We have decided on a name - Shoreline Church.  Our goal was to find a name that was geographically inclusive while not overly limiting. (See below)  In addition, we wanted something that would be accessible and welcoming to people of all ages and church backgrounds.  Most importantly, we wanted something that spoke to our purpose as a church.  

 

Some of Jesus’ most significant ministry was on or near the shoreline.  Our prayer is that Shoreline will be a church that experiences Jesus in a similar way.  We also know that historically the shoreline has served as hub of activity and refreshment for communities around the world.  Again, our goal for Shoreline Church is to be a source of life, renewal, and intimate encounters with God.  

 

Our branding is a work in progress, but we feel great about it thus far.  The water drop in the logo is an obvious reference to water.  Hopefully, it becomes a clear, simple icon that we can use to represent all that’s been described above.  Names and logos don’t change lives.  Jesus does.  But, we do believe these accurately embody our mission and vision.

LOCATION

We’ve worked hard to study the west Knoxville area in order to assess the greatest need and opportunity for impact.  We feel confident the area designated below is where we need be.  For those familiar with the area, you’ll recognize the epicenter of our target area as the intersection of Northshore Drive and Pellissippi Parkway.  

 

This area is flourishing with commercial development such as Northshore Town Center.  In addition, the construction of a new elementary school and several new neighborhoods will only cause this booming area to keep growing.  Of course, our target area naturally connects to our name.  We believe that God will draw people from all along Northshore Drive, Pellissippi Parkway, and beyond.  And, in most cases, there is water and shoreline very near these various pockets of our community.

 

We are actively exploring our options related to a meeting facility within our target area.  We are confident the Lord will provide the right place at the right time.  Our core group will meet in homes around the area through the spring and summer as planned.  Our need for a larger facility will be to accommodate our monthly worship gatherings in the summer and then our move to weekly services and programming in the fall.   

WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON

 

We’re really focusing our efforts now into three areas.  

 

First and foremost, we are seeking the Lord in an effort to be as spiritually prepared as possible.  We’re digging into the Word, praying diligently, and seeking as much Godly counsel as possible.  

 

Secondly, we are focusing energies on relationships.  God has already entrusted us with so many that are interested, on-board, or simply supportive.  We are so grateful for the incredible amount of support that we’ve received from people and other churches in the Knoxville area.  We’re scheduling lots of get-togethers during visits and trying our best to keep everyone up to speed with communications like this.  

 

Finally, we’re investing a lot of time and resources into preparing the church administratively.  As a result, we’re working on incorporation, our website (coming soon), a people database, etc.  In addition, we’re also working with an outside company to establish the highest levels of financial integrity and giving systems.

 

 

We placed our house on the market around 3 weeks ago.  Within 1 week, we had a contract on it!  We’ll be closing later this month and then moving most of our stuff to Knoxville into storage.  In that I don’t finish my time at LifeWay until the end of March, we’ll be living with a family here in Hendersonville.  They are like family to us and we know this will be a fun, special few weeks for all of us.  We have yet to find the right home in Knoxville, but we know that we’ll find it eventually.

 

Our kids are champs and have been awesome thus far.  But, we know this will still be tough for them initially.  This will be especially true for our 5-year old, Hayden.  In addition to all to my work for Shoreline, I am still working a full-time schedule in my current role.  I’ll also be traveling to speaking engagements to Montana, Florida (twice), Mississippi, and a few other places during this time.  And, of course, Carrie is busy with the boys, packing, and wrapping up things here.  

 

Thus, we would certainly appreciate your prayers as it relates to all of these matters.  

 

 

We will begin our weekly core group meetings the week after Easter. (April 8th)  While participation in our core group meetings doesn’t lock someone into membership/partnership, these will definitely be intentional times of growth and preparation for the days ahead.  With that said, we understand that some may want more information before committing to this important season of our church.  Thus, we will be hosting a general information meeting in early March.  Hopefully, this will provide even more clarity to our vision and a chance to answer questions that some may have.  We’ll be announcing our date, time, and location for that very soon.