by Dr. Doug Talley

Last fall at the Indiana Ministries annual meeting I unveiled Vision 2015.  One of the vision components was church planting.  My expectation was that 2011 would not be a year in which IM would help sponsor a new church, but that it would be a year of developing a church planting process to work with local congregations to plant churches.  I'm smirking at myself as I write this because God has a way of reminding me that my timing and His aren't always in sync.  In this case I was moving way too slow for Him.  I'm not sure how spiritual sounding this is, but I love catching up with God more than slowing down because I am moving too fast.

Shortly after I began the assignment as Executive State Pastor (fall 2008), Ryan Carrell introduced himself to me and talked about how God may be leading him to plant a church on the Southside of Indianapolis where he spent some growing up years while his dad, Bob, was pastor of Garfield Park CHOG.  We agreed to pray about it, and we had a few short follow-up conversations about it in the two years that followed.  Then in early 2011 Ryan's sense of call to this plant skyrocketed.  By spring we were talking church planter ministry assessment and time-tables.  As of July 1, Ryan, Jill and Emily moved to Indianapolis to begin forming a launch team.

Read on as Ryan introduces his family and his dream.  If you or your church would like to help fund the Carrels and the Southeast Project, please contact me via phone or email (dtalley@indianaministries.org).  This is an exciting work of God, so I hope you will put them on your prayer list. Diligently pray that God will give Ryan and the plant great favor in the community and that God will provide connections with people He is wooing to Himself.