The meeting was very exciting. While Pastor Rick has been a supporter of Hanford's new ministry from the beginning, the perspective of the rest of the leadership team remained unknown. However, even the most dyed-in-the-wool church member present turned out to have only positive things to say about the idea of a new church in town. There was no sense of competition present, only the common desire to share God's love with more people through more methods. The whole room joined together in a common prayer for the unchurched and overchurched of Hanford; a prayer for their spiritual awakening to God's outrageous love.

The very next morning, Bruce drove off to Visalia to meet with Ken Terry, the Sectional Church Planting Representative for the Assemblies of God. Not knowing Ken at all, Bruce was less than excited about the meeting and a little concerned that the meeting might be fruitless. Instead, a friendship was initiated and great support for EPIC was discovered. This meeting miraculously resulted in a potential support base that could include 15 surrounding churches. How awesome it would be to see this many churches working and praying together for the young and spiritually disenfranchised of Hanford.

The final meeting was a meeting with Rich Guerra, an acquaintance from Bruce's past and the pastor of Visalia First Assembly of God. Rich offered terrific advice, strong encouragement and personal input into the ministry of EPIC.

Each of these meetings showed the fingerprint of God's design. They resulted in more than bureaucracy. They resulted in spiritual partnership.

The momentum toward EPIC's launch has picked up rocket speed. Look out Hanford, we're coming home soon!