How it all started...
This is the story of how God has miraculously unfolded his plan for Watershed Church.
The idea of a church planted in the middle of central Texas, a church positioned on the countryside of a military base, a church with no history--was but a seed of an idea. In 2010 Kyle Black, church planting pastor, and his wife Lindsay, surrendered to a call on their hearts to plant a church in the heart of central Texas. Since then, the church has seen and experienced the Lord make provisions for our church body in ways that can't be explained outside of Christ alone. The analogy of the mystery of planting a seed is much like the process of planting a church. Here is the story from the beginning from Kyle and Lindsay's perspective...
We plant the seed in the soil and add some water. We set it in the sun knowing full well that it will take time to sprout and grow. The process of planting takes work, attention, commitment, and the Lord’s unseen hand to produce the slightest hint of bloom.
A church plant? A plant called Church. A digging up soil and a planting of seed and pouring in to produce a bloom of people called--church. Planting is a journey. It is a journey of surrender and faith and wonder and searching and producing and pruning and growing and questioning everything. This process of church-planting seems external at first glance. It seems unique to those who pursue it and a challenge to those who are called to it. But what we have learned through embracing this task is that we are not church planters. We are the buried-in-earth, thirsty-for-water plants who have experienced being planted and pruned and pruned and pruned.
Planting is a journey. And this is our’s . . . Our desire to plant a church was naive. It was simplistic and ignorant and in our immaturity the Lord watered in grace and pushed us on through to an acceptance of His timing and His pruning and grooming. We were serving on staff at a local church in Lampasas, Texas when the Lord first introduced the idea into our hearts to plant a church. For two years we wrestled with the logistics of such an endeavor. In 2011 we excitedly, yet fearfully, stepped away from our ministry at our former church in order to let the Lord move us spiritually, physically, and emotionally into the direction of church planting. He did not move us. We were not transplanted. We were stuck. Stuck in the same house. Stuck in a situation making less money than we needed to survive. Stuck, frozen in time with no fruit, no bloom to prove our pursuit to be church planters. The transplanting was not physical. It was spiritual.
The Lord’s planting began in our hearts. Our hearts were being tuned to His. Our focus was being directed toward Him. Our dreams were being minimized so that the Lord was being maximized. That is the process of planting, being planted. It is never a process of doing. It is always a process of receiving. Just like a plant receives water, sunlight, care. During this process of being planted, the Lord gives much of Himself so that we will find satisfaction in Him, not in the process.
We have experienced much of Him over the last years. We have experienced the Lord’s perfect provision. He provided support for our family when our own paychecks haven’t been enough. He provided the legal fees for filing the non-profit and corporate paperwork. He has provided a facility for us to meet in a perfect location. We have experienced the Lord’s gracious guidance. He designed a divine situation between us and a friend/builder who had access to a lot in a perfect location, who was willing to custom build a home, and who was willing to wait until our house sold to let us close.
We have experienced the Lord’s purposeful positioning. Kyle applied to the Acts 29 church planting network in early 2011. Through the Acts 29 network, the Lord led us to Grace Bible Church in Killeen, Tx and has allowed Kyle the opportunity to be shepherded by Pastor, Dave McMurry. Dave has mentored Kyle through his wisdom and understanding of the gospel. Watershed entered into full Acts 29 membership in 2015.
In October of 2020, during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Lord made a way for us to purchase a nearby event center that was closing its doors. We acknowledge that owning this multi-million dollar facility is beyond what we deserve as a local church. It is a provision we have purposed to steward well for giving the gospel of Jesus to the community.
The idea of a church planted in the middle of central Texas, a church positioned on the countryside of a military base, a church with no history--was but a seed of an idea. In 2010 Kyle Black, church planting pastor, and his wife Lindsay, surrendered to a call on their hearts to plant a church in the heart of central Texas. Since then, the church has seen and experienced the Lord make provisions for our church body in ways that can't be explained outside of Christ alone. The analogy of the mystery of planting a seed is much like the process of planting a church. Here is the story from the beginning from Kyle and Lindsay's perspective...
We plant the seed in the soil and add some water. We set it in the sun knowing full well that it will take time to sprout and grow. The process of planting takes work, attention, commitment, and the Lord’s unseen hand to produce the slightest hint of bloom.
A church plant? A plant called Church. A digging up soil and a planting of seed and pouring in to produce a bloom of people called--church. Planting is a journey. It is a journey of surrender and faith and wonder and searching and producing and pruning and growing and questioning everything. This process of church-planting seems external at first glance. It seems unique to those who pursue it and a challenge to those who are called to it. But what we have learned through embracing this task is that we are not church planters. We are the buried-in-earth, thirsty-for-water plants who have experienced being planted and pruned and pruned and pruned.
Planting is a journey. And this is our’s . . . Our desire to plant a church was naive. It was simplistic and ignorant and in our immaturity the Lord watered in grace and pushed us on through to an acceptance of His timing and His pruning and grooming. We were serving on staff at a local church in Lampasas, Texas when the Lord first introduced the idea into our hearts to plant a church. For two years we wrestled with the logistics of such an endeavor. In 2011 we excitedly, yet fearfully, stepped away from our ministry at our former church in order to let the Lord move us spiritually, physically, and emotionally into the direction of church planting. He did not move us. We were not transplanted. We were stuck. Stuck in the same house. Stuck in a situation making less money than we needed to survive. Stuck, frozen in time with no fruit, no bloom to prove our pursuit to be church planters. The transplanting was not physical. It was spiritual.
The Lord’s planting began in our hearts. Our hearts were being tuned to His. Our focus was being directed toward Him. Our dreams were being minimized so that the Lord was being maximized. That is the process of planting, being planted. It is never a process of doing. It is always a process of receiving. Just like a plant receives water, sunlight, care. During this process of being planted, the Lord gives much of Himself so that we will find satisfaction in Him, not in the process.
We have experienced much of Him over the last years. We have experienced the Lord’s perfect provision. He provided support for our family when our own paychecks haven’t been enough. He provided the legal fees for filing the non-profit and corporate paperwork. He has provided a facility for us to meet in a perfect location. We have experienced the Lord’s gracious guidance. He designed a divine situation between us and a friend/builder who had access to a lot in a perfect location, who was willing to custom build a home, and who was willing to wait until our house sold to let us close.
We have experienced the Lord’s purposeful positioning. Kyle applied to the Acts 29 church planting network in early 2011. Through the Acts 29 network, the Lord led us to Grace Bible Church in Killeen, Tx and has allowed Kyle the opportunity to be shepherded by Pastor, Dave McMurry. Dave has mentored Kyle through his wisdom and understanding of the gospel. Watershed entered into full Acts 29 membership in 2015.
In October of 2020, during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Lord made a way for us to purchase a nearby event center that was closing its doors. We acknowledge that owning this multi-million dollar facility is beyond what we deserve as a local church. It is a provision we have purposed to steward well for giving the gospel of Jesus to the community.
Will you join us?
Join us every Sunday as we gather to worship together a 10:30am.