Wednesday, December 28, 2016

How Church Planting Made Us More Gospel Focused


Both my wife and I come from church planting families, and when God joined our hearts together he used church planting as an avenue to learn more about the gospel and how that is fleshed out in our plant in my home town of Hilo, Hawaii.  Here are three simple realities we have learned about the gospel in planting Ohana Church...

#1:  THE GOSPEL IS ABOUT CHRIST, NOT A DENOMINATION
Though America is one of the largest lost nations in the world, it's heritage is filled with gospel roots and influences made up of hundreds of different denominations.  Now we are very proud and privileged to be a Southern Baptist Church plant; however we want the people that we reach know that the only name that matters is the name that is above every name, JESUS CHRIST! Our affiliation with our denomination is a cooperative kingdom partnership that allows us to make Christ known.

#2:  THE GOSPEL SHAPES OUR PERSPECTIVE OF THE UNCHURCHED
When we arrived back in Hawaii, after being gone for almost 12 years, it was considered to be 95% unchurched (Over a million people).  Starting a church from scratch puts you in a demand position to engage our city.  My past life in Hawaii was not Christ centered, so coming back forced me to face past issues that dealt with unchurched settings.  We knew the only way to see people come to Christ was to go in the areas they lived life in.  That was a little scary for me; however I had a strong woman of God to come along side me to learn and grow with me this time.  The things we would discover in these settings were simple, and that was that unchurched people longed for spiritual community, they just did not articulate it the way we Christians do.  Yes, a lot of junk spiritual views are connected in these groups, but it was the start of some healthy growing relationships that evolved to what we see today at Ohana Church.

#3:  THE GOSPEL MAKES MARRIAGE EXCITING
My wife and I served in Las Vegas for several years, and then in her home state of Tennessee for a couple years, and now in my home state of Hawaii.  We've learned so much in these different contexts, and one thing that has been consistent has been the faithful hand of God upon our relationship.  Like many marriages in general, we have experienced the ups, the downs, the pretty, and the ugly parts of marriage; however it has ALL been a part of God's training for us.  The gospel has thought us one MAIN valuable lesson with each other, and that was to be 100% honest with one another.  Because of that we have been able to walk through some very dark times together.  Last year I came out of a heavy season of dark depression, and as I was transparent with my wife, my church, and my mentors, the gospel healed me.  Three years ago my wife and I came to Hawaii by ourselves.  Three years later we have added three new adopted boys (blood brothers), we have seen hundreds of lives changed, we have been a part of helping support additional new church plants, and we have seen Ohana Church become a reality from the simple call of God because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What a Savior!


A hui hou (See you later)
Kahu Zeke Tomaselli




Tomaselli Ohana from Left to Right: Layne, Kainakoa, Kainalu, Kaimana (He's mad at me for scolding him before this pic, lol), and me.

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