On Sunday, August 23, Abundant Life Church will celebrate the launch of our newest campus at Liberty Middle School in Liberty, Missouri.
While that day marks the beginning of weekly Sunday services, the story of Abundant Life Northland began years ago.
Like so many stories of God's faithfulness, it began with a simple invitation to trust Him one step at a time.
Nearly ten years ago, I was teaching Social Studies at Grandview High School when the Lord graciously began to convict me of the spiritual apathy that had settled into my life. I realized I knew a great deal about Christianity, but I longed to become a genuine disciple of Jesus.
After a year of being discipled by another believer, I began sensing that God might be calling me into vocational ministry. I didn't know where He was leading, but I couldn't ignore His direction.
Then, in January 2021, I sat down for coffee with Pastor Phil Hopper. During that conversation, he reminded me of Abraham's calling in Genesis 12. God didn't give Abraham a detailed roadmap, He simply called him to go.
That conversation became a defining moment for me.
God didn't give me every detail of what lay ahead. He simply gave me a direction. My responsibility wasn't to know the destination, it was to be faithful to take the next step.
That obedience led me from the classroom into First Priority, where I spent three years equipping students, networking with churches, and helping launch gospel-centered, student-led clubs in schools across Kansas City. Looking back now, I can see that God was doing far more than teaching me student ministry. He was preparing me to build partnerships, cast vision, develop leaders, and invite people to join the work He was already doing.
At the same time, another opportunity opened through Abundant Life's Church Planting Residency. It was there that the Lord clarified His calling on my life and confirmed that serving as a Campus Pastor was exactly how He had wired me to build His Kingdom.
Only after looking backward could I clearly see how faithfully He had been leading all along.
God Was Already Preparing the Northland
One of the greatest gifts of serving with First Priority was developing friendships with pastors and ministry leaders throughout the Northland.
When Abundant Life announced plans to launch a campus here, I wasn't sure how other churches would respond. Instead of competition, we experienced Kingdom partnership. Pastors throughout the area encouraged us, prayed for us, and celebrated what God was doing because we all share the same mission, to see more people come to know Jesus.
God also opened doors with Liberty Public Schools as we prepared to launch a portable campus at Liberty Middle School. Looking back, it's hard not to see God's fingerprints on every relationship and every conversation.
At the same time, He was gathering people.
Over the past year, we've hosted interest gatherings, prayer-walked neighborhoods, served at community events like the Liberty Fall Festival, met with civic leaders, and begun exploring practical ways to serve our schools and neighbors.
One of the greatest joys has been watching strangers become family.
Every gathering introduced new faces, new friendships, and new opportunities to connect people who often discovered they lived only minutes—or even streets—from one another. Today, nearly one hundred people are preparing to launch Abundant Life Northland together, united by one mission: to see lives changed by Jesus.
More Than a Portable Church
People often ask what it means to be a portable campus.
Every Sunday morning, volunteers will arrive before sunrise to transform Liberty Middle School into a place where people can encounter Jesus. Trailers will be unloaded. Children's classrooms will come to life. Worship equipment will be assembled. Coffee will be brewed. Then, after the service, everything will be packed away until the following week.
It's a tremendous amount of work.
It's also a beautiful reminder that the Church has never been defined by a building. The Church has always been God's people faithfully bringing the hope of Christ wherever He sends them.
From the very beginning, our vision has never been simply to hold church services in the Northland. We want to become part of the community. We want to know our neighbors, serve our schools, develop disciples, and help people experience the life-changing power of Jesus.
What We're Believing God Will Do
As exciting as Launch Sunday will be, our greatest hopes aren't measured by attendance numbers.
They're measured by transformed lives.
We're praying that God would raise a multitude of laborers for the harvest throughout the Northland (Luke 10:2). We pray that ours will be a campus fundamentally dependent on prayer, committed to raising up leaders, and passionate about loving our literal neighbors.
If, years from now, people describe Abundant Life Northland as a church that prays first, equips ordinary people to do extraordinary ministry, and genuinely loves its community, we'll know we're becoming the church God has called us to be.
Join Us
Whether you've been part of Abundant Life for years or you're searching for a church home for the very first time, we'd love to invite you to join us for Launch Sunday.
Sunday, August 23, 2026 | 9:00 a.m.
Liberty Middle School
1500 S. Withers Road
Liberty, Missouri
Finally, on behalf of our entire launch team, thank you.
Thank you for praying.
Thank you for serving.
Thank you for faithfully giving through the A-Life Discipleship Journey.
Because of your generosity, this campus has become a reality far sooner than we ever imagined. You may never meet every person whose life will be changed because of your investment, but heaven will tell those stories one day.
I truly believe lasting legacies will begin in the halls of a middle school in Liberty, not because of any one person or any one campus, but because God's people said “yes” to His mission.
We can't wait to welcome you to Abundant Life Northland.