In January of 1981, Lifegate Church in Seguin, Texas, began having Sunday meetings for the first time. These first corporate meetings were quite different than you might expect. They did not require us to set up a sound system or chairs before the service. The first meetings didn't even take place inside a building. Lifegate Church had its first meetings on the tailgates of pickup trucks parked on some newly purchased land outside of town.

Fast forward to January 3, 2021. This past Sunday was a milestone for Lifegate as we celebrated our 40th anniversary together. Our celebration turned out to be slightly different from what we had desired due to the global pandemic. Yet, with much lower attendance than we hoped for, it was nonetheless a sweet time celebrating the faithfulness and goodness of God over the past 40 years. Speaking of God's goodness, our church family was given a gift from the Lord to mark this anniversary, the most lavish gift a church could ever receive, the gift of multiplication. 

If the Lord allows, this coming Sunday, January 10, the members of Lifegate will experience another significant milestone. As we always do on Sunday mornings, we will gather to sing, pray, and hear God's word proclaimed. But this Sunday will look a little different than usual because we are planning to set aside that time as a "sending out service" for the church plant team being sent from our congregation. By God's grace, we have the immense privilege of multiplying as a church by starting a new congregation, Mission City Fellowship. We hope to plant on the southside of San Antonio in the Spring of this year. Philip Estrada leads the church planting team. He has been a member of Lifegate for over 12 years and a fellow elder for four years. Philip, his wife Danielle, and their two girls will move from Seguin to San Antonio soon. Several families and a single adult from Lifegate will join them, as well.

 As a church, we consider it a privilege that God would allow us from a smaller church, in a smaller town, to plant a church in a larger city like San Antonio for the sake of his kingdom. Most importantly, we understand that this church plant would not be possible if not for partnership--a partnership that involves sacrifice. Planting Mission City Fellowship would not be possible if we were solely dependent on the resources of Lifegate alone. Yet, through gospel partnership with our Sovereign Grace family, we can fulfill our mission to multiply as a congregation. 

One example of our shared partnership with other Sovereign Grace churches involves the South-Central region, which is currently made up of 4 churches, including Lifegate. For many years the elders in our region have prayed for a church to be planted in San Antonio, and for years we have asked God to raise up a church planter. The Lord answered our prayer several years back by placing a burden for church planting on the heart of Philip Estrada. Over time, that burden deepened and became specific--planting on the southside of San Antonio. Along with praying together for San Antonio, the elders of our region set aside money in our regional budget for the hope of planting a church someday. We did that so when the opportunity arose to plant a church like Mission City Fellowship, the churches in our region could all partner together to help that church get off the ground. What will take place on Sunday as we send out this church plant team demonstrates the value of partnership.

This shared partnership isn't limited to our regional involvement. However, it extends to our broader global partnership within our family of churches. The gift Lifegate has received from the Lord on our 40th anniversary is a direct result of our partnership with all Sovereign Grace Churches. As you are well aware, the gift of partnership is only possible because of individuals, families, and churches' sacrifice. Church planting cannot occur unless men and women are willing to go, and churches are ready to send. Mission City Fellowship is no different. Not only has Lifegate sacrificed for the sake of the mission, but so have other churches in Sovereign Grace. Financial gifts have been given from sister churches along with the most valuable resources of all, people. The church plant team for Mission City Fellowship consists of individuals and families from five different Sovereign Grace churches, including Lifegate. Philip will be joined on the plant by another ordained elder in Sovereign Grace, Rob Saathoff and his wife Terri, who are native Texans who moved back here from the Northeast to be a part of this church plant.

And this Sunday, as the people of Lifegate say goodbye to the Estrada's, we will welcome a new family to our congregation, the Bagwell's, from our sister church in Louisville. The Bagwell's made a move to Seguin for Kyle to serve as an intern at Lifegate. Ever since we announced last year about the church plant, we have prayed that if God wanted us to send out Philip, he would send someone here to help fill his position. Through partnership and the sacrifice of the Louisville church, that prayer was answered. 

Last Sunday, the members of Lifegate looked back in gratitude at God's faithfulness. If the Lord allows, this Sunday, we will look ahead with faith as a new chapter in our history begins. God has been so good to us for the past 40 years, and one of the sweetest gifts we have experienced as a church is the joy of being on mission with our brothers and sisters in Sovereign Grace. We thank God for our partnership! 

Please pray for Mission City Fellowship in the days ahead. Church planting is already hard, but it is far more challenging during a global pandemic. Also, ask the Lord if he would have you join this church plant in San Antonio. Lastly, pray that God would save many lost people through the witness of Mission City Fellowship and pray that he would build a strong, mature, and healthy congregation that would bring him much glory.

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Joshua Jordan has served as the lead pastor of Lifegate Church since 2018 and has been on staff since June 2009 after graduating from the Sovereign Grace Pastor’s College. He is the primary preacher on Sunday mornings, oversees college ministry, adult and children’s Sunday Schools and serves in various leadership roles at Lifegate Christian School. He and his wife, Amanda, have three children.

Recently, our church in Fayetsville, AR shared this year-end video with the members of their church. Living Hope Church has a stated mission to pursue Christ and his mission of making disciples. The three ways in which the church practically embodies to live this mission is by: Enjoying, Encouraging and Evangelizing. This video is a peek into the ways that God has allowed this church to fulfill this mission despite the pandemic and all the hurdles that 2020 brought with it. And really, it’s the story of God’s grace to a small church that not just grew in size over the past year, but grew with a community of believers committed to the same mission. Take a look at what God is doing in one small corner of the world!

Late last year, Cornerstone Church in Knoxville planted a church in Athens, TN. They sent a team of folks from their congregation, along with one of their elders, Walt Alexander, and his family. Trinity Grace Church has sought to reach out to the community, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost. We wanted you to see a bit about what God has been doing in that corner of the world, so we produced this short mission video to give you a snapshot. As you watch it, please join us in thanking God for his grace in the mission we’ve embarked on together and how he has allowed us to participate in his plans to save folks in Athens.

We say it often, but we’re serious about it: in Sovereign Grace, a large focus of our mission is to plant churches for the glory of God. We believe that this is one of the significant ways God instructs us to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20). We don’t take God’s blessings on these efforts for granted but are so thankful to be able to see how he has allowed Walt and his church to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. May he provide many more opportunities!

We often find ourselves in a place where our gospel opportunities outrun our financial resources. Please consider financially supporting our church planting efforts by giving to Sovereign Grace Churches. You can find out more about how to do that here.

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.

Sovereign Grace is a family of churches who partner together to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ by planting and strengthening churches throughout the world for the glory of God. As we advance the gospel together, we see it’s reconciling power as sinners are reconciled first to God. But we also see the reconciling power of the gospel as people from different races and ethnicities being reconciled to one another in Christ. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the dividing wall of hostility is broken down, and people from different ethnicities are made one in Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16).

I want you to see the Sovereign Grace 1st Quarter 2019 Mission Video because it captures the reconciling power of the gospel at Risen Hope Church (Drexel Hill, PA). Risen Hope was planted in 2016 in an area just outside of Philadelphia that is ethnically diverse. It is there that God has been drawing people from over 25 different ethnic groups and uniting them as one in Christ. Yes, there are differences. Those differences are providing a context for conversations, helping one another to see each other and see Christ. Through patience and gospel love, those differences are being used to strengthen the unity that the people of Risen Hope have in Christ.

As you watch this video, my prayer is that your faith in Christ and His reconciling power only deepens your devotion to advance the gospel in your community. Consider supporting our shared mission not only through prayer but also by giving to our shared mission. For more on how you can give, and what your money supports, please visit our give page.

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.