After catching up with Sheridan I had a meeting with a small group of people to discuss an idea for a new church plant.

I have been working in the Leederville area all year and as I have observed the rhtythms of life there I see that for many people the cafe strip is a ‘home base’, its ‘their space’. I began wondering if we could start a church in a cafe in that zone – maybe with a particular focus on the professional crew?…

It was just an idea gestating quietly until one day I sat down with my good friend Stuart Wesley and I shared it with him.

“That’s great! Lets do it” he said.

“Ok – let’s” I said suddenly feeling like the idea had sprouted wings.

And in that moment the idea went from gestation to birthing.

A few people have asked me what it will look like. And that is still an unknown. The small group who came together last night were all professionals who are able to help shape something that will actually connect with that crowd. (If left to me it might be a bit low brow and grungy!)

Funnily enough a name has gelled ‘Inter-mission’, which focuses on the idea of equipping people for mission together in the Leederville office area, but also plays on the idea of a ‘break/space in the day’.

As we talked last night it seemed that we were feeling most drawn to connecting with those who are fringy Christians or spiritual seekers – people who may have dropped off the edge, but who have not lost faith as well as those who are still exploring. Our goal is not to create a weekday alternative for those Christians who can’t be bothered ‘going on Sunday’, but to create a genuine expression of church for those who may never connect in a Sunday.

From here the deal is that we will catch up again to pray over the remainder of this year and see what we sense God saying with a view to kicking something off next year some time.

It was as I went home from that first conversation with Stuart that it began to dawn on me how Paul may have done things. As I speak of planting a second church I don’t feel at all divided in my loyalties or energies. My heart is in the Brighton community, but I do feel I can lend some creative grunt to this baby to get it up and running and then leave it with a bunch of competent people to develop and expand.

I felt excited at the possibility you could plant more than one church at once! (Is that in the church planter’s handbook?…) and also excited that I could connect with folks in my work zone.download simple plan a