Chase Your Lion

5 Questions with Jeremiah Gomez

I’m starting this new thing at Chase Your Lion. Every week(or so) we will be spotlighting leaders from around the country who are “chasing their lion.”

Jeremiah X. Gómez is a church planter in Western Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Sarah, are expecting their first child in October.

You and your family will be planting a daughter church from The Bridge in Penn Hills, PA next summer. Do you have an area picked out for the new church plant?

We are working on identifying our ‘people and place’ for this next step. We have a strong sense that it will be more in the urban ‘center’ of Pittsburgh, but are waiting for clarity from the Holy Spirit.

How did God bring you and your family to this decision?

Our journey into church planting was long and winding, but through a series of events and relationships, we joined in partnership with Rick and Eunice Cox in planting in the Pittsburgh area. Early on, we shared the dream to see an urban church planting center involving the development of a network of new churches which are focused on preparing leaders to launch new churches in this and other urban areas. This dream, the Bridge’s passion to be a church-planting church, and the fact that I had already been assessed as a lead church planter made preparing to daughter a new church early a natural, but still leap-of-faith kind of next step.

It’s worth noting that I never really saw myself as a church planter, but a friend I respect saw the potential for this to be what I was made for enough that he helped me see the need for assessment; working toward assessment was the time when God clearly showed my wife and me that church planting is what he has for us right now.

What do the next 12 months look like for you?

Beginning the journey of fatherhood, promoting the dream of The Bridge, laying the groundwork for our church planting center, developing a launch team and moving out toward the launch of a second church plant while continuing to speak and share in churches.

What’s the thing you’re most excited about?

In a little over five weeks, if all goes according to plan, I will be a dad! After my wife and I were told we may never have biological children we are INCREDIBLY excited to be welcoming our little girl, Jubilee Rayne. (Truth be told, this is an interesting mix of overwhelming excitement and fear all at the same time!)

Tell us about your freelance work and how people can hire you for their next project.

My primary role with The Bridge right now is overseeing ‘communication.’ Producing various forms of print media and other communication opened doors of connection with local businesses and other organizations who need some basic design help in order to deliver their message with excellence. I most of all love helping church plants who don’t have the luxury of a ‘communications guy’ with their promotional, fundraising, and branding material, but I really enjoy helping anyone connect well. People can find out more at www.jxgomez.com or they can call me:412.475.9109.

Connect with Jeremiah on

Jeremiah and I are participating in a link/widget exchange and are placing each other’s ads on our site’s. If you’d like to find out more about this contact me at heath@chaseyourlion.com or use the contact link.

Twitter Milestones

On September 11, 2009 I created @chaseurlion on Twitter in preparation of the opening of this blog. I purchased Tweetadder not long after that to help automate the account and grow my followers. It has been a learning experience figuring out how to manage multiple Twitter accounts. @chaseurlion was locked in February and since @ChaseYourLion had become available I created and started using it since I wasn’t sure if @chaseurlion would come back online or not. Luckily, Twitter was kind enough to reinstate it. Sometime today, I will cross 25,000 followers with @chaseurlion and I recently crossed 5,000 with @ChaseYourLion. My personal account, @HeathMullikin, will cross 5,000 next week.

I think at first that growing my followers was a stunt with no purpose. I knew I had a good message to spread and wanted everyone to hear it. Recently, I have felt a sense of responsibility and clarity as it comes to how I use Twitter. Most people are content to follow and be followed by their friends/acquaintances. Most people are annoyed when I use hootsuite to say the same thing on multiple accounts. There wasn’t a reason for anyone to follow all 3 before. So, here’s the deal:

@chaseurlion is going to share interesting posts and articles from people you know and some you’ve never heard of. It’s about sharing the love and giving shout outs. I hope this account keeps growing and God uses it to send followers to your blog/church/twitter account.

@chaseyourlion will be doing what this site is all about: introducing people to resources that will help them discover their purpose, passion, and possibilities. Books, music, and tools to enrich your life.

@HeathMullikin is where I will be interacting and doing personal updates.

Here’s my prayer: that God would use this technology to help us build connections that otherwise wouldn’t be made. That something you read or hear will impact your life and the Kingdom. That something I post will make you laugh or think or maybe even cry. That blogs, pastors, and ministries that sometimes get overlooked will have their time to shine.

God Bless. Thanks for reading and for following.

I Think I Know What I Did This Summer

If you’ve checked the About or History page you have seen some changes. I am no longer the Youth Pastor at Denton Wesleyan Church after accepting the Senior Pastor position at Oakway Wesleyan. I’m just as surprised as you are. I entered the summer with plans for the fall for our youth ministry including a revamped 642 news, but God had other plans. Here’s a quick timeline of what’s happened since my last post:

June 13-18-Middle School Camp at Victory Mountain Camp with speaker Kenneth Wagner.

June 20-25-High School Camp at Victory Mountain Camp with speaker Dave Bever.

June 28-July 2-Spoke at Shenanodah Youth Camp at VMC. My car got hit by a hit and run hay bale on the way to camp. Crushed my front left fender and the dude just keep going. Got a call while at camp about the opening at Oakway Wesleyan and set up a lunch with the District Superintendent.

July 3-10-Vacation in South Carolina at my parents. Worked with my brother and 100 United Methodist teens from the south in Pendleton for Salkehatchie and spoke on Monday night. Met with the DS on Thursday and Karen and I both felt a strong pull towards Oakway. We also got the chance to meet with their Board and hear their thoughts and hearts. It was very encouraging.

July 17-24-Mission Trip to Philadelphia. Got to be reunited with the great people Chichester United Wesleyan Church as our team worked with them and various ministries in and around the city.

July 25-Announced my resignation to the Denton congregation and received tremendous support and love from everyone. Senior Pastor Charlie Collins really lead the way in this and had some extremely kind words about Karen and me before offering a Spirit-filled prayer on our behalf. I immediately bookmarked the moment in my mind. It was powerful.

August 6-10-Tricia Pusey came to stay with us and hang out with the Dentonites she had met while we were in Philly. It was a great time of catching up and looking ahead.

August 13-Folks from Oakway came and helped us load all of our stuff onto two trailers. They then unloaded everything in the new parsonage in SC. That night I spoke at the NC East District Lock-In and got to make even more memories with some great people.

August 15-Our last day at Denton and traveling to Oakway. Got the kids later than planned, but they were excited to get up the next day for…

August 16-First Day of Second grade and my first day as a Senior Pastor!

August 21-My 11th Wedding Anniversary where we(at least me) were surprised by a visit from the Hynes.

August 22-First Sunday at Oakway. Great crowd and a great meal following the service.

So, there you have it. 11 weeks of sheer craziness. But God is good, and life is an adventure. A year ago, I started Chase Your Lion. I know now, that I started that site so I would have the courage to take these steps this summer. As my wife said,”it can’t be alright for everyone else to Chase Their Lion, but for you to play it safe.” The rest of this week I will be sharing what’s been going on in my mind through this whole transition, the differences between being a youth pastor and a senior pastor, and how you can know when it’s time for a change.

Interview with Greg and Heidi Edmonds, Missionaries to Haiti

I met Greg Edmonds when we were both students at Southern Wesleyan University back in the mid-90’s. After graduation, we served together as youth pastors in the South Carolina District and worked together on numerous missions trip and youth camps. If you watch the Daily Dose of Heath, you’ll recall this story from youth camp where Greg was one of the masterminds. Needless to say, he is true brother in Christ and someone I have a deep love and respect for. When I heard he and his wife were taking the step to become career missionaries with Global Partners in Haiti, I knew God had great things in store for them. This calling came before the devastating earthquake that hit the nation in early 2010. I had the chance to sit down with them and discuss what God is doing in their lives.

To find out more about their mission to Haiti check out their website here.

To join their prayer and/or financial support team click here.

To join their Facebook group click here.

Rural Church Winners!

Last week, I announced a contest where I was giving away 4 copies of Shannon O’Dell’s book, Transforming Church in Rural America. The first two winners are both Wesleyan pastors. Josh Rhone pastors Mt. Union Wesleyan Church in Pennsylvania and blogs over at www.joshrhone.com. Tim Kirkpatrick serves as the Discipleship/Small Groups Pastor at Foster St. Wesleyan Church in Asheboro, NC. You can check out Tim’s blog here. I’ve got 2 more copies to give away so leave a comment on this post to tell me why this book would be beneficial to you and you could win a copy! The winners will be announced Friday!

Transforming People and the Church and Win a Free Book!

I just finished Shannon O’Dell’s book, Transforming Church in Rural America. There are two things I love about this book. First, he includes links to videos where you can actually see the churches and places he is talking about and secondly, he removes a lot of the excuses for why rural churches aren’t growing. It is a challenging and eye opening book about how God is using Brand New Church to reach beyond the borders of it’s town of under 100 people. I will be giving away 4 copies of this book. All you have to do is

1. Leave a comment on this post about why this book would benefit you.

2. Tweet the following: @chaseurlion is giving away 4 copies of @shannonodell book. Check out http://www.chaseyourlion.com to find out how to win!

I will draw 4 names from all of the entries on Monday, May 31. This is just a small token of my appreciation for the great book, the work done by rural pastors, and the loyal supporters of Chase Your Lion.

I also came across Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old Fashioned Way. This book from J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett challenges churches to return to the proven ways of teaching children and adults the foundations of the faith. Christianity Today has an article and excerpt here. It is on my summer reading list.

Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking All the Rurals

Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O’Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a “rural state of mind.” The book reveals:

how to generate growth through transformed lives
ways to create active evangelism in your community
no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteers

Focusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches- no matter where the location or how small it may be.

Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way

Historically, the church’s ministry of grounding new believers in the essentials of the faith has been known as catechesis–systematic instruction in faith foundations, including what we believe, how we pray and worship, and how we conduct our lives.

For most evangelicals today, however, this very idea is an alien concept. Packer and Parrett, concerned for the state of the church, seek to inspire a much needed evangelical course correction. This new book makes the case for a recovery of significant catechesis as a nonnegotiable practice, urging evangelical churches to undertake this biblical ministry for the sake of their spiritual health and vitality.