Jeremy L. Berg

On our anniversary this January, I’m sharing some favorite stories from the early days of planting MainStreet. Enjoy!

Preachers make a living with words, and so we’re all too aware of the old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Equally as powerful as a picture is some dramatic participatory  theater or a symbolic action or a vivid object lesson to solidify a message. A sermon will also play on all the senses as much as possible.

Therefore, one of my favorite services and messages I preach all year is our summer baptism service at Surfside Beach each August. There’s something powerful about sitting by the lakeside, preaching about the wind of the Spirit as the morning breeze blows on our faces; or imagining Peter stepping out of the boat and onto the water as we see and hear the waves lapping a few feet away; or considering afresh the invitation to follow Jesus and become fishers of men as a fishing boat motors by in the distance.

It was our first ever beachside service that stands out in my memory most powerfully. Let me set the scene a bit. It was late August just before we were about to take the great leap of faith and launch into our first public worship services in September. We had spent over a year casting vision, gathering for prayer, and tirelessly trying to gather a strong Launch Team to commit to this MainStreet adventure.

The first group of people to join the core team had gone through a long, faith-testing year — fall, winter, spring and summer — with seemingly no progress toward seeing an actual church birthed. Even though we were now only weeks from officially launching worship services in town, people were starting to drift away, lose faith in the vision (or perhaps my leadership) and call it quits. I was growing both discouraged and frustrated with people’s lack of faith and perseverance.

We had spent that spring exploring the courageous leadership of Joshua and the floundering yet sufficient faith of the Israelites as they camped on the banks of the Jordan, trying to muster up the courage to try to cross over to the other side. Would they drown trying to obey God? Would they face their fears in crossing only to be humiliated on the other side when they enter the city (Jericho) God has apparently already given them?

We gathered at the beach that morning, and as I got up to preach, I paused to look my tired little group in eyes. Like Joshua, I wondered if we were ever going to get across our Jordan successfully by launching into weekly worship? Or, would people slowly abandon the cause, fed up with all these months of wandering in the wilderness of the “gathering phase” of church planting? No one wants to join a failing cause, and many had their doubts whether this church was ever going to get off the ground.

I, on the other hand, knew God’s call was on me, and if this church failed it would not because God didn’t do His part. Nor would it fail for my lack of trying. That day at the beach, I  was wondering how committed people really were. I was wondering how many were willing to take a great leap of faith and, like the Israelites, step into the Jordan over their heads, trusting that only after we have taken the first step of faith into the water, would God do his bit and push back the waters to provide a way across.

Just weeks before launching monthly preview services, I used that service at the beach to challenge people to get a little crazy for God, throw caution to the wind for once, take a leap of wild faith, put all doubt aside and “jump all in” for Jesus and his mission in Mound.

Now, for the dramatic theatrics that made this moment one of my highlights of the entire MainStreet journey so far. At the climax of my sermon, I began passionately asking, “Are their any people out there today who are willing to do something crazy to show that they are “all in” and not backing out? Is anyone ready to jump in over their heads this fall at MainStreet in helping launch this church? If you are tired of playing it safe, and are ready to give your life entirely over to Jesus, show me!”

At this moment, someone suddenly got up from their chair, ran toward the lake, down the fishing dock and jumped into the lake over their head with a giant splash!Another person followed. Then another. Eventually about a dozen or more people jumped off that dock in their Sunday clothes as a symbolic act of surrender and faith in the God who sometimes only parts the sea after we’ve jumped in over our heads.

Now, truth be told, this was planned out ahead of time with the majority of the people who jumped. To the rest of the congregation that morning, it appeared to be spontaneous. Yet, my favorite part of this story is Anna, who did not know this was planned, and who felt moved by the Holy Spirit through the message to respond and jump in herself—even though she was wearing a dress not conducive to such an activity.

This was a significant faith moment for her as a teenager feeling called to be more bold and courageous with her witness among her friends at school. This was her moment of self-abandonment, of throwing caution to the wind, and trusting God to use her to reach her friends for Christ that coming school year. We recorded and shared her testimony that fall, cerebrating how she stepped forward to help MainStreet form a youth ministry that began to minister to her group of friends.

This story is just one example of how we have been intentional about creating a church culture that values risky faith over cautious calculation. I have little interest in leading a church that only attempts things we can humanly achieve. We want to be a church setting our hearts and eyes on God-sized dreams and visions, and putting our hands to things that can only be accomplished if God shows up.

About 10 months later, only a few months into weekly worship, we would again jump in well over our heads by signing a lease on a new storefront space and trusting God to provide the funds to build out our new MainStreet home! It is this moment at the beach we would often come back to as a reminder that God only pushes back the scary waters after we’ve stepped into the river in faith!