So we’re moving to NOLA

I locked myself in the bathroom.

Sitting behind the door at the hotel I desperately asked God why we were in New Orleans. Our family had traveled from Florence, Alabama to consider planting a church in the Big Easy. From the moment we crossed the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain my heart was overwhelmed.

We can’t move down here. This is far bigger than we are able to handle.

Later that day I sat in the car as my family went back inside, still wrestling with the idea of leaving everything we knew and taking on this daunting challenge.

I sensed God quieting my soul and reminding me of Joshua, Caleb, and the spies from Numbers 13:30. But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Taking a deep breath I emerged from my self-imposed confines. No sooner than I came inside  my 13 year old daughter, Erin, innocently asked me a question.

“Dad, where is that verse in the Bible about the spies in the Promised Land?”

I was stunned. We sat down as a family and read it together. Still trembling on the inside but with renewed courage, we prayed together and decided to not let fear of the unknown decree whether or not we would obey God.

This would prove to be the week that changed the course of our lives forever.

My name is Ryan Melson. My wife, Michelle, our daughter Erin and son, Walker, will take an enormous step of faith and move to the West Bank area of New Orleans as Send North America church planters.

Our goal is to join with a local church for six months to serve and assimilate to the culture as we begin reaching the local community and laying the groundwork for a multiplying church.

Why New Orleans? Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the entire spiritual landscape of the city has become more open to the gospel. When Southern Baptists were the first to arrive and the last to leave, a lasting impression was made on the citizens of what was once thought to be one of the darkest cities in the country.

We have an incredible opportunity to reach the people of New Orleans with the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ. We would love for your church family to consider supporting us in our efforts to penetrate the darkness in a variety of different ways.

We would love to discuss with you how you can mobilize to pray, give, and even send teams to New Orleans to serve alongside us as we plant in the West Bank. We encourage you to visit sendnetwork.com and click Help Plant a Church for more resources.

I would love to personally share our heart with you for this great city. Let me know of a convenient time where we can speak further or if we could come and share with your congregation. Contact us directly at wryanmelson@gmail.com.