Matt Keller
It all started with a dream.
A grand hypothesis.
A what if...
What if... God could raise up a different kind of church than this Indiana boy had ever seen before? I had seen a lot of churches as I traveled and spoke every weekend for the last several years, but I dreamed of a different kind of church than I had ever seen before.
What if church could be less boring or more than merely a box to check before moving on with the rest of their weekend? What if church could be a place people actually looked forward to? What if church could be a place people actually got excited about coming to? And what if church could be a place where people actually wanted to invite their friends? Was it possible that church could be a place filled with passionate worship, practical teaching, and with real city impact? I dreamed of a church that truly took people to the next level in their Christian lives.
In January 2002, with all the faith we could muster, and with that dream in mind, my wife, Sarah, and I along with our 19-month old son, resigned our ministry position in northeast Indiana and moved about 1,000 miles away from the only home either of us had ever known in Indiana to Fort Myers, Florida to start Next Level Church. I remember driving that 26-foot moving truck through the hills of Tennessee and thinking, "What have I done? Are we crazy? Will this even work?"
When we unloaded our truck in to a two-bedroom apartment in Fort Myers, we had $9,200 to our name, no job and two college guys who were with us ready to take this journey. In February, we began meeting on Tuesday nights at a local coffee shop and even had a few people crazy enough to believe in our dream actually join our team. A few months later, we launched Sunday services on Mother’s Day, May 12th, 2002 at the Bell Tower Theaters.
Thirty-five people showed up that day. I was so excited that people actually came but then I remember sitting at Arby's across the road from the movie theater when it hit me. "Oh no, we have to do this all again in seven days!" The church had been birthed, but the work had just begun. We were clueless as to what it meant to "Do church" every week, much less what it meant to "be the church." But God was faithful. And He moved and provided in amazing ways back then. His faithfulness and His favor were over us at every step and in every turn. What we lacked in skill and knowledge, we made up for in passion.
Since that time, there have obviously been many amazing highs as well as many devasting lows. All the days have not been magical and wonderful. Many have been painstakingly difficult, but through it all, God has used each one of them to keep us trusting and keep our hearts ever turning more and more to Him.
It was in one of those low moments that I remember sitting on the side of our bed crying with my wife as we felt so alone and clueless. We were at our wits end with little money and little help from others around us who had promised to help us. It was in that moment that I remember looking over at my wife and saying, "If God lets us live through this, we are going to spend the rest of our lives making sure no one ever has to feel the way we feel right now." We could have never imagined just how prophetic that statement would turn out to be.
The good news is, we didn't die! God did let us live through it! And the thousands of stories of life-change that have taken place because of it are truly God glorifying. 17 years later, Next Level Church is a church with three locations and over 3,000 people who call our church their home. In addition, today we lead, pastor, and influence over 100 churches across the USA through the Next Level Relational Network.
Sarah and I know firsthand how hard ministry can be and we are dedicating our life to making sure that no ministry leader feels the way we felt that night on the side of our bed. When you chase the dream God has for you, it takes everything you have and more. It is a journey of constant, ever increasing dependence on the Lord.
For the pastors in our network, I don’t want them to just survive the journey, I want their souls to shine even more brightly because of the experience. I don't know you, but I think I know about you. Wherever you find yourself on the journey, I know that you’ve had incredibly difficult moments in your life just as I have and I want to encourage you to trust God with those difficult, challenging times. Being a leader, chasing your God-dream and being who God has called you to be is never easy, but it is always worth it.
You are who God says you are. You are a son or daughter of God. And your Heavenly Father has good things for you. Not easy things...but good things. Trust Him. Keep your eyes on Him and watch what He will do.
-Matt Keller
Author, Founder and Lead Pastor of Next Level Church Ft. Myers, FL
