I did not actually get to teach the student I am spotlighting today, at least in a formal class. But we have spent so much time together the past few years I am sure Larry Grays feels like I was one of his professors. After all, I am ALWAYS teaching. 
Larry finished his MDiv at SEBTS about the time I came there. We have spent time together speaking at the same events, rooming together at camps, and enjoying choice fellowship. For years Larry was an itinerant, traveling and speaking all over the place. Since summer 2007 Larry has shifted to another form of evangelism. He has gone to the city-center of one of the world cities in the U.S, Atlanta–a city which has become increasingly populated by the lost more than by believers over the last several years.Larry has become a church planter. He has also learned some valuable lessons about planting. Here are a few of my observations, then I will let him tell you his story.
First, Larry is not a 24 year old fresh out of seminary. He brings maturity and wisdom from years of work. Second, he came to a difficult but very influential part of Atlanta. He understands my little credo: reach the city, reach the nations. Finally, he gets the importance of the Word of God in a postmodern culture. Larry is a gifted biblical preacher. For years after he spoke in chapel student preaching week people talked about that message, and he continues to be an effective expositor. Fourth, he shares Christ (I do not assume every church plant aggressively seeks to reach the unchurched). The first two people he led to Christ were a leasing agent and a resident of their apartment community. Church planters need to be personal witnesses. Finally, he can speak well to the younger generation. He and I both love to speak to youth and college students. The city-center is alive with young adults, and Larry can speak to them with authority. Here is Larry’s story about some other things that helped his plant to get started well. Note the mention of partners and of prayer, and service to the community.
“Our church plant launched in August of 2007. My family moved into the area in August of 2006. We have planted in a Live, Work, Play community called Atlantic Station. Atlantic Station is on 138 acres with 1.6 million sq feet of retail space, 6 million sq. ft of office space and 5,000 living units. This is an expensive place to live and a challenging place to do ministry. Atlantic Station is private property. They do not do business with religious or political organizations. So they were pretty closed to use when we first moved here. This is also a pretty gated community. Most of the residences have several layers of security.
“I believe our greatest needs have been met through laborers. Jesus said, “The fields are white unto harvest but the laborers are few.” Some of a church planters greatest needs are outreach, leadership and finances. All of these are met best through indigenous laborers. Mature believers help get the word out, they are already committed to giving and they are ready to make disciples. One of the first things we did was to seek church partners. First Baptist Woodstock helped us with some focus group research and with several challenges to their congregation to make a one year commitment to be a part of our core group. Several of the members moved with us permanently and some made a one year commitment to help us. The church made a 3 year financial commitment to help and several Sunday school classes made additional commitments to help financially and with service projects. FBC Woodstock also helped recruit several other church partners to help us in similar ways. A couple of businessmen agreed to help us with our living expenses.
“A big part of what we did involved prayer. Before we held a public service we did a 7 week Jericho prayer walk. We also used our partners to pray for every name in the city of Atlanta phone book. We continue to have a prayer team that prays during the worship service and every short term team we bring in prayer walks before they do anything else. The best key to getting into the “gated communities” of Atlantic station has been community service. We started with the apartment manager where we were living. We offered to help with “resident retention” events like a super bowl party, gift wrapping, breakfast on the go and block parties. She became a person of peace who opened the door to all of the apartment managers and home owner associations in Atlantic Station. Since then Atlantic Station has contacted us and asked us to represent them on NPR, Dan Rather and on the board of directors for the Atlantic Station civic association. If someone moves to Atlantic Station and ask about a church almost all of the leasing agents will refer them to our church.”
I hope you will take a moment today and pray for the work of Larry and others who labor in the white fields of the cities of America. 
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