Family Vibes

What an exciting season for ARC. 2019 has been incredible, and we’re not done yet. New churches and campuses have been launched and many churches have celebrated anniversaries, new buildings, and attendance milestones. We’re growing stronger, healthier, and more efficient in what we do, and we’re closer and closer to seeing our dream of a life-giving church in every community.

One of the greatest factors that make ARC so healthy is that we are a family. We are built on relationships, and we are seeing God’s blessing flow through those relationships. More people are making decisions for Christ, more people are being baptized, more resources are being invested in missions, more lives are being set free from addictions, and more people who felt hopeless are finding purpose – all because life-giving churches are doing what the Church is here to do: give Life.

Each member of the ARC Family brings a unique set of experiences, strengths, and resources to create this family. Together, we have a set of shared values. Values that we are known for, that we stand for, and that drive our mission.

We LOVE. We love because He first loved us! It’s the very nature of God. Nothing we do matters if it isn’t done in love. The love of God compels us as a family to be there for each other and to give that love to others who have not yet experienced it. Love is the fuel we need for carrying out the great commission.

We GIVE. Generosity is ingrained in ARC deeply. We have been blessed to have a tremendously healthy financial model, and the result of that is that we stay in a position to be able to invest generously into
planting churches – to the tune of $8 million last year alone.

We UNITE. It’s really all about the Kingdom of God. It’s not about any one of us. The Kingdom is full of diversity, so we celebrate our diversity. And we don’t do ministry alone. From all backgrounds, church environments, demographics, and regions, we gather. ARC Meetups, conferences, and many other types of gatherings – all are part of how we make sure nobody has to be isolated and can unite with other pastors
and leaders.

We SERVE. Jesus didn’t come to be served but to serve. With that as our example, we as a family are quick to set aside our titles and pick up a towel to wash each other’s feet. But it’s not just serving each other – it’s also serving our cities. We aren’t called just to pastor our churches – we are called to pastor our cities. We do our best when we serve our cities with no strings attached. We serve the poor and hurting, serving those who may never be able to repay us but are the very heartbeat of God.

We HONOR. We have such a rich past. We’re getting ready to celebrate 20 years of ARC, and trust me, we will celebrate our past. So many great people have given themselves and paved the way for all of what we’re seeing now – and we honor them. We also honor those who are poised to carry ARC into what’s next. Some tremendous new ARC Lead Team members have been added, and there’s a great group of ARC Launch Coaches and ARC Meet-Up
Coordinators who give of themselves and their time to bless other pastors and leaders. We honor them.

We BELIEVE. One of the greatest things about our founder Billy Hornsby was that he believed in couples who no longer believed in themselves. There are so many pastors I have heard tell their story and the turning point for them was when they realized someone believed in them. What I love about that now is that it’s not just Billy Hornsby, but it’s all of ARC believing in you. All of this ARC family is pulling for you, whether you’re a future planter or a recent planter, or you pastor a church you didn’t plant, or if you’ve pastored the church you’re at for 50 years, this ARC Family believes in you and is pulling for you.

We DREAM. Church planting itself is intrinsically all about a dream. We love hearing the dream in a future church planter’s heart and dreaming with them. We love to dream of cities literally being transformed by the presence of God pouring out through a group of life-giving churches in that city, loving, giving, uniting, serving, honoring, and believing together. We dream, and we hope. We put motion to those dreams and those hopes, and by God’s grace, we will be able to see a life-giving church thriving in every community.

Thank you for being part of this family. It means so much – you mean so much. We are honored to get to love, give, unite, serve, honor, believe, and dream with you. When it’s all said and done, I believe Heaven will be fuller because of what God is able to do through us together.