Hi everyone!
Can you believe we’re already at the end of February? Time really does fly by quickly! We hope that you’re doing well and that your year is off to a great start.
We kicked off 2023 joining over 450 churches in our global family of churches — Every Nation, to pray, fast, and consecrate ourselves to see God’s miraculous power be made known to the world in and through our lives.
What a remarkable week of miracles that were witnessed through our time of praying, fasting, and consecrating ourselves.
Let’s join our faith together and continue to believe in God’s power to perform miracles and reveal His presence in Fort Worth and beyond.
As for joining our faith together, we are also grateful for your prayers and generosity towards our faith goal of sending 10 students from Texas Christian University (TCU) to the 2023 ENC Conference.
While we fell short of our target, three students were able to attend and had their lives transformed, equipped, and activated to make disciples for Jesus at TCU.
Isaiah, Kathleen, Joya, and I were significantly impacted by our time invested in the conference. In fact, I asked all three the following questions:
If you had to sum up your conference experience in one word, what would that word be and why?
Here’s what they shared:
“Liberating! It really got cemented in my heart that all I have to do is be who God called me to be as a son, and not try to act different or not myself to be accepted by others.” — Isaiah
“Remembering! The conference reminded me about why I’m at TCU and God’s plan there!” — Joya
“Freeing! A lot of strongholds and wrong beliefs I had about myself were really replaced with His truth.” — Kathleen
Our catalytic experience is one of affirmation, connection, refreshment, and renewal, infusing faith and imparting passion for Jesus and the great commission to make disciples.
Another catalytic experience was hearing from Ryan Kearns, Executive Pastor of Stonegate Church in Midlothian, Texas, at Plant Fort Worth’s December gathering.
He shared about the importance of Self-awareness and Health, and why each is important in the lives of people and organizations, especially in church planting and vocational ministry in general.
A few Ryans key takeaways:
Ministry must be thought of as a path and not a pasture. Ministry is a path, not a stagnant pasture, and leaders must be intentional in finding their way through it. Leaders should communicate a clear vision and initiatives to ensure that everyone involved in the ministry is fully committed to it. The key is to avoid a “busy but going nowhere” mentality and instead focus on deliberate actions and communication.
Be present with God and His people. One of the greatest occupational hazards in life for many people, church planters included, is discouragement. It can often rear its head as shame and regret from the past, or as fear and anxiety in the future. More importantly, we must recognize that such emotions stem from feeling a lack of something that can redirect us to focus on connecting with God and recognizing our sufficiency in Jesus Christ.
None of anything we do really matters at all unless you guard your heart unto the Lord. What is the point of anything if we can’t live well and finish strong in all aspects of life? It is essential not to lose sight of our relationship to be with God rather than simply doing for Him. To prevent an unfulfilled and short-lived life — like that of a match instead of the longevity and consistency in that of a flare — we must be vigilant about guarding our hearts both physically and spiritually. We need to prioritize not only our spiritual health but also our physiological and nutritional health by regulating our eating, sleeping, exercise, work, and rest.
Since arriving in Fort Worth some six or so months ago, one of the most pivotal life-giving experiences has been opening the doors of our home to our neighbors.
In January, the Lord of the harvest literally blew the door off the hinges (never discovered what exactly happened but kids were 100% involved) and miraculously provided six new families that recently moved into the neighborhood.
Our new neighbors obliged our dinner invitation and walked through our doors and into our hearts to close out the month — +15 new people in addition to the 20-25 that regularly attend.
The Lord has been faithful in providing new families to join us for dinner and fellowship. It’s been amazing to see our community grow and thrive in such a short amount of time.
Our next community dinner is this Sunday to close out the month of February. Can’t wait to share as we’ve doubled the number of new families that moved in since January — and only more to arrive as the days pass!
And speaking of families, our Mosaic Church Austin family keeps popping up and surprising us with unexpected visits that filled our hearts to the brim with joy and love, and our house with laughter and good memories.
We are so grateful for our extended church family and the love and support they bring into our lives.
We are profoundly thankful for your unwavering support as God establishes Mosaic Church Fort Worth, and we recognize that we couldn’t accomplish the mission of bringing the message of Jesus to the communities and campuses of Fort Worth without you.
As we continue this miraculous journey together as partners in making disciples for Jesus in Fort Worth and beyond, we eagerly anticipate the opening of more doors and hearts.
God bless,
Pastor Alvin & Mallary Brown
alvin@makingamosaic.com :: mallary@makingamosaic.com
P.S. Invite a friend, family, coworker, or neighbor to the upcoming events (text for the address):
Community Dinner/Hangout
Food, Fun, Friends, and Family at the Brown’s House
Sunday, Feb 26th @ 5 pm
Community Dinner/Hangout
Food, Fun, Friends, and Family at the Brown’s House
Sunday, Mar 12th @ 5 pm
General Prayer Requests & Updates
For evangelism to flourish so communities and campuses in the greater Fort Worth area will be reached, and the lost will see and experience the love of Christ and be drawn to his kingdom.
For signs and wonders to follow the preaching of His Word.
For team unity and laborers to help carry the load.
For finances and provisions.
For fully funded campus missionaries (2 per campus) to help reach the next generation — University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Texas Christian University (TCU), Tarrant County College (TCC), Texas Wesleyan University (TWU) and Tarleton State University – Fort Worth (TSU).
Alvin Brown, the Lead Pastor of Mosaic Church Fort Worth, brings over a decade of pastoral ministry experience and more than 20 years of operational and technical leadership expertise. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunications Management from DeVry University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. He enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Mallary, and their three children and contributing as a writer to various media outlets.