Some of God’s greatest miracles come when He brings good out of dark places. In Ogden, Utah, pastor Matt Roberts felt he didn’t feel comfortable inviting his friends and neighbors to church as it didn’t feel like a place where people could be vulnerable, so he decided to create an open community he thought they—and he—would feel like they belonged. When his former youth pastor, Rob Cowles, came for a visit, Rob knew The Genesis Project was something special and decided to plant his own location in Fort Collins, Colorado—in, of all places, a former strip club. Carrie Stuart Parks was a young woman with a flair for art when her father, the head of the School of Law Enforcement in northern Idaho, decided to invite Carrie to use her talents on crime scenes. Carrie became enamored with the work, helping victims close the chapter on some of the darkest moments of their lives. She even began a second career as a thriller novelist—not knowing her mentor was a wildly successful author himself—and work to help reach not knowing her mentor was a wildly successful author himself—now reaches the world through stories and emotions we all can relate to.

Links, Products and Resources Mentioned:

Lolo Jones Olympic athlete

Matt Roberts

The Genesis Project, Ogden, UT

Rob Cowles

The Genesis Project, Fort Collins, CO

The God of New Beginnings: How the Power of Relationship Brings Hope and Redeems Lives book

Gary Haugen International Justice Mission, founder

Carrie Stuart Parks

FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia

Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces book

Frank Peretti author

Unitarian Universalism

HarperCollins Christian Publishing

Interview Quotes:

"It was really hard to invite [my friends and community] to church with me. It was such a cultural gap . . . " - Matt Roberts

“That time in Portland was very monumental for us, really learning what it meant to be an embedded church in the middle of a culture that desperately needed a Savior.” - Matt Roberts

“What does it mean to live bravely in the way of Jesus?” - Rob Cowles, on Gary Haugen

“There was an authenticity about their worship [at The Genesis Project], because they really knew what it was to be brought back from darkness, brought back from death into new life.” - Rob Cowles

“Community doesn't happen by accident. We have to actually cultivate and create a space where people can come in and be real, be open, and be honest.” - Matt Roberts

“What happens is if you create a culture where it's not safe to talk about your brokenness, to talk about your failure, to talk about your pain, that then you naturally create a culture where you have to be fake.” - Rob Cowles

“I pray that I will be salt and light to them as I speak to them. I wear a cross, I let them know, just by having that cross on the outside, where I'm coming from. I don't say anything to them. I just let the presence of that and my words be, hopefully, helpful.” - Carrie Stuart Parks

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I've Been Left To Take His Place