Rooted Network Announcement: A New Season for Discipleship and Church Resources

On a Montana fly-fishing trip with friends in 2020, I took this picture on the Yellowstone River. Thousands of cottonwood tree roots, starved for water, were stretching through dirt, clay, and rock to reach the water’s edge. Though I was fascinated by this image, I hurriedly sent the picture to a friend, along with a leadership illustration, hoping he’d publish it on his blog. I then returned to casting in pursuit of big Montana brown trout.

On that same trip, I was wrestling with my departure from an organization I loved, a team I cared deeply for, and resources that I believed in. After spending almost 20 years serving churches in their discipleship strategies, I feared my time in ministry had come to an abrupt end.

However, over the next few months, I would discover that God’s plan often includes necessary endings.

In 2021, not only was I asked to serve at Mariners Church in CA, I was invited to lead Rooted Network, an organization that resources churches and their discipleship needs. I now have the incredible privilege of building a publishing company focused on serving churches in their mission of making disciples. I’m excited to announce:

We’re building a team. If you’re a content creator, media producer, if you have online expertise, if you love the church, and if you feel stuck in your current context, please reach out to us.

We’re building church resources in the discipleship space. Designed for small group environments, we’re developing discipleship offerings across multiple age categories. We’re also translating key offerings into multiple languages, making the Rooted experience available for non-English speaking groups.

We’re building an author community. Rooted Network has signed several trusted voices that love the church and want to help them win. We have plans to build an assortment of Bible study offerings over the next 2-3 years.

We’re building a network of partnerships. We’ve entered into unprecedented partnerships that will impact thousands of churches around the world. God is stitching together strategic relationships, for the sake of the Gospel, that none of us could have orchestrated.

And we’re only getting started.

As we prepare for the new year, I can’t help but look back with such a grateful heart. In 2020, when I took this picture on the banks of the Yellowstone River, God was reminding me of Jeremiah 29:11 and preparing me to lead Rooted Network.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”