Back for Round Three!

Hey fam!

I am THRILLED to be sitting at an airport gate once again waiting to return to Manchester. This will be my third trip in three years, and I am unbelievably thankful to have this experience. Before I actually get going, I wanted to take a minute to explain what I'll actually be doing this trip!

I will be in Manchester and in London for four days apiece. My time in Manchester will be spent attending the Launch Europe conference. (For more info on Launch, click here.) Launch is connected with NewThing, which is the church planting catalyst that I work with. In essence, nearly everything I do in the UK has some connection with NewThing, and I am beyond excited to actually be able to attend this conference and see it from a global perspective. Our American equivalent of Launch is called Exponential, which I have attended in the past and it is incredible. I'll be hearing from global leaders, some of whom are friends of mine, and will also be able to catch up with most of my Manchester friends while enjoying it. I am also blessed to be able to see two of my German global resident friends who have spent time with us at Community! Overall, I already know it is going to be amazing, and I can't wait to jump in.

While at Launch, I will be meeting some new friends of mine in person for the first time from Restore Community Church in London. We've been emailing and Skyping since December, so it will be great to meet face to face. After we attend Launch, I will be traveling back to London with them to visit their church. I'm thrilled to be able to meet with them and see how they approach church and church planting in the London setting.

The goal of all of this? I'm still planning/hoping/praying about what I'll be doing with my upcoming leadership residency next year. It seems that God keeps opening doors that point to the UK, and it would be an amazing opportunity to be able to do my residency there. My dream is to plant churches, and I'm very fortunate to have a wide assortment of people to learn from as I strive towards that. This trip will help me to build more relationships with global church planters as I continue to learn and dream.

I'll be updating this blog as often as I can along the way. Thank you for reading, and I hope you will partner with me in prayer over my time in this place that I love so much!

Cheers,
Lindsay