of time, and knowing probably is not the best word for it, I've come to understand something of what follows you. What follows you is hope. Although I am yet unaware of what the hope is... well hoping for, I know it will end being interesting if not entertaining to watch it. There by I extend to you my hand in whatever you might ask, I will attend the meeting on Tuesday (28th) and I suppose we will all go from there.

I look forward to seeing you all on July 28th!

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: convinced

I'm so excited about my new church. I've been on the phone with friends from all around the country today. One of them just wanted to find out what our needs were at this point, and another took time out of his VERY busy schedule to pray with me. That may not sound like much, but it meant the world to me in that moment. As I wait for the IRS to do their thing in processing my application, there's just one thought that keeps resurfacing in my mind. This thought....I've never been so convinced of anything in my life as I am of God's call and timing to start this church here in Latrobe. In fact it reminds me of something that I heard at a conference recently:

France Chan said, "If you've heard from God, drown out all of the other voices."

I thought that was good advice when I heard him say it at Thomas Road Baptist Church back in May. Little did I know that it would become one of the most important pieces of advice I would ever receive for this effort of planting a church. There are obstacles. There are nay-sayers. There are all kinds of uncertainty, but I've heard from God. There are no guarantees in this. There are huge risks in this, but I am convinced. God has marked me for this. He has called, and the time is now. I got goose bumps as I typed that. :)

Hey, have you checked your schedule regarding our interest meeting? The RSVP's are coming in steadily. Have you sent yours? Here are the particulars:

Date - July 28th
Time - 6:30pm-8:30pm
Location - My house, 210 Irving Ave, Latrobe
Email your RSVP - markmcmahon58@yahoo.com

Keep up the prayers. God is hard at work!

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: it was a God day

Today was a God day. It was just one of those days in which you become so aware of the favor of God on your life that you just can't help praising him. And here's why...I've found the perfect location for my church. I have a verbal approval from the venue at this point, and I'm certain an official deal will be signed this week. Also, I had a conversation with a Pastor of a rather large church that wants to talk with me ASAP about the possibility of entering into a partnership on this venture. I don't know what that "partnership" means at this point. It may mean nothing at all, but it was such a blessing to have a local Pastor speak to me in an affirming way regarding my vision. As it is in other aspects of life and growth, networking in ministry is one of the keys to starting well.

Will you continue praying for this church? Will you continue praying for me? For the staff? I'm so excited!

And don't forget to RSVP to my email account your intentions regarding our interest meeting. We want to have enough food for everyone!

Interest meeting details:
Date - July 28th
Time - 6:30pm-8:30pm
Location - My house, 210 Irving Ave, Latrobe
Email - markmcmahon58@yahoo.com

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: an interest meeting

Well, I'm ready to tell the world about it. I'm ready to share the picture that God has given me for my new church, and I'm inviting anyone who would like to find out more about it to come and hear about it.

Date: July 28th
Time: 6:30-8:30
Location: My house - 210 Irving Avenue, Latrobe PA

Are you interested? You should come. The nature of this gathering is to simply let you know just what I mean when I say, "I'm starting a church." That's it, and that's all.

Please RSVP your intentions by emailing me at:
markmcmahon58@yahoo.com

...otherwise we won't have enough food. :)

I hope to see you there. I'm PUMPED about this!

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: with a little help from my friends

Today was a huge day for the new church. I can't really define why...it's just a feeling, a hunch. I had correspondence with several local friends who were offering words of encouragement, helpful insight, or offers to assist with the organization of the church. And, to put the icing on the cake, I spent about an hour on the phone with a very special friend of mine who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a HUGELY successful church planter/pastor/author who has graciously agreed to mentor me through the next two years. I'm so blessed by all of this. Ministry is not a one man show. It's a collaborative effort being carried out by like minded individuals who have sold out to the same vision for the glory of God. Can I get an amen?

It makes me wonder. Who else will God bring to this venture? What holy tapestry will God use this church to weave together? Whoever they are, I'm already praying for them and for their families. I'm so excited to get started! Will you join me in praying for those people?

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: it ain't rocket science

"It ain't rocket science." That's what I was told today by a church planter who has agreed to mentor me through this process. He planted his church 3 years ago from scratch, and today there are 450 people in attendance. He said the most important thing is to "forget everything I've ever been told the church should be, and cling to what God has said THIS church should be". And that's where I'm at on this...I'm marveling at the picture that God has given me for this church. I'll share more with you regarding that vision as I go forward, but, for now, I'm just letting Jesus captivate me with it. I want to hear so clearly, listen so intently, and commit so entirely to what God has for this ministry that I never step off course. That's my heart's desire for this. Will you keep praying with me about this?

Grace and Peace be with you.

My new church: you gotta start somewhere

Many of my friends and family have asked me to document my journey in planting a church here on this blog page. And while I haven't been posting regularly of late, I've decided to honor the request of so many and share regularly about my journey.

But before I get going on that, I'd like to add a disclaimer:

I do recognize that there are some who will read these blogs and try to make this into a negative gesture toward my former church family. And for those who do, know in advance that you are merely using the words here in a manner that I never intended for them to be used. I love Charter Oak Church (verb is present tense here for a reason). And I consider the employees of Charter Oak Church all to be friends. I hope that Charter Oak Church grows and thrives and sees her full potential reached. I wish the best for Charter Oak Church's leadership, and I am not interested in sharing any dialogue with anyone who wants to twist my words to mean anything other than that.

On with the post...........

I filed my application for my church's 501(C)3 today! It's the first important step to becoming a legally recognized entity. In fact, the application was for several other legal "what not" that goes with being a recognized non-profit. There is a 2-4 week window before I'll get my approval from the IRS, but I've got a great group of people working with me on this. They've assured me that approval is only a month away. This is a huge step. Taking the time to fill out the application and forking over the fifteen-hundred dollars in fees has made this all very real. I'm starting a church. Wow...There's no money, no structure, no history, no budget...just a vision...this is the scariest, most exciting thing I've EVER experienced. I'll share more about that vision in the days ahead. But until then, I'll just ask you to join me in prayer over this. For God's guidance; for God's anointing; for God's favor; for God's provision...

The day has come in which I've taken the first important step in realizing the dream that God has birthed in me. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Grace and Peace be with you.

Am I "Emergent"

I had a Pastor from a church which is currently considering me for a job write to me saying that, after reading some of my material, it would seem that I am of "The Emerging Church" movement. He then asked if he were making the correct assumption about me. I thought that it might be helpful to post my response to that question here on my blog in case there are any other potential employers (or casual readers) wondering that very same thing.

Here's my response:

Pastor,

As for your question, you've challenged my thinking with this.

The short answer is simply no. I've never before called myself emergent, nor have I tried to identify myself with anyone who does. It's just not a label that I use for myself.

The long answer would be to say that, of all the labels that we throw around in Christianity, "Emerging" is one that is quite vague to me. Though some of my thoughts and writing about "the organized church" could be seen to be in line with the emerging church folks, I assure you that my comments are not intended to be received as an effort to align myself with a movement of ideology but rather a deep desire to do the very best I can to live into a Christianity which grows, loves, and serves in the most Biblical manner possible. To be frank, I hesitate to ever use the "Emerging" label with myself, as well as others, due to all of the doctrinal pluralism that gets associated with it. But I'm not at all hesitant to spell out my own commitment to the whole of Scripture, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and my calling to serve the church who lives out the teachings of her King.

Grace and Peace