This weekend several church planters, including myself, went on a roadtrip to Philadelphia to visit John Cope, pastor of Keystone Community Fellowship. Nothing like a trip with a bunch of guys in a fifteen passenger van to make you really appreciate your wife and family. I was with Randy Chestnut, Association Missionary for GCBA, Brad Graves, Church Planter Startegist for Cleveland Hope, and church planters, Joe Ceresi, Marl Leist, Brent Smith, Alex Ennes, Matt Jones, and Mark Stegall. We had a great time being together and sharing our stories and life with one another.

John went to Philly after leading one of the largest student ministries in the country at Lakeland, FL. He led the nation in student baptisms among SBC churches. He went to Philly five years ago to start KCF with just himself and his family. Today KCF is a thriving church in an area that needs to hear the gospel. KCF is averaging around eight hundred people per Sunday and has started a hip-hop church in downtown Philly and is getting ready to start another church north of Philly. John is a very humble guy, but he is a leader who knows how to grow a church. God has opened the door for him to serve on a couple of large church staffs and be mentored by men of God.

While in Philly , we went down to South Street and had an original Philly Cheese Steak a Jim’s on 3rd street. One word of caution; after eating at Jim’s your clothes will smell like cheese steak until you get them washed, but the sandwich is worth it!