“Not only do I know that I will be challenged by the Word of God personally, I will grow in my ability to minister to others.”
– Pastor Brian O’Day, Pillar Church, Jacksonville, NC
The challenge of developing relationships in the midst of transition is a constant for Brian O’Day. The ministry he directs – the Praetorian Project – plants churches in military communities. His challenge is that of developing soldiers into church planters who can shepherd their congregations with the Word of God.
Brian pastors one of the church plants near Camp Lejeune (Jacksonville, NC). When he met WordPartners’ Tim Henry in the church foyer, he thought Tim was just another Marine dad. He had no idea that their first conversation would develop into a fruitful partnership between two ministries.
“I started to get to know some of the guys in WordPartners,” Brian recounts, “and I was drawn in relationally enough to check out what this was. Once I learned about the process – the simplicity of the principles and the multiplication opportunities – I was very excited to experience it for myself. Once I attended my first group, I was hooked and ready to start a group in my town.”
Brian did just that – working with WordPartners, he started a training group serving pastors in his region and beyond. “It has become the highlight of my year,” he said. “Not only do I know that I will be challenged by the Word of God personally, I will grow in my ability to minister to others. Perhaps the part that has surprised me is how close I have come with the men who have gathered with us each time. . . . We really are in this together and get excited to see one another growing in the Word.”
As WordParters seeks to effectively serve churches in the U.S., partnerships like this are incredibly strategic. For Praetorian, “[WordPartners’] has given us clear and tangible ways to pour into the next generation of pastors and preachers. I look forward to seeing this movement of the Word in the next decade!”
