Dreaming God-Sized Dreams
I first stumbled upon the NewThing Network when I saw their booth at the Exponential Church Planting Conference in Orlando, Florida. I wandered over to see if they had any free swag, and I think they gave me a koozie (for my root beer)! After being generous with their swag, they also told me about the different things they do to support and sustain multiplying churches across the globe. I was really excited because we hadn’t launched our faith community yet. We were already dreaming about multiplication. I found people that were speaking my language! I was intrigued, so I put my name on their email list and asked them to follow up. And they did!
Learning to become a reproducing church
While meeting with the team, I left without feeling any pressure at all. They told me about how I could be what they called a “Reproducing Church” and have access to a lot of their resources at no cost! If you recall way back to the beginning of my story…I like free stuff, so I was hooked!
I began hanging out with the NewThing North America group and was even invited to a few Global Leadership Community Calls. I learned about the 4 R’s (Relationships, Reproducing, Residencies, Resources). I learned very quickly that these were not just cool, alliterated words that looked nice on their t-shirts, but that they lived and breathed these values. They took them very seriously - so much so that they didn’t even mind that I was just there to learn and glean what I could. They invested in our ministry well. I learned very quickly that they are a Network that cares far more about the Kingdom than they do an annual membership fee. Not only that, but they pushed me and stretched me to dream bigger dreams! They listened to my dreams for multiplication and helped me get to the place where we were able to launch our church with the big dream of starting 32 churches in 20 years. I never encountered a church planting network that didn’t adhere to the “pay to play” model. The experiences and resources that I was privy to through this network were so life-giving and game-changing that I had to be in! So…I was sold!
Real relationships
In June of 2021, I “signed on the dotted line” of one of our church checks and began an official relationship with the NewThing Network. It has been so rewarding. I am so proud of the church family that I lead to be considered a “Partner Church” in the NewThing Network by supporting what they’re doing globally. In the few years that I have been connected to NewThing (most of those years as a free participant), I have sat under the teaching of world-class leaders and practitioners, I have been lovingly held accountable for the multiplication goals that I set, and I have been considered a peer on both North America and Global calls (even when I’m the least experienced person around the table). I have experienced real relationships with people who have never sized me up (you know the type - “my church is bigger than yours”). They also helped me craft a more clearly defined definition of the words “church” and “disciple.” Not only that, but they helped me realize that my dream of planting 32 churches in 20 years was actually far too small!
About kingdom impact
Now, they are helping me with practical next steps, not just to start a large handful of churches but to work toward gospel saturation in my entire city within the next 20 years!
Ryan Sidhom and his family live in Vancouver, WA.
Ryan Sidhom and his family live in Vancouver, WA.
Being involved in the NewThing Network has definitely helped me be able to dream “God-sized dreams” and take practical, Holy Spirit dependent steps toward achieving them.
It has been so refreshing to be a part of this Network that cares far more about Kingdom impact and the name of Jesus being known than they do about their own name being known. My experience with NewThing is one that I am extremely grateful for. It has been a total game-changer for the ministry that I lead, and it has led to real, tangible steps toward multiplication in my context. I am so proud to be a partner of this Network, and I can tell you from experience that it is 100% worth investing in. I am all in!
You can help other leaders just like Ryan who are dreaming big dreams by investing in the GO Together initiative.
