| 20 years ago, God began preparing me for a special calling. But I didn’t recognize His hand until one Sunday service. I was sitting in the evening service with a friend as doubts swirled in my mind. A few months before, I’d felt God clearly prompting me to find my own church, but I kept hitting roadblocks. I broke down when I couldn’t get the guy I thought was going to do the internet, I couldn’t find a music guy, and I was supposed to start the church in a month. I had nothing. My friend invited me to the service, and there God spoke to me through the pastor. Two-thirds of the way through his sermon, he pointed at me, asked my name and said, “I see that God’s been pouring into you for 20 years now. There is a place for your voice.” In 2005, I became licensed to preach, but by 2025, I was still working as a CEO in the corporate world, specializing in commercial and business loans. No door had ever opened for me to preach. But early in 2025, I received an invitation to a pastor’s conference. Since that work week was slow, I decided to go. There, God changed the trajectory of my life. I caught a vision there. God shared with me that I needed to start a church. While at the conference, I called a friend with Across the Bridge, a Lawrenceville rehabilitation ministry where I serve as a board member. I said, “What do you do with your facility on Sunday mornings?” He goes, “Nothing. Why? Do you want to start a church?” This conversation further emphasized God’s hand on the church’s founding, but I still encountered trial after trial as I searched for people to help him build the church from the ground up. Yet, God was there every step of the way. In August of 2025, The Great Awareness Church in Lawrenceville officially opened. Praise God! The vision is to raise awareness of Jesus’ imminent return and to offer hope to suffering families through outreach opportunities. For years, I have prioritized community outreach by building an orphanage in Haiti, supporting orphans and widows and serving on boards such as the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia and Across the Bridge. Now I’m grateful to work alongside this church family to meet community needs. I believe the Church should be working actively in the local community, so our goal is to do outreach every month and be heavily involved in our local Lawrenceville community. In this season of ministry, my passion for awareness is stronger than ever, especially in light of recent global events — from the United States’ intervention in Venezuela to protests in Iran to conflict in Israel and Ukraine. God shared a vision with me to prepare the Bride for the coming of the King, so my goal is to get everyone ready by getting them back into a good relationship with Jesus. I’m inspired by the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls in Nehemiah. When Nehemiah was building the wall, he told the Israelites, “You have to secure the wall in front of your house.” We have to go to the people we love and start there. Every church should focus not just on members but on the members’ families. I can’t fix Iran, but we can reach out to the people around us, the people in our families. We have to start at home, and if every person who calls themselves a Christian would evangelize in just their spheres of influence, we could have a whole country turned to Jesus! I know firsthand that God’s call to evangelize, even in our families and communities, can be scary, but I feel called to encourage and challenge the Great Awareness family to push through the fear. If someone is on a journey that God told them to do, there’s going to be doubts, but if we can encourage them, it’s the best thing we can do. Have a blessed week! Pastor Brian |
| “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV) |
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