Trademark Church | Boise, ID

• Josh Gilbert
• Feb 16, 2010
• Series: Church Profiles

Planter profile:

Briefly describe your story of your call to plant a church

For most of my life, I was running from the call because I didn't want my boys to grow up as pastor's kids. However, God was not going to let me go until I dealt with my past and the chains that bound me. While in counseling, God showed me that I was letting my past (preacher's kid) life control me instead of the Gospel. I confessed my sin and replaced the lies with truth and asked God to open a door for us to be missionaries here in the USA.

God opened up the door for us to go to an A29 bootcamp and it was there that He confirmed our call to plant. Some of the A29 pastors met with us while we were there in Seattle and helped us take the next step in our call. Chris Swan and seaside church offered us to come and intern with them for a year and train for our next step.

The call was so strong that we sold everything we owned (accept 10 bags of clothes) and left NC to go live in Bremerton WA to embed our lives in the community. We raised support from churches and individuals and God was faithful to provide for his call on our lives.

While in Bremerton, God confirmed the call to plant in the North West and moved our hearts to love Boise. We moved to Boise in July 07 without knowing anyone here. We saw the need, felt the call and moved for one purpose... that the people of Boise would know Jesus.

Once in Boise we spent the first year learning the city, the second year building a core and launched a weekly gathering in Jan 2010.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church (and/or currently facing)? 

Redeeming back the people's view of Church. The church is the biggest barrier to the Gospel here in Boise. People are not asking, "what church should we go to", but "why church". We have found that this redemption takes place as the church lives day in and day out as “Jesus People”.

How did you become involved with Acts 29? What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network? 

A29 pastors reached out to us and helped us get connected and trained. For sure the biggest benefits are Coaching and the support of the brotherhood! I could not of done it with out A29 churches that have and are investing in us.

What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant? 

Make sure that you and your wife are both called! The call is the only thing that will get you through the hard times.

Pray. Then Pray some more. Don't try to be the functional savior of your church, God is building the church not you! Preach the Gospel, be the Gospel, love your city and God will build His church.

How do you pastor your family? 

Celebrating the Kingdom has become a central theme in our family. Taking the time to talk about their day and how the Kingdom is breaking in all around us. To do this, I must be aware and look for it and acknowledge it.  It takes time, investing in them and their friends so that I understand their context. It also takes perspective, understanding that we are not trying to get them to “act” a certain way but to be men that Love God and love their neighbors as themselves. Pastoring my family is an ongoing journey that reminds me how much I need the Grace of God.

Learning to Pastor my wife sometimes means that I just need to make time for her. It’s easy to get busy with “churchy opportunities” and just assume that we are in this together. However, spending time reading together, praying together and going on weekly dates are ways we invest in each other. Green is my best friend and being reminded to just be a good “friend” is something I’m focusing on as I continue to learn how to love and pastor her.

How can we pray for you? 

Pray that we can keep the main thing the main thing. It’s so easy to lead from reaction and forget our purpose. God is building a people in Boise that Love Him and show the world what it is like to live in His ways…Pray that we never let the “church” get in the way of that. PRAY FOR PROTECTION FOR OUR FAMILY PHYSICALLY EMOTIONALLY AND SPIRITUALLY from the attacks of the enemy.  

Church Profile: Trademark
Launch Date: September, 2008
Location: Boise, ID

Mission, Vision, Values of Church 

We are a family on mission sent by God to serve our world and continually learn how to walk in his ways.

What is your philosophy of community in your church and what does that look like practically in your church? Of evangelism? 

Our "gospel communities" are the church in our city. They are living life together, eating, sharing, praying, partying, serving... They are family.

Our communities have 3 distinctives; Leader, Core & Mission. The leader is the one who is pastoring the community, meeting the family needs and keeping the core on mission. The Core is the covenant believers that have committed to live life as family and commit to the same mission. The mission is always the people, each community identifies the people that they are called to display the Gospel to.   

What are some examples of God's grace that you have seen in your life and/or the life of your church? *

God has poured out His grace on our community and continues to bring gospel partners to us. We are involved in planting churches in our city and in the city of Nampa and God keeps opening up doors for us to partner with other churches in our community. Weekly, 5-8 local church planters meet in our building to pray for our city, study together and plan projects to bless and serve or city.