In the very first episode of the Extended Grace podcast, Vernon and Ashley sit down to tell the story of how they got here. Two years of praying through burnout and a call into full-time ministry, a door at their home church that felt wide open and then quietly closed, and an opportunity from Ashley's dad that neither of them saw coming.

This episode covers the year of ambiguity, the moment that felt like a death, and the surprising excitement that followed once "church planting," something they swore was never for them, became the answer they didn't know they were praying for.

SHOW NOTES

In this episode:

• Meet Vernon and Ashley Johnson, and hear how the Extended Grace podcast came to be
• Nearly two years of praying through a call into full-time ministry, and the burnout that pushed them toward it
• Ashley's eight years as worship and creative pastor at Christian Hills, and Vernon's season as part-time executive pastor while working full-time at LinkedIn
• The hard season of feeling called forward with no clarity on where — and the moment in November that felt like a breakthrough, followed by a door that closed again in February
• Applying to other churches, and why theological fit (including women in ministry) made that search harder than expected
• The unexpected phone call about a church-planting opportunity with the FCA in North Carolina — and why neither of them wanted it, at first
• Meeting Pastor Anthony Simmons and Pastor Dave Carlson at their denomination's convention, and the moment it started to feel real
• Setting up the first trip to Charlotte to pray, look around, and listen for what God might be saying

Mentioned in this episode:

• The FCA — the network of churches our current church is a part of. https://fcaministers.com/
• Acts 16 — Paul, Silas, and the Holy Spirit redirecting them from Asia to Macedonia
• The Buns family — missionaries with JAARS, based in Charlotte

Connect with us:Follow along, get updates, or find out how to get involved with Extended Grace at extendedgracechurch.com