Hearing of the passing of David Nicholas this morning, it is a shock to all of us. For David's passing is not only felt in Florida and in the States, but to all of the parts of the world where David's legacy is known, and there are many. I felt compelled to write a bit about how this man has impacted my life and the lives of so many others.
First, at a personal level...
It may be a safe statement to say that if David Nicholas did not follow the call upon his life, I may not be in full-time ministry today. It was the choice of David and the board of Spanish River Church to invest in our church plant, CrossPointe, back in 2001. This investment helped to cover Chan Kilgore's salary and provided an opportunity for me to come on board as an executive and worship pastor in the early days. Without this investment and push into church planting, I may not have entered the full-time ministry, let alone starting Restore Brazil.
It is also safe to say that David has had an impact in investing in literally hundreds and hundreds of church plants throughout the world. Not only financial investment, but spiritual investment. Coaching, mentoring, training. Spanish River Church's legacy continues to this day. For those who don't know, SRC has had a part in planting some of the most successful and innovative churches in the US through their mission board and Global Outreach organization. The names of these churches are not important now, but just so you know, these churches have gone on to plant hundreds of others as well. David understood multiplication and had a heart for evangelism.
Also, David was a co-founder of the Acts 29 Network, along with Mark Driscoll in the early days, which has gone on to plant hundreds of churches as well. I remember participating in the GO conferences in the early days where David's style was legendary and often humorous, as he expected results from the planters, asking tough questions, sometimes even asking "how many you got" before knowing all of our names, but we always knew he loved us.
In the middle of last year I traveled from Rio into the interior of Brazil to several small cities, and noticed that in several of these cities, Spanish River had invested in building programs of many Presbyterian Churches. It was incredible to see that literally in the middle of nowhere, you could see churches that were built because of the investment of Spanish River and David Nicholas. All the way in the backwoods of Brazil. Literally hundreds and hundreds of people have come to Christ because of these churches.
The life and legacy of David Nicholas is much more than church planting, Spanish River Church, or pastoral ministry, as there are others who are better equipped to write on that. I just wanted to take a moment to honor and recognize David's legacy with respect to church planting.
Thank you David. Our prayers are with Nori and your family.
Thank you for believing in the "good news and the bad news."
Thank you for being a father to many, and for running the race so well...
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." II Tim 4:7-8
David was a giant physically and spiritually. We will miss him terribly but our great God wanted him close and we will rejoice in that.
Posted by: Marty Schoenleber | January 27, 2011 at 08:45 PM