The Thompson family
John Thompson
How have you seen God working in your life?
This question always reminds me of something I heard John Piper say "God is always doing 10,000 things in your life and you're probably only aware of like 3 of them." This has certainly proven true for me, as I often see God's hand more in the rearview of my life than in the present. At the same time, in this season of my life I see God pressing into my soul the need for greater dependence on Him. I know that I'm supposed to be dependent, and in many ways I am. Yet God has been gracious to show me that I (we) live in a culture, and function within a ministry culture that values doing things for God over being with God. I (we) know that Jesus is the One building His church, and yet I've become keenly aware of how quickly I (we) can go from that into believing that all of this hinges on us. The Lord has been gracious to help me see that lasting fruit only comes when being over doing are in proper order. I'm thankful, because when I lean into that, it frees me up to just enjoy being His son.
How have you seen God working in your family?
“God doesn't call the person, He calls the family." Often said, yet easy to forget. My primary ministry is my family, not Kainos. That's another truth I know, and yet it takes work! Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has been kind to teach me and to help me remember my priorities. For the first decade of our family, I served in the US Army and my frequent absence meant my family paid the highest price. Sadly, when we transitioned into vocational ministry that pattern came with us. But by God's grace, and through the help of people who love us, we have learned to fight for that time. He has taught me (and still is!) to set boundaries and to seek rhythms that are sustainable for our family. Abi and I have regular date nights and we strive to be intentional with our children, both together and individually. We are also grateful that God really does call the whole family and are excited to involve our kids as often as possible. We are also thankful to have learned some of these things before jumping into planting, as we have found that the pressures of planting expose that gaps in our lives. We are grateful we get to journey together and are hopeful for God's continued grace.
How have you seen God working in your church?
We are still early in the planting process and in the life of our church. That said, we have seen God's hand most clearly through difficulty and our inadequacy! We have had so many obstacles along the way but Jesus has shown up every single time. We are planting a multiethnic church in arguably the most diverse community in Georgia. This comes with unique challenges but also beautiful opportunities. We aren't there yet, but we are thankful that the Lord has given us a foundational team that reflects much of the diversity of our community. We are watching God move in incredible ways, in the people He's drawn to our team, in the relationships that have formed and in the favor He's given us with people around us. We are seeing our people develop a greater hunger for community and a stronger faith through the trials. We are grateful that God has let us see His Spirit work and to create within us all a longing to know Him, to engage our neighbors and to see people come to know Jesus. Our prayer is that God would fan this flame. He has done great things, and we are prayerful and expectant that He will continue to do them!
Church Mission & Vision
We are planting Kainos Church in Lilburn. Lilburn is arguably the most diverse city in Metro-Atlanta, in the 5th most diverse county in Georgia. Though it has a deep spiritual climate, it is also robustly pluralistic. We believe Jesus wants to raise up a church in our city that sees people reconciled to Him, themselves and to one another. We believe that all of humanity is created in God’s image, to bear His image, and to reflect His glory. We therefore believe that diversity (ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic) is not a human construct but rather a Kingdom reality. We want to intentionally pursue the diversity of our community and champion the diversity of God’s global Kingdom.
OUR VISION: To be a church for all people, from all places, for one purpose.
OUR MISSION: To share and experience the newness of Christ in Lilburn and with the world.
OUR PRIORITY: Prayer. We believe there is power in prayer. We believe there is power in a praying church. We want prayer to be our lifeline, not our safety net. We believe that God holds everything in His hands and that with Him all things are possible (Job 12:10, Matthew 16:18). Because this is true, prayer and total dependence on God is our only real hope.
OUR STRATEGY: Love for Jesus, leads to living for Jesus. Fueled by this, our strategy is simple: to gather for worship and community, to equip through holistic discipleship, and to send God’s people to the places God’s called them.
If you would like to know more please check out our website: http://www.kainos.church