Here's a new article from the Great Commission site:
Dan Braga, a church planter in Seattle, is the first pastor of the Acts 29 Network to come on staff with GCM.
Acts 29 is a network of church planters who are committed to starting missional churches--churches that act as missionaries to their own communities and cultures. Acts 29 was co-founded by author and pastor Mark Driscoll, and it shares with GCM a commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission through local, reproducing churches. Both Acts 29 and GCM are committed to planting churches that will effectively reach the culture and plant more churches.
As a native of Seattle, Dan Braga is on a mission is to replant a church in the south of the city. "Seattle is the most unchurched city in the U.S.," he says, "so it is a ripe mission field. My hope is to see a church re-birthed that proclaims the good news of Jesus without shame, and to see lives healed for the glory of our King."
Dan came to know the Lord in 1998, after years of addiction and depression. "The night I received Jesus, I knew that I would serve Him with all my life," he says. "Over the years, I began naturally teaching and pastoring people, and as I matured, I felt a deep drive to do this in a greater capacity." Dan and his wife, Alexis, were married in 2001, and they have three children: Sophia, Nyla, and Jobe.
The executive director of Acts 29 encouraged Dan to come on staff with GCM for the financial support and credibility GCM provides. "Church planting and replanting are financially challenging calls," says Dan. "GCM provides excellent fund-raising training and accountability, easing the burden on the prospective planter. It's been absolutely fantastic to be the first in this, and I can't wait to see many others join!"
To learn more about the Acts 29 Network, visit
www.acts29network.org.