Welcome to dwell on these things. A podcast by dwell Community Church in Columbus, Ohio, where we hear stories and examples of how God is moving in the church at dwell and around the world. You Scott, welcome to dwell on these things. I'm Scott resley, the host for today. I'm sitting here with Thomas Sladek and Sam pence. These guys have agreed to come on and talk about an adventure they've been on over the past year or two of serving the Lord, and the things that the Lord has done in their lives through them, and what he's continuing to do to the present day. So I'd like to welcome you guys to the podcast. Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for having us. Yeah, really, really blessed to be here. Really excited. Well, I thought it might be good just for you guys to introduce yourself, share about your little about your spiritual journey, how you came to Christ, how you came to this church, and then we can go from there. Yeah, so I'm from Hilliard, and Sam is as well. I grew up in Hilliard. My whole life. I went to church. Growing up and went to church, but it wasn't until I was 16 or 17, and a couple months post COVID, I was at a parking lot prom. Because, yeah, they there was no prom. There was a, like, a stream they did, and did the school arrange the prom? Or was this like you and some friends, well, so yeah, the school did the that was prom. They like played music on a live stream. Okay, okay, it was, it was awful, but we all were hanging out. I was hanging out with some mutual friends I knew. And I met, met this, this guy named Noah Andrews, okay? And we started talking and became friends. And then a couple, a couple weeks later, he invited me to his Bible study, and I blew him off for like three months. And eventually I was like, Fine, you know, I've been going to church my whole life. I'll give it a give it a shot. And I came out to this high school group called Yosemite, which is still operates in Hilliard right now, and it was awesome. I remember I met, I met Sam there, actually. And I remember just being like, wow, people really, people really care about one another. This is wonderful. Like, I have actually never experienced church, like I've like, I am being at this group. So I started coming the very patient, patient. Leaders and friends I met there eventually explained to me that I don't really know how to get to heaven, despite a how much I thought I did, and God was like, it's, it's time I had had this sense, this voice is like, it's time. Like, you know what you need to know, and it's time for you to, like, start a relationship with me. So I opened Romans 10, nine, and I prayed through that, and I did that and texted. I texted Noah, and he, like, he starts freaking out. And I was like, What's wrong with this guy? Why is he? I was like, why is it, why is it, why is this such a big deal? And then, yeah, that's and then it was it. So now I've been in the college group for a couple years now, and get to get the privilege of being, being in a an awesome home church that we recently planted. It was really like, it was cool looking back, and even in the moment, a lot of people who are now my, like, really close friends and who helped me, like, start a relationship with God back then came out, like, because of COVID, God really used, you know, some crazy world event to do something really cool in all of our lives. Yeah, wow, very cool. What about you, Sam, I don't know when I received Christ. I think it was at a young age, but I ended up reaffirming that decision, if not just making that decision altogether in eighth grade at blowout camp. So I was actually very impacted by my middle school leaders, as much as a turd that I was, but yeah, then, then I moved up to high school, and I made, I made that decision to receive Christ, but I didn't make the decision to want to follow him. So I spent the next couple of years just living how I wanted to, trying to, you know, fulfill my own desires, be popular, you know, be, be a good wrestler, try to get some some girls too. And finally, when none of that was working out around my sophomore year, like towards the end, I think God called me to him at a spot where I was pretty low. So that was like, 2019, okay, and that's, that's when I. Know that, like I decided to, you know, change my ways and start actually following God, and that pretty much just takes me to where I am right now. Okay, so, so you're about a year older than Thomas, is that right? Or you guys seem great. I'm a grade. You're above you. Okay, yeah, you're 20 right now. I'm 20, okay, 22 okay, yeah, yeah. We've been bullying Thomas because Rest of Us leaders are 21 so we went to a bar a couple weeks ago. We like, yeah, without me. Well, they don't, they don't give sippy cups. Shirley Temple, yeah. So it's interesting, the trajectory with people that grow up in church and even receive Christ at a young age, how there's there does come a time middle school, high school, where you often sort of have a bit of a wake up call, get serious about it. There's even points like, I know in my own testimony, I'm like, was I already a believer, or did I become a believer at that point in high school? I know it wasn't real for me in a personal way, and I wasn't trying, and I definitely was after that. And so there is a process that the Lord takes people through who grow up in the church. Was there because you said you were kind of living the way you wanted to for quite a while after becoming a Christian, was there, like, one thing or moment, one life event in particular that made you be like, oh, man, I need to, I need to see what God has in store for me. Yeah. So you're talking about like, receiving Christ or following Christ, following Christ, following Christ, yeah. I mean, it was, it was really just, like, just kind of seeing everything fall apart, like I was a good wrestler, but I just feel like I wasn't getting the credit that I felt like I deserved. You know, I wanted that, that value that like the varsity wrestler should get, or or even like this, this girl that I had a crush on for years. We went out on one date and then went out on one date, yeah. So yeah, period. And I was, like, really bent up about that, actually. And then even just like, I don't know, I always just had this insecurity, like people didn't like me, so I never really felt like the popular kid. So I think it was just kind of a mix those three things I kind of a credit to, like my worldly living and when I just realized that I couldn't, I just couldn't live that life and like, I don't know, I just didn't feel any value from those things. That's when I felt like God called me to to live a life for him, and I was kind of rejecting my whole my home church this whole time, like those were kind of my church friends, and I hung out with them on Sundays at home church and Tuesdays, if, if my friends didn't show up to CT. But besides that, I didn't really care to hang out with them all too much. So yeah, I think that that's that's really where the momentum changed. And then I went to super treat my my sophomore year, and that's like a week before the Super retreat, I had decided to quit wrestling, and then I went on the Super retreat, and I had a fantastic time, and I saw that. That's where the community that I've been wanting for so long really was, and I think that's, that's the, that's the time that I decided to actually start walking with God. Was when I just saw how awesome it actually can be to follow him. Yeah, I mean, our in Badlands, our our first our first three leaders were myself, Sam and Noah. And, I mean, Noah is like, one of my best friends invited me out. We were all in high school group together, and then, yeah, Jamie came along, and she was also from Yosemite. Ava came along, and she's also from us. They were like, This is sweet. Like we Yeah. I mean, we were invested in like this, and now we're getting to invest in these students from two minutes from where we grew up, you know? Yeah, it's really sweet. So you guys, you guys are from Hilliard. You saw God work in your lives. In middle school and high school, you've got a burden for that area, and it sounds like that age group as well. Just based on your own personal experiences. God's led you into some some work now, now out there, do you Why don't you guys talk about kind of how you got into serving out there? Thomas, I know some of this maybe starts with your work with your own family. Yeah. So again, I my whole family. We all went to church growing up, and I was in different churches for years. I'm really blessed to have parents. Who are both believers, and so I kind of had that background. And after a couple months, or some period of time, of me going out to high school group, my mom made my middle brother, Cade, who's like, two years younger than me, go as well. She was like, All right, you have to drive him to youth group. And I was like, All right, all right. We were not we were not super close. We didn't have a great relationship. He must have been like, what? Like a freshman. Then at that time, yeah, yeah, yeah, barely, barely, yeah. Did she see something in your life that she liked? What was happening? Like, like, what do you what do you think she did that? That's a really good question. I would have to say, I would say, yes, okay, because I think, yeah, yeah. I think, I think she saw me want to go and be excited and choose to because in my mom had been praying for us for years, yeah. And I think that God really used Yosemite to answer those prayers and my whole family's life, and that was, and especially because, I mean, we went to church after church. And I think my parents especially had this sense of, this is just not. This is we should go to church, but this is not what like, this isn't what we're looking for. This maybe isn't what the Bible has in mind for fellowship, you know, and being deeply rooted in, like, a community of believers. And I think, I think she saw me like, be excited, and wanted to, wanted to push us in that direction as well. And I'm really grateful for that. And I mean, now I fast forward a little bit, my my parents actually host Badlands, and, you know, are involved in their own group, and they're in a home church now. They're in a home church now, yeah, and I remember very distinctly my mom, she came to this is, this is funny, actually. So they came to an adult, adult CT for the first, the first time, I think that was their first meeting. And they were like, it was sweet. There was no greeters. I didn't have to, like, pretend to talk to someone wonderful. Yeah. I was like, sweet. That's awesome, yeah. So she sent, she sent Cade with you, yes. And so Cade and I would, you know, drive there and back every week and have conversations. And, you know, we weren't, we got closer. We now, I think we have a really awesome relationship, and I really, I really love my friendship with Cade but, yeah, I mean, we were both kind of trying to figure out what was going what we believed in, what we cared about we had had, as well, a family friend of ours pass away a brain tumor. Unexpectedly, it was he was diagnosed, and he passed away within a month. And during that period is when we had also started going out to to to to group. And it is interesting, when I look back on like that period of my life, I actually think that it was, it was I became a believer, and then a lot of stuff happened in my life, and I think that was God introducing or allowing things into my life to to begin to convince me of his sovereignty and the plan that he had for my life and my family. So our whole family, and Kate in particular, was devastated, you know? And, yeah, I remember him telling me he had a moment one night where he was like, I I have nothing. Like, I'm at my wits end, you know, I don't have anything left. And, and I think in a similar way that, you know, God kind of spoke to me. I think God spoke to him and he received Christ that night, and he was like, I I'm so grateful that God intervened in my life. Specifically, he was like, I think, I mean, God saved my life, like I was at my wits end. You know, a wonderful blessing. Cade's in the college group now as well, is actually Sam's roommate. Okay, bunk mate. Wow, together. Wow, yeah, so, yeah, it's so Cade and I both were like, Okay, we want to follow God and and then how long after that, did your parents check out a CT, it was, it must have been a year or two. Okay, I'd say it was. It was some time were you out of high school by then out or close. Okay, cool. Yeah, they eventually, I actually don't, I don't remember why they decided to go to adult CT. I think they were just like, well, Thomas goes to this church, and Kate go to this church, and it seems cool. Yeah, we'll try it, yeah. And yeah. And so they did. And so it's been really cool, you know, at this at this point in the story, it's like, now me and Kate are believers, and my parents are finding fellowship that they love. So they went, they went to an adult CT, and then they met some people they did. Yeah, yeah, they did. And despite the lack of a crater, yeah, they they met. Had it was actually, it was Brian runk, okay, and his wife, and they, you know, started becoming friends. And I think they're, they're still friends now, and, yeah, it's been really a privilege to see my whole family, like, start to get rooted and and fellowship and faith and, like, God's reality, and, like, a totally in a way that I would never have thought possible at any other point in my life, you know, like, it's, it's shocking. I mean, we were, we were Sunday Christians hardcore for so long, yeah, and I don't know, I don't know where I don't know where we would be, where I would be, like, I don't think I would have close relationships with any of my family members. Like, I don't know I was kind of the worst. I think that's interesting too, because sometimes people, they accuse Christianity, or even accusations against our church, that it's it's bad for families, and it pulls families apart. But I think this is a really cool example of your family becoming a lot closer and following God together. And this is the New Testament pattern as well, where you have not individuals within families coming to Christ, but whole families coming to Christ and becoming disciples of Christ. And that this is something, you know, we follow God together, and it doesn't always work out that way, like Jesus did say, like he he may bring some friction into families, but I think this is a great example of you guys following God and growing closer to one another as you do it. Yeah. And to add to that, too, I think, like, Thomas is both of his parents. They've been hosting us for about two years. But like, they're not like, passive hosts either. Like, I would almost say that they're honorary leaders as well, just as much of a role. Like both Katie and Tom, they do a great job at, like, talking to some of the students parents too, okay? And like, they almost play a role in trying to reach the family themselves too. Like, like, we're sitting here ministering to the students, and we ourselves try to meet the parents. But like, they also just do a fantastic job at meeting the parents. And they're both very outgoing, and I think that is part of the reason why our group has seen a lot of success, is just, you know, they've just done a fantastic job at hosting us, and I'm really grateful for that. It's great to have that, because I know sometimes, as like the the person working with students. It's hard, it's hard to interact with parents. It's hard to meet the parents you're a lot younger than these parents, some nice parents. They're not sure what to do with you. Yeah. So it's, it's an area that student workers need to push themselves, but it's nice to have other parents around that can also talk and relate to the parents that that are dropping their kids off each week. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's, I don't know one, one of God's biggest, like, greatest blessings to me has, has to be like, how he's changing my family and, I mean, my mom, my mom, I remember her saying very distinctly, she was like, because, I mean, they, they pour out to our students, they pour out to, you know, me and my brothers, they pour out to us as leaders, our leadership team. I am continuously just shocked at how much they just give out, you know. And I mean, every week I'm I'm like, thank you guys, so much. You give us food. You let us these 12 year olds are destroying your house. Like last Sunday, we had a Casino Night, and we we leveled the place, we rearranged the entire living to make that work. And yeah. And I was like, I'm like, Mom, like, thank you so much. She was like, Oh, yeah. I mean, I was thinking, it's my favorite, it's my favorite time of the week, having you guys over. And I was like, how that's calling from God, right there. Yeah, it's challenging and a privilege. And, yeah, I am so grateful to, I mean, to be able to experience this with with my family now. Like, what wasn't that kind of like, hospitality that your parents already had. Because, you know, like, the the southern hospitality saying, like, like, how have you seen God change their hospitality? From like, before you guys all became Christians, versus now, are you guys from the south? Absolutely, we are. So my, my, yeah. So my parents both grew up in different parts of Tennessee. They met going to college in Tennessee. My mom's family is from Alabama, rural tide, gentlemen, oh, I'm gonna get bored, guys, the day after the buckeyes win the national and that was a damn good win. I. Would you root for? If they played each other, I'd root for Alabama. What about the Tennessee OSU game? Who are they rooting for? So we actually were. We were, it was over Christmas break, so we were, we were in Tennessee, okay, with all of my, my parents, friends, family, friends, relatives and well, we, we we were, we were rooting hard, but for, for for Tennessee. My dad is a UT fan, and I, but I tell you what OSU put on the better game. They, yeah, they just, they deserve that. Natty win. Yeah, I have no shame in saying that. Okay, who are you in for last night? I I'm so I'm student OSU, and I think I've grown to really love and respect the players on this OSU team. What's funny about that? Nothing Just go. We just need you to convert to a Bucha. Part of being a Christian, I would say I was decidedly neutral, but I was, I was excited for OSU, okay, yeah, okay, it was, it was a good win, and they're a good team, okay, yeah, absolutely All right, well, I'm not gonna say anything that's gonna get my house burned down. Okay, so they got some southern hospitality, yeah, so, I mean, and my whole life, I mean my there, I was annoyed as a kid multiple times because there was always people over at our house. Okay? I was like, Oh, my God, I can't, I can't catch a break. But I mean, my, my whole life, man, my my mom in particular, and my dad as well, have been inviting people over. And I believe that that is fruit of the Holy Spirit. Now, you know, it could, it could be argued whether or not that was a good old southern hospitality. It could be both, yeah, might be both. Maybe, maybe, I think there's natural and spiritual giftings, and when those, when those fit together, that's like, kind of like perfect storm. I, I have to say, that's what it was. That's what it is, yeah, maybe some of sometimes God uses our, our previous lives as training for the future, or work that He has for us too, yeah. And I that absolutely is what has happened, what is happening now. Yeah. Okay, so, so your parents are hosts, yes, and they're awesome, and they're also involved in their own home group now, yeah. And then at a certain point, somebody had an idea of getting a group gone at their place, yeah. So the plan was never, the plan was never, actually to host anything at my parents house. Now, one detail of the story that we haven't gone to yet is I have a younger brother. I have a youngest brother named Gage. He's and he's in eighth grade now, okay, but before that even, I mean, Sam, you wanted to start something in Hilliard for for a while, before Badlands was even an idea, right? Yeah. So I enjoy the way that, like I received Christ in middle school, I felt like that was where I mean, because, honestly, that was where my eternity was, was changed, where I was going to spend my afterlife. And so I just wanted to do something for the same age group that I was impacted by. So it started with, I actually led in a Dublin middle school group for about a year and a half, probably about a year and a half. I don't remember it was pound it noggin Sia, okay? And I loved leading with all those guys too, when middle schoolers named groups commonly known as pins, pound it noggins, and that's how we should sign off on today's podcast. Now, but they're all all those leaders were great too, and I learned a lot from them, because I'd never led a middle school group before, obviously, and just getting to learn what that looks like teaching and and then, like, one day we hosted at my parents house, and this kid, Riker, came to hang out with us because we were outside playing basketball. And he's a kid that I've known for a couple of years. He's He's lived in my parents neighborhood for like, eight years, or something seven years, and, like, I started inviting him to group, and then when we moved back to the Dan houses the week after that, I just had, like, a disciple of my own. I was almost mentoring him, and I just really loved Hilliard. And I was like, Dublin's cool, but I really want to get something started, like in my own stomping grounds. And so Riker invited out his friend, Aiden, too, and then they, they both transitioned up to the high school group. But like, kind of like an overlapping time, I just had this thought of like starting something in. I layered, and I've been talking with, like, Mateo about it, and I've been praying about it, and then I just didn't even know where to start. I was like, I don't know how to get something started. I don't know if I'm able to do that. And so I had like a, like, a meeting with Doug O'Malley, who's kind of in charge of the church plants. I don't know if he still is or not, but yeah, he's still doing that work. Yeah, he met up with me and we talked, and the piece of advice that I remember from that conversation, like, like, really, the only thing that I took away from that is, if you want to start a group, you need to set a start date. Because once you set that start date, then it kind of puts a deadline so that you actually prioritize getting it started, which I thought was great advice. And then we set a deadline for, I think it was March 19, right. March 19. 2023, wow. And I had no idea where to even start. And then coincidentally enough, like, a week after that conversation with Doug Thomas came up to me after CT and was like, hey, so I heard that you're trying to start a middle school group in Hilliard. And I was like, yeah, yeah, and what's up? And he was like, Well, I want to do that too nice. I was like, Okay, this is, this is a provision from God. And Thomas is like, yeah, I got a brother in middle school who, I want him to get involved too, and I think he's excited. He's going to invite some of his friends. And I was like, Oh my God, here we go. And so that that's, that's that's kind of how it started. And then, like, a couple months later, like my, my guys from pinsy transitioned up into the high school group, and then I parted ways from pins and we, we started Hilliard green Bible study. That's what we called it Hilliard green. Hilliard green Bible study. That's just the, that's the neighborhood that my my parents house is in, and that's actually originally where we started. Okay, was in my parents neighborhood? Yeah, at his parents house? Is that? Is that the Cole bridges? Did he? Was he in that neighborhood too? Yeah? This part? Okay, yeah, he lived two houses down for me. Okay, I've been to that neighborhood. They've got a good scene there. Yeah, yeah. So yeah. Like Sam said, I have a brother, Gage. He's in eighth grade now, getting ready to go up to high school and back. This must have been, I don't know, late winter 2022, or like, you know, the start of 2020 2023, I had, I had subbed it a high school group in Dublin, and all the leaders were hanging out afterwards. And I, Sam had this, this really cool, like vision from the Lord. I did not, I had been in the college group for not even a year. And I was kind of like, getting my footing on, you know, following God in college and what that looks like. And I was fortunate enough to be able to get, like, hang out with these Dublin high schoolers for the night. And the leaders were hanging out afterwards, and quest and Kelsey Shannon, we were at their house, in their basement, and they were like, I don't know. I don't even know how they started talking about it. They were like, yeah, like, you know, it'd be cool if there was a middle, a middle group in Hilliard, like, or they could start something in Hilliard, like, I don't know. I've heard Sam wants to do something like that. And then they, he was like, and this was like, an off. This wasn't like, hey, Slack, you should go do like. This was just like, he literally said, I don't know, just send slack to do it. Yeah. And then I was saying, I was like, whoa. The Holy Spirit was like, Thomas, I think so. And I actually didn't know until just now that this happened, like, a week after he was meeting with Doug. That's probably how quest knew about it. But I had no idea, like, I just knew. I just thought that it was this abstract kind of thing. Sam was like, this could be cool. And yeah, so that next, that next Monday night, I came up to him and was like, Yeah, so you're trying to start a sort of group or try something, you know? And he was like, Yeah. And I was like, Okay, so I've, like, my brother, Gage would probably come. Now gage had, he had gone to a different middle school group, like, once or twice, and didn't really have any friends there. Didn't know anybody. He didn't like it. No, no fault to anyone. It just wasn't his thing. And yeah, so Sam and I were like, we're just gonna see who shows up. We're just gonna see, like, what God does you. Yeah, and so, yeah, Hilliard green Bible study that was, that was the name and Sam. You had this vision too. You were, like, I want this, like, this organic, organic group of kids, like, in from here in this neighborhood, like, we can hang out with them. We know their families. We can, like, literally, walk them home if we want to. And I remember thinking being, I remember that being a really cool, like, a cool, like ethos to try and set or a cool vision, you know, we were like, yeah, like, maybe, like, this could maybe be something real, you know, that, like something real and like life giving to our community, yeah, which like with that. So our our starting night was five students, one of which was a fourth grader. I didn't know that we were really just working with anything that we had, and I saw potential in this kid named Sy, who's actually Rikers younger brother, very outgoing. He knows just about every single person in this neighborhood, and he is very outgoing, very friendly. He loves God, and I just knew that that was going to be, like, one of the the students in our group, I was like, I don't care what age he is, I'm gonna, I'm going to to go up to bat for him. You know, if they're like, hey, it's a middle school group. He can't be in it. I'm sorry, we're doing it anyway. He is in sixth grade now, so he's in middle school, but so, I mean, he was almost in fifth grade, yeah, but he's a little younger for his grades. So yeah, yeah, okay, yeah. So it really just started with five people. It was Psy, and then Thomas's brother, Gage, and then gage brought two of his friends, and Psy brought one of his other fourth grade friends. So, okay, also from the neighborhood, also from the neighborhood. So we were really working with, like, a demographic there the middle schoolers. There were mature fourth graders, though, yeah. And I just wanted to see what God would do, because we, we put in the effort to start something, and we just invited people that we thought would be interested and look at how God grew it. Yeah, are both the fourth graders still coming? So sadly, size friend, he not really okay. Size still around, though. Oh yeah, okay. And he, okay, loves it. Okay, great, yeah. And you guys, you guys met last week to read the Bible, right? Mm, hmm, okay, yeah, it's been hard because he's just, he's kind of young, and, yeah, I don't know how well he's able to, like, sit down and pay attention while we study the Bible, but I want to get something started with him soon. And he just got an iPad recently, so he's able to text his friends now. Okay, okay, one thing that we've been doing with sy is that we'll do our prayer meeting before Badlands, and then me and him just hop in the car, and we drive back to my parents neighborhood, and we just knock on all of his friends doors. But now that he has an iPad, I've encouraged him to just text his friends in advance so that you know, if they're not able to come, we don't have to, like, drive all the way out to the neighborhood. It's something I've really enjoyed doing, just going and knocking on the doors. Hey, do you want to come to Bible study? And it's worked out, like, twice, three times, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's been really cool to see sy be just, I mean, he's he's charismatic, he's excited. He's fun. And it's been cool. It's been cool to get to know him. So, so that was almost two years ago. He had your first meeting. We're coming up on on second birthday. Yeah, yeah. I was thinking about, like, the feeding of the 5000 and like, I mean, Jesus used a couple loaves to feed like, 1000s and 1000s of people. And I was like, Man, when thinking about our group, I was like, God, can God? Can use anything, I mean, anything or anyone, like, I mean, we literally. We were like, Look, if one our kind of vision, we met, and we're trying to, like, okay, like, Okay, how do we teach the Bible? Like things like that, what? What's a teaching sketch, like things like that. Like, we're just like, yeah, figuring it out. And, like, the true sense of the word, I was like, I mean, I mean, God can use, like, some dumb 19 year olds and 20 year olds and a bunch of literal 12 year olds to, like, bring people to salvation and to eternity. And that's, that's, it's been really something, you know, to see it, to see God, use basically nothing. And like, grow, grow it. And. And our vision was like, we were like, if one student comes to Christ, then this, our effort will have been worth it, yeah. So you guys, so you're like, teaching schedules. You're like, well, I guess I'll teach this week, and then, oh brother, you can, you can teach next week. And then, was it just two of you, or was there a third leader at the start? Yeah. So it was me and Thomas. And then I had the idea, since I knew that there was going to be some, some fourth graders there, Noah Andrews, he he has been running TNT, he's been leading that for a while, and just our fourth and fifth grade ministry here, yeah. And so I was like, I was like, Oh, we got a fourth grader. So I just called Noah one day while I was at work, and I was like, Hey, man, just want to put it on your plate. I think that you would do a really good job in this group. And you're from Hilliard, and you you work with fourth and fifth graders right now, so you should, you should consider, if you want to be a part of this, this ministry that we're trying to start. And he was like, Yeah, I'll think about that. And then later that night, he he talked to me when we were back at the house, because me and him are roommates. He was like, Yeah, honestly, I thought about it for like five minutes, and I was just like, I want to do it. He was really excited. Let's go. So yeah, me, Thomas and Noah, so was it all three of you guys from the very beginning then, okay, yeah, yeah, and we met from Nunn to three, okay? Because during that time, I was still in my middle school group, so I was kind of doing like a burn and turn on Sundays. So you had like a month of overlap or so with your, yeah, just about like a month you, do you? Do you do Hilliard green pile study from new to three, and then you got to penzi from, what, four to four to eight, or something like that. Yeah. So it was, it was Nunn to three with Badlands. And then I went and picked up Riker, and we would read the Bible together for a little bit, and then we'd go to penzi at five. And yeah, then I'd be done. And okay, that's bad ass, man, he's gotta be so tired, totally, man, yeah, dude, I love doing it. So then you guys started meeting, and you were at you were meeting down in your neighborhood at the time. Yeah, my parents were hosting for what was that like, three months or something, something like that. Yeah, it wasn't too long. But what changed was that we just like I, originally started hosting at my parents house number one, because I that was the only host house I thought of, yeah, and then we realized that a lot of our demographic was not really size friends. Also, we weren't really trying to get we weren't encouraging him too much to invite his friends, just because he was young, right? But our demographic started shifting more towards like gage and his friends, and so we figured we should just start meeting at the Slade X house, because that's closer to a lot of the kids that go to Weaver, which is where Gage was going. Well, he was going to darp at the time, but the other side of Hilliard. So we, we started meeting over there. And I think that was a great move. And then, yeah, we're still meeting from 12 to three strikes. I think there's been a lot of that, like, I think there's been a lot of like, that first wave, we just tried this, okay, Nunn to three on one side of Hilliard, and then God was like, All right, this worked. Now, shift to the other side of Hilliard. We're like, okay, the cloud moved, yeah, literally, yeah. And then he was like, Okay, maybe, maybe you should switch to, you know, five to eight and just like, the in. And then we were actually a cell group at first, yeah. And then God was like, Maybe you should try and win girls, familiar, you know? And I was like, no, no, that's true. Yeah, we had, we had several, several tedious conversations. I was, I was very against the idea at first, I was, I not nothing against girls. It's a different dynamic middle school boys and girls mixing, it is. And then I came around to the idea of, Okay, how about the girls just start their own group in Hilliard? Yeah. We keep doing our thing, yeah. And then it almost was like, I kept going to God, and then he kept changing my mind. I'd go to God with my idea. And he's like, no, no, no. Not that you're gonna, you're gonna do it with girls in the group. And I was like, all right, but in a couple of months, when the girls side gets big, then we'll plant them off to do their own cell group. And then I went to God, and he was like, you're gonna keep them in here for now. And I was just like, Damn, he's always just changing my plans. I've learned to trust God a lot since starting this group, so, so you started meeting your parents, and then the group still pretty small at that point, right? Yeah, yeah. We didn't, we didn't break double digit attendance until, like, I think it was our first night moving to five to eight. Right? Oh, it was, yeah, interesting. And yeah, because we ran into the problem that a lot of the students had, like, family lunches or just random sometimes sports fall on Sunday afternoons too. Yeah, yeah, we had that. We had a lot of students who just weren't able to come because of the time. And then as soon as we switched it to five to eight, our attendance just almost doubled, because we were averaging like, five and then 10. And I remember, and it was really cool, because I felt like there were like, things like that that you've noticed, if you looked for it, where it was God, like this was the right move, you know, like I'm affirming this and this direction, which was cool, yeah, I remember we had nine students one night, and I was like, oh my god, this is awesome. Like, oh yeah. It was then, I think one of those nights as well, maybe was our painters. I mean, it was the summer, it was, it was quite some time we were, we had a couple students, you know, and it was eventually, yeah, maybe the next summer, like, where God sent us, like nine students. We had 11 one night, and I lost my mind, yeah, yeah. And in that process, you know, started bringing, started bringing girl students as well. And some of our guys were, kind of were dating, and then they were like, I don't, I don't know if she should come, yeah, I don't know. Like, I don't know if I want her to, like, you know, yeah, I don't know what it was. I don't know what the problem was. Just middle schoolers, yeah, dating, yeah. It's its own genre. Yeah, of dating, yeah. Eventually they did. And then eventually those girls started inviting their friends. Like, yeah, it was really cool. And yeah, because, I think wasn't the paint war, the the first night that we had girls come to group, I think starting 20, when did we even do? We did was hit more like, Summer, summer, yeah, but like, I think it was late summer, yeah. It was a while before girls started coming to our group. And then that's when Jamie and Ava both started leading in our group too. Okay, we asked them to join, and yeah. And Ava actually, funny enough. She brought her sister, Oh, yeah. And then her sister brought her friend, okay? And so that's kind of how our girl side started too. Okay, so it's, it's so funny how us, like college students, God, used our younger siblings to help start this group, too, yeah. And I think that's a pretty cool testament to it that, like, you know, God's, God's working through our family, working through families, working through long, long time, people you knew from growing up in that neighborhood, God was at work long ago. Oh man, laying the laying the foundation for this group. I just remember times when I was in high school, I would just go out, sigh. Always knocked on my door. I was like, the the cool high school kid for him, he'd come and knock on my door, Hey, you want to pass the football for a little bit? And I was like, Sure, yeah, just went out there were tossing. I never would have thought that I was going to be leading a group one day. Yeah, this kid in it, you know, I was just sitting there in high school tossing the football with them during COVID. I had nothing better to do. Yeah, right, and yeah, really cool. Okay, so you're kind of just showing up teaching the word. Some weeks you got a couple, three students. Some weeks you got 678, students. You're sort of in the five range for over a year, and then things started to really pick up last summer, yeah, and I think big, big reason for that is just we implemented a prayer meeting. Okay, like, I think it was Noah. Noah was the one that really advocated for that at first. Yeah, am I wrong or is I don't remember, but probably because he, Noah, leads our prayer meeting now, and he does a wonderful job of sharing good content, getting our students excited to pray and like, fight for their friends and prayer. It's really, really cool. That was you meet before the before the group, then on Sundays for prayer meeting, we do, yeah, about 45 minutes. Okay, for not, not too long, yeah, 20 minutes or something. Yeah, a lot of it's just hanging out. And then Noah has to settle us all down and be like, All right, let's pray. So that's why it takes about 45 minutes. But okay, I think that's where a lot of the movement started. And some prayer meetings, it was just me, Thomas, Noah, Johnny. And then like, one or two students, Oh, that's right, we didn't mention Johnny. Yeah, yeah. So Johnny was leading in. He was actually leading in that group that my brother went to didn't like, okay, and then that group ended up, like, splitting up, okay, and he hung out and was like. Working with two guys who were from from Hilliard. And yeah, there was not our first night, but like a month after we got word, they were like, Hey, there's these Hilliard guys who are coming. And we're like, sweet. So Johnny also led with us. And then it was week two or three as well. We got word from, like, a family in Hilliard who are in the adult group, like, we have a sixth grader. He wants to check it out. He's pumped. He's seen his parents be at home church. He's watched his sister go out to a high school group. He's like, it was one of those things. He was like, wow, there's nothing for me. Yeah, you know. And he was, yeah, really pumped to, like, have a group he could, like, call his own. Wow, yeah, he's really taking ownership of it too. He leads our Badlands website. Both created it and he he runs it. What's the URL on that thing? Myspace.com/tilda, like, like, Wix, wix.com/badlands, Home Church and like, a 50 string of numbers. Okay, it's posted in the in the metadata with the podcast. If it's appropriate to post, it's I mean. And what's funny is, I, actually, I was in home church for a while with some of the guys that work here at dwell in their IT department. And I actually sent them the website, and they were like, oh my god, this is like, better. This is better than some like professionals I've seen. And this, this dude, he's he's goofy. But what, what that community gets to me is he, he is one of our most excited students has been for years using his gifts and his passion, yes, to using his family serve the Lord. Yeah, family's desktop computer. He was like, We need a website. And we were like, No, we don't. And he said, I made one. Oh, man, yeah, yeah, prayer meeting. That that's yeah, that's because what prayer meeting did, I think, was, I mean, that that showed our students that God wants to answer their prayers and God cares about their friends. That I think, was the number one thing that led to a lot of our students, you know, becoming bringers and excited. And that's one thing I think that's that has been remarkable about what's what God has done in this group, is that, like, it was, it is students leading students, and has been for a long time and, and, I mean, I just, I've never experienced in like, I said, they're like, for 12 year olds, like, It's nuts. I mean, I mean, it's clear in Scripture that God, like, wants to use young people and cares about young people. But then you see it, and you're like, Oh, my God, like, this can only happen because of the Holy Spirit and, like, God's power, like in, I mean, not even, not even considering our lack of experience, expertise or knowledge about how to run a group. Yeah, we started, it was just like, this has to happen because of, like, the will and sovereignty of God, right, is not possible. And, and I feel that way. I felt that way then, and I still feel that way now. A lot, you know, it's like, we get to leaders meeting and we're like, oh my god, like, Thank God that he's behind this group, yeah, because this shouldn't be happening, you know. So you guys went from having a couple five, six people, suddenly you're hitting 10 people, 12 people, 15 people, 20 people, sometimes more than 20 people, and that's exciting, but that brings in all kinds of people who are new to the group. They weren't there from the small, humble beginnings that can bring some of its own challenges, especially when you're you've got students coming whose families they don't they don't go to church here, they maybe are unchurched. They might not have any religious background, and their kids are going out to this Bible study. They're excited about it. And so this is gonna this. This has brought a number of challenges. I wonder if you guys could talk about some of these challenges, exciting things. You know, if there's stories that come to mind. I think, I think a lot of what like spiked the attendance and made it, made it large, was that we, we set goals of like, Hey, is it possible to invite 10 people out to group by the end of what was it before school started? Wasn't that our goal? I don't remember. Yeah, our incremental goals, yeah, yeah. We had a goal at one point, halfway toward halfway into the 2024 and we're like, can we get 10 first timers out to group? And so we announced that at our prayer meeting, and they didn't meet the goal, but we got seven first timers. We'll take it. Mm. Yeah, and yes, it was just incremental goals. And we were like, hey, like, let's see what God does guys like, you know, if he hits these goals through you guys, and we'll do these fun things. And we set one, and I don't remember the number 20 or 30. It was something like, it was one of those things that, like, I was like, okay, like, let's set a high goal. They're not going to hit it at all. But like, we want them to have something to shoot for. And how, let's say 20/21, timers, by, I don't know, end of the month, or by, like, two or three months, and I mean, four weeks later, they beat the goal like it was, it was within the month, like just this. People were just like, flood. It felt like flooding to our group. It was, it was wild. I mean, it was these couple students who were like, I really want my friends to hear about this. And that's why it happened. I think, in addition to prayer, it's like these, these couple guys and girls were, like, my friends should hear about God. And then, I mean, in at their a lot of them would go to the same middle school in Hilliard, and it was, it was like, developed a reputation at this school, like people were coming up. My brother told me people were coming up to him that he'd never talked to and we're being like, hey, like, what's this? I hear a bunch of like this, this group, this Bible study. What's the deal? I was like, That is crazy. That is wild, that like this is happening. You know? Yeah, September was a big month for us. We had two nights with 30 students, wow, it's, it's way that's way too many, yeah, yeah, yeah. We were like, it was crazy. How are we gonna manage all this? What the hell yeah, it was. It was cool. And then, yeah, I think one thing that really helped out with managing all that was just like, I think all of us on the leadership team are just good friends, and I think that has really, like, created a sense of unity with our group that our students even recognize too, like Me. Thomas Noah, Jamie Ava. Ava left the group like over the summer so but like, the four of us were all from Hilliard, and we all also went to the same high school group. And then you bring George in and Maddie, and then now we have Caitlin Schweitzer, me too. But like, one thing that's so cool about our group is that, like, I think that we're all just friends. We like hanging out together. And I think that has been a huge shift in like, our like, ability to lead these students is just like, showing that we care and love each other. I think, I think it proves that that Bible verse that love covers a multitude of sins like I think that that's like how God has worked through Hilliard is just using college friends who have the same vision of growing a group in Hilliard and just running with it, but with challenges, though. I mean, one challenge that we faced with having that many students was follow up, which is where you know, you we just, we try to keep in touch with people, like not just let them hear a Bible teaching and then never talk about it. But like, we just found it hard to talk with students, and, like we do discussion groups after the teaching too. But like, some students don't want to participate with, like a with, like a group of people too, so it was that so, but they'll talk one on one afterward. Sometimes, yeah, yeah, yeah, you can. You can you can get them, or even like them, plus, like the friend that invited them out. Yeah, that helps to kind of guide the conversation a little more. Yeah, that was a challenge. We had a challenge of, like, meeting parents like that was that was just a hard thing to do, too, because a lot of the parents would just pick up their students. We didn't even know they left. Oh, we didn't get to meet the parents, or a lot of the parents drive their students, so we don't get to pick them up, go up to the door and introduce ourselves, yeah? That was just like a challenge that we faced, yeah? And even managing the night as well was just great. I mean, we it was a five to one leader to student ratio, or student to leader ratio, like, is, that's a lot, and so it was challenging, especially when it was like, rainy or cold mouse like, yeah, yeah. It was a challenge to to to maintain, like, a an ethos that's or a vibe, a group that's, like, spiritual and spiritually focused and focused at all. To be honest. You know, the middle schoolers have no shortage of energy. So, yeah, it was, it was really hard, but also really, really cool. Yeah, it's funny. Church Growth experts say if the group starts growing beyond a certain rate, it can actually create chaos in the group. Yeah, it can be worse than a slower growth rate. They say, I think the number I've heard thrown out as 20 growth, more than 20% in a year, and you guys were doubling overnight, tripling, yeah, in some weeks. And sometimes the Lord, sometimes the Lord has to make the group a little smaller when you get into that situation, yeah. And sort of like, if some people aren't that interested in him, then, you know, sometimes people come around and they get interested in the Lord, and sometimes people, they're just not interested right now. And so, you know, I know that you guys, you just want the people there that that want to know the Lord and are spiritually interested, yeah, yeah. And I, I'd say that a lot of our disciples, students, I mean, they, they themselves, are leaders. They, they lead the group. Like Gage, big impact, like, especially with those 3030, 30 student nights, like, you know, Gage and like his friends and like, we had a core of workers who were there from the beginning of Badlands, and when we exploded, they still had that ownership of the group, and so they they kind of helped us leaders to mediate to the other students. And, like, it was definitely chaotic, and we've had some challenges that we faced. But like I said, I would say that it could have been a lot worse, but we had such a good relationship with our discipled students, and that that kind of helped to, like, manage the chaos. I don't think it got out as out of control as it could have. Yeah, no. And, I mean, yeah, like, his students leading students, like, These were, these were all their friends, you know. And, and, to your point, Scott, like, I think, you know, our nights are not nearly as big now. And that at first, that was kind of challenging. Like, oh, what? Like, we're where they all go, you know. Like, yeah, what was the point of, like, having these big nights, if God's plan is to, kind of, is to kind of thin us out again, yeah. And, I mean, I think it's hard to say, you know, like, I know for sure that a lot of those students are going to heaven, even though they decided, you know, either they this maybe isn't for them every week, or, like, I want to follow God somewhere else, go to a different church, like a lot of those students, I was like, you know, like, it reminds me of when Paul's like, you know, like, I planted Paulo's water, but you know, God caused the growth. That's absolutely the case. You know, we got to play a part in their spiritual journey. And God caused the growth here or somewhere else, yeah, and sometimes, sometimes people, they decide, this isn't for me now, or I want to, maybe I want to follow God, but not, not in this way, not right now. And then they, later on, they decide, you know, I think I'm interested in coming back. So we, we got to give people the freedom to do that. But even though it's kind of painful, because it's like, I miss these people, yeah, but at the same time, you know, you got to trust God's at work in their lives, that kind of, that kind of makes me think about, like, just how out of control this work is. Like, I think that out of our control, yeah, out of our Yeah, that's true, yeah, not, not out of God's control. That's, that's who has all the control. But like, I think we're kind of at the group that we are seeing now, and that, I think this, this group that we have right now, is what we're going to be seeing for like, the next few months. But like, to my point, like we should not neglect the fact that 24 students came to Christ in our group over the two year, two years that it's been here, great work, praise God. But I think what we're learning is that sometimes, like, it's not up to us to, like, lead all 30 of those students and like, have a group that is so large. But I think one thing that one of our students, Gage actually said, that was very insightful, was that some of these students are going to other churches now, but not only that, but some of them have a lot of them have the Holy Spirit, and they're going to work in places other than our church, other than here in Columbus. They might move across the country and whatnot, but the the Word of God is going to be preached because these, these students know it. And as far as we're concerned, they're still zealous. Yeah, they just, we don't really know why. A lot. Of them chose to let leave the group. But regardless, like, I don't think any of them left on bad terms, no, yeah. And I, I trust that God is going to work in their lives, even if it's not here in Badlands or in our church dwell. I think that there's, there's work that God's going to do through these students. And I'm so grateful that we got to lay the got to lay the foundation for these students. Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah. We said, Hey, we're gonna try this. And if one student comes to faith in Jesus, then it was all worth it. And God, I mean, blew us out of the water. He, he let us see 24 students start a relationship, 24 students that I'm gonna get to see, and we're gonna get to see and, hey, and we're gonna get to see in heaven. You know, I'm like, oh, man, okay, that's okay. Like, you know our, our group, isn't for everyone at this time, but I will see you in heaven. I am really excited for that. And I was there when you I was there, and I got to know with you that you're going to heaven. Yeah, I for, I still, I still do, but I, I pray like revelation 2217 for our group, the Holy Spirit and the Bride say come. And the person who hears should say, come. Anyone who is thirsty should come. And anyone who wants to take the free gift of the water of life should do so. And, yeah, kind of I, similar to when Jesus is like, you know, I out of me flows living water, yeah. I was like, there are students here drinking. They're coming and they're, they're hearing the Word, and they're, they're choosing to drink the water life, you know, yeah, and I think it was cool, like, we saw this, like, this flood, you know, like, flood of students. And they were like, okay, yeah, we're drinking, drinking. We're we want what, what Jesus has to offer. I I once witnessed one of the girls in our group take her friend on a walk to share scripture with her, to help lead her to Christ. And it's just, it's so funny, like, I mean, these these students were zealous. They wanted their friends to know God, and they wanted to throw in and do the work too. Yeah, I wanted to start this group. I wanted to lead it. I wanted to see all these kids come to Christ. And I think what I'm learning just as a whole, is that I just have no control over, yeah, the work that God is doing, because we've seen him do miraculous, miraculous things with bringing a lot of people to group, and we've seen him do things that blow our expectations out of water. But we've also just seen him discipline us, yeah, and we have to turn to God and look at him and be like, Okay, we're going through a hard time right now, but you're in control, and that's been a challenging pill to swallow, yeah, you know, and I think that's currently what we're going through right now, but, you know, praise God that we get to experience that together. I we had like, an emergency meeting on Sunday before group, because I think we were all just feeling bummed out about all these students leaving our group, and we shared scripture and like, just the stats of like, the salvations, the like group details that we've been overlooking, and I just kind of looked at our leaders during that meeting, and I was like, I'm just grateful that I get to go through this with my friends. And yeah, I'm really grateful for that, because, to be honest, suffering alone suffering sucks, but suffering alone sucks a whole lot more. Yeah, so that's, that's what I think God's been showing me. And I think, I think something that's undeniable is that God is doing something in in Hilliard in particular, this area, that there's been some groups here and there as a high school group. But, I mean, I think, I think, Oh, I agree with Sam. It's such a privilege to, like, fight this battle with, like, my best friends, you know, like, I mean, the dude that led me to Christ, dudes that helped me, dudes like Sam, who helped me learn how to live like a be a Christian, learn about God, you know. And I mean, I think the fact that, you know, we're from Hilliard, fighting in Hilliard, and the fact that, like, things like, you know, pruning and are happening, I think, is an indication that God is doing something in Hilliard, yeah, without a doubt, you know, like this summer camp, that, um, Grant leads in the in the highest group, and mentored me for for years. And yeah, he was like, what if we, what if we put on a day camp for lower income kids in Hilliard, you know? And we saw, we flyer, you know, we got Chick fil A donated bunch of sandwiches. It was sweet. And, yeah, I mean, we, you. We saw 10 or 15 kids out, and it was sweet, you know, and that the one dude, one of our now mentor students, is from that like, there's these things that are just so unique, whether it's this high school group or what God has done and is doing in our group, and hopefully this summer camp again this year. It's really, really something unique and a privilege to be a part of. And so in that sense, it's a challenge to it's a challenge to choose to keep fighting sometimes, you know? But I think God introduces those things for a reason. Yeah, there are times where we think God's doing one thing. We think it's all about the fruit, the apparent fruit that he's bearing, you know, but a lot of times what God has to do is work in our lives. He's got to work in us before he can work through us. And so sometimes that is the setbacks, the challenges. And it's in those times that I know in my life, those are the sweetest times I've had with the Lord, and those are also the times where God has formed a bond of friendship with the people I was suffering with that cannot be purchased with silver or gold or any any human means, but it can only be purchased with suffering together and and striving to serve the Lord together. And you know, sometimes people will even be like, Man, I want to, I want to. I want to have those kind of relationships. I want to be used by God. And it's like, Are you sure? Because do you realize what that costs? Like, do you realize the pain you've got to go through prolonged pain where you don't know what God's doing? And it's, it's those times that God does, the character work, the breaking and also forms those bonds that I'm not sure can be formed any other way you think about how a diamond needs just a certain amount of pressure for a long time to form that really valuable thing. And I, I don't know, I wouldn't, I wouldn't trade the suffering I've been through serving the Lord for anything, and especially the suffering I've gotten to do with my friends. And so it's, it's a great privilege to serve the Lord together, to suffer together, and the fact that you guys are doing it with your friends, I think that's awesome. It's the best. It's Yeah, nothing like it, yeah. Well, the future still bright for this group out in Hilliard, because we have a God who's in control. We don't know what the future holds. It'll be interesting to listen to this podcast years later and see hindsight sometimes makes things a little clearer. So I look forward to that. I look forward to the two, 510, year look back on this, and we'll see. Maybe we'll laugh at what we were saying now. We'll see. We'll see maybe what God's really doing. But sometimes 10 years is not nearly enough time for the look back, and it's it's only from the perspective of eternity that we see what God was doing, how much of our fruit He hid from us because we just can't handle it, yeah, and then how much things we thought was fruit, and it turned out to be just my flesh, the work of the flesh. But Jesus said, You know, I abide in me, so you'll go and bear fruit that remains. And, you know, abiding in the vine. It's the same passage where he talks about the pruning of the vine, the Master Gardener. And you know, pruning, like you guys said, doesn't, it's not what, what the branch would have planned. It's not, doesn't feel good, but he loves us, and He knows we need it. So I look forward to seeing in hindsight what God has done, and I look forward to how God's going to use these students, and how he's going to use those who haven't even been one yet. And I, man, part of me wants to pray. Let me just offer up a prayer for these guys before we close. Lord. We, thank you for Thomas. We, thank you for Sam. We, thank you for all the friends, the CO leaders that you've called into this group. We, thank you for the slide deck and pence family. We, thank you for the students, the you know, the second graders that Sam was tossing football with during COVID That turned out to be really. Great, spiritual young workers. And we pray for your blessing on this group. We pray that you would call exactly the right people into this group that you want. And we pray you keep doing work in the lives of these leaders. We pray they continue to learn to trust you. We pray. We pray for the blessing on the slate X who are hosting a middle school group, and we pray also for your will to be done here, Lord on earth as it is in heaven. We pray these things in Jesus name, amen. Amen. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Doyle on these things. If you'd like to see more, you can go to our website, dwellcc.org, That's it for now you whatever I said, Whatever I said at the end, I said something at the end, about like what God showed me.