November '25 Update

It’s so hard to believe that we are going to be packing up and moving in less than five months!

But as with every other month since June, October was chock full of things to share with you all, and as with other months, it started early.

When we had our assessment retreat back in August, we met and began building a relationship with some other church planters in the Send Network, Blake and Brittany Whitley. We connected over social media and have been staying in touch with them, and praying for and with them as they continue in their process with the Send Network. In addition to Send Network, they are also in the process with the Pillar Network, a group of more reform-minded Southern Baptists that is centred around Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

As Blake and I talked, he suggested that I apply to join Pillar Network in addition to Send, so in September, I applied, and on October 2, Patricia and I had a phone conference with one of their recruiters. He described Pillar as not just a reformed group within the SBC, but as something of a sub-community within the larger Southern Baptist Convention–something of a cul-de-sac within the larger SBC-neighborhood.

Pillar Network would be a great fit (and an additional source of training/support) for Patricia, the kids, and me because of the principles we hold, most notably family integration and elder-led churches.

During our call with the recruiter, we were able to learn more about Pillar, and he was able to get a lot of information about us. And he called me back about a week later, saying that Pillar will not be on-boarding us now, but to stay in touch because they want to bring us in once we move. He said that our process will be seriously truncated because we have already been endorsed by Send Network, and because Pillar is decidedly within the larger SBC, that since the “bigger brother” has already endorsed us that Pillar will likely accept our confession and bring us in without further incident.

October was a great month for meetings with local church pastors, as we seek to build more partnerships. On the sixth, I was able to have a phone conference for about an hour with Pastor Karl Hofheinz, the pastor of Radford Baptist Church (here in Moneta), and we will be staying in contact with them and hopefully building a relationship with them moving forward. Radford is committed to supporting missionaries, so we would love to work with them.

On the 20th, Patricia and I were able to have a video conference with Rusty Small of Liberty Baptist in Appomattox (my home church, and where I was baptized and raised…Rusty was my youth pastor), and the result of that conversation is that we will likely be going to speak at Liberty during Sunday morning services after the first of the year to request support from them.

At the end of the month (just a few days ago, on the 30th), I was able to meet Pastor Troy Keaton of Eastlake Community Church for coffee, with Eastlake being the largest church in the Moneta area, and who is already involved with church planting efforts in Texas (East Texas, North of Dallas…not El Paso). Not only did we discuss church planting generally (Eastlake was a plant 19 years ago), but he also gave me some advice that I was hungry for and am already implementing.

October was also the month when we officially received corporate support from a second church body (other than Westlake, our sending church). On October 18, we had a high school graduation party to celebrate Ivy’s high school graduation, and Pops (Pastor Tom Walker) and Momma Cindy from Hebron Baptist in Appomattox came to Moneta to celebrate with us. As the party was winding down, they pulled Patricia and me aside and told us that Hebron had voted to give us both a one-time gift to help us with moving expenses, as well as $300 per month to corporately support us.

Finally, on October 22, we were invited to come share our vision at Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Vinton, VA (near Roanoke). I spoke for about 20 minutes that night, and was able to take questions after. We have not yet heard from them about partnering with us, but it was a true joy to worship with them and fellowship with them after I was done speaking.

In terms of preaching/teaching engagements, I was blessed to preach to the body at Westlake for the first time. Our text was 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2, and I titled the message “Compelled by Love.” If you are interested in listening to the sermon, you can watch it below, and it is live on my YouTube channel if you click the link HERE. Additionally, I taught Sunday School at Westlake every week in October.

On the YouTube channel, I intend to post all the sermons that I preach, so you can actually go back and watch older sermons, too. I plan to go back and re-preach other outlines that I didn’t record at the time, and so to hopefully make it possible for our supporters to keep up with us on that forum as well. Of course, you can subscribe to the channel, or even watch the entire sermon playlist HERE.

Ending the month, we took part in the planning and celebration of Westlake’s annual Fall Festival just last night. People heard the gospel and were prayed for, and dozens of kids learned about the “Romans Road” as a part of the scavenger hunt.

Looking into November, it seems that life may finally be slowing down as we prepare to move in March, but that is always open to change. If you know of any churches or pastors who may be willing to speak to me or possibly partner with us, please forward this email to them or send me an email with some contact information.

Finally, it’s my pleasure to announce that we are doing a spaghetti dinner fundraising event in the Westlake Fellowship Hall on December 13, 2025. As a part of that dinner, we will be serving spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad with a “secret auction” of dessert items. Ticket prices are $7.50 per person or $30 for a Five Pack ($10/person, $40/Five at the door), and you can purchase your E-Ticket with this LINK.

As always, be blessed! We love you all and greatly appreciate your support! Remember…if you aren’t in our Facebook group, you can join that HERE.

Josh Davis

Lead Planter

Borderlands Family Baptist Church

Romans 1:16