You are my Brother [500k Day 6]

Technically, I asked over 800 people to give today. Most of those were through networks (facebook groups) I'm part of. After writing a personal request to someone for support, however, I got a response that moved me. 

"Yes of course I will support you. I don't have to pray about it. You are my brother."

More often then not, a request for support to plant a church is met with silence. Rarely, people will directly say no to me. Even more rare, and a huge source of strength, is when someone comes out with overwhelming support. 

Another person wrote, "You know I don't mind you asking any of that. We love you guys."

Thank you for all that take the time to respond. Thank you for all who are encouraging us in this wild adventure. It really means a lot. It infuses me with energy to keep going. There are many challenges on this journey, so we savor all words of life. We are a church that exists to make known the beauty of Jesus. In this process, I feel like these sacrifices people make to support us reinforce this focus on beauty. Sacrificial giving and support truly is beautiful. 

The Awkward Ask [500k Day 5]

A lot of people say, "Wow, you're church planting! Is there anything I can do to help?"

And when I say, "That's so kind! Actually, we are looking to recruit 300 people to support us $30/month. Would you like to sign up?" things get weird. 

What is it about asking for money that makes things so uncomfortable? Yet through the discomfort, we keep asking because we know this is a small price to pay compared to the great reward of seeing people experience the life transformation that comes from following Jesus. 

It is difficult to be on the asking end for long amounts of time. I don't want to primarily use social media for a big ask--in all honesty, I want to spend time adding value to people's lives. For this season, however, it's necessary that we do this hard work. We're paving the way for generations to know Jesus and generations of ministers yet to come. I can't wait for the days when Kalos Church can give abundantly more than any church planter asks for and  give generously in order to take care of the orphan and the poor.

For all of those who are given the awkward ask from us, please have grace--it's awkward for us too!

Feeling the Love [500k Day 4]

I've been on the ground here for one month, and already three local churches have asked If I would come and speak at their services, receive prayer, an offering and any assistance we need! Those same three have told us, "we want to tell our congregation after they hear you speak that if they feel like they should leave our church to plant with yours that they should." This is crazy. This is so generous! Definitely feeling the love locally as we plant a church.

We haven't felt a hint of territorialism in the area at all! 

In fact, we just came back from two church events we got invited to. In the first event, the pastor asked me to stand up, and then he told them about our church plant and encouraged people to talk to us if they want to join. 

The person who set up our online giving from Tithe.ly lives in the area, and his giving towards our church plant too! He plans on coming to our launch service! How crazy is that? By the way, please sign up to give $30/month with Tithe.ly at http://www.kalos.church :)

And just a few hours ago, we got back from seeing HIllsong Young and Free and hung out with all the pastors at the City Church because the downtown campus pastor wanted us to make more connections with leaders from all over the region. I love the Church! We already have so many friends in this area because of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Can't wait to reach more people as we participate in the great commission as the church of Seattle. 

A Big Risk [500k Day 3]

If I don't raise enough money by the end of March, I'm going to work a job. Most likely teaching English online to China. 

Taking the leap to church plant, leaving my income and moving to a much more expensive city is a big risk. Financially, some might say it's irresponsible. My son just turned one, we're cutting into our savings and we're not growing our retirement plan like we should. Our dreams of owning a home seem almost impossible in this area (houses are about ten times as expensive here than where we came from). 

As with being a man of faith, but also wanting to be responsible with my family, I have a back up plan. And this back up plan really is bringing my feet to the fire. 

If, by the end of March, we aren't financially in a healthy place (to the point where I can start getting a salary), I am going to get another job outside of the stresses of planting a church. This is called bi-vocational ministry. As far as church planting is concerned, the percentage of a new church breaking the 200 people barrier is much lower for bi-vocational ministries. Think about how hard it is to grow a church in general, let alone in a new area, but with doing that on top of an outside job, it means potentially working a lot less on the plant and reaching less people. 

Many amazing church planters are bi-vocational. There are certain advantages to it. It gives you an easy connection point in the community, it reduces the financial strain of the plant, and it let's people know that you are working and volunteering just like them. Now, If I had more passive income, this would be a lot easier. Unfortunately, I don't have passive income--I'm at a place where I trade time for money. One day, I hope to change that with books and other services. Even with all these advantages, it means less time developing Kalos Church. 

Plainly speaking, I am taking my family on a high risk faith journey, but I don't want to sacrifice them on the altar of church planting. At the end of the day, I want my family to be able to eat, sleep indoors, and live life. For me to be a good man of God to my family, I have to consider this back up plan even if that doesn't make me look as faith filled. 

Even as we step out in faith, I am confident that the body of Christ will help us move forward. Already, many amazing people are making this possible and I'm incredibly grateful. 

Church Planting Networks [500k Day 2]

Church planting is incredibly difficult. Like starting a restaurant or new business, there is a high percentage of failure. Starting from scratch and going to a city without roots all add to this challenge. Thankfully, in the last decade or so, planting has become more common.

That's because, in America, the statistically best way to reach new people with the Gospel is by planting a church. 

So praise God more people are planting. With this newer American trend of church planting, networks have formed and are helping people like me (church planters) with a process, community and financial assistance. Right now, I am in the midst of getting approved to join those networks.

Each network supports approximately $50,000 and some don't mind if multiple networks support your plant. Getting approved is a lot of work.  It's a lot of paperwork. It's a lot of making videos. It's a lot of writing a clear and compelling vision and strategy for Kalos Church. All in all, if any of these networks support us, even though it's time consuming, it will be a huge financial boost. 

These people really dig into your life. They follow up on your references, check your credit score, test your theology, and ask extremely intimate questions about your marriage. They know that church planting is hard, so they make the vetting process as hard as they can. It's not they want to scare people away, but they realize it's better for people to drop out rather than later. 

So please pray that we get approved for support and financial assistance from these networks. We need it!

Raising Money for a Church Plant [500k Day 1]

Happy Blogrimage! 

Over the next 30 days, I'm attempting to raise $500,000 to plant Kalos Church on the Eastside of Seattle, Washington in a city called Bellevue. Church planting has been a dream the LORD spoke to me since college over 10 years ago. During a 40 day water fast and losing 32 pounds, I felt like the LORD spoke to me plant this church with my wife in 2017.

Here's a video we made about Kalos Church:

1 month ago, we left my stable pastoring job with an amazing community and moved to the Pacific Northwest. Things here are about twice as expensive and we now have half the income (I lost my job by moving). Right now, we're living off our savings and feel the urgency of raising this financial support. 

We picked the amount $500,000 to accommodate a large launch model. We want to launch with over 200 people at our first service. This means spending money on promotion, buying equipment and renting a venue. 

The area we are living in is incredibly expensive. We live 15 minutes away from the richest man on Earth! 

For example, a church in the area is leasing their building for $75,000/month! This place is expensive and if we are going to launch large we are going to need at least $500,000. When you consider that this is the most unchurched area in America, how expensive it is, and us moving here without a network, we think this fundraising goal is pretty modest (though it feels like a ton). 

So far, we've raised approximately $60,000. That means we have a long ways to go, but I believe with God's grace and hard work, we can do it. 

So for the next 30 days, I'm going to try to raise this money. On this Blogrimage, I'll bring you along my journey. 

Here are my strategic goals:

• Contact 830 people about giving
• Recruit 300 people to give $30/month
• Empower my online community to share this goal and recruit their networks
• Make a Fundraising Video for the $30/month ask
• Contact and apply for Church Networks to support us (ARC, LINC, WE, Etc)

Please pray for us and ask God if you should help us plant a church by financially supporting us :)

- Pradeepan