Church planter Nelson Searcy speaks at Convocation

Nelson Searcy, founder of the Journey Church in New York City, delivered the convocation message on Wednesday, rounding out Church Planting Week at Liberty University.

He spoke about transforming lives for Christ. “What transformation does God want to do in your life?” he asked students.

He said his testimony was one of transformation, and shared his story of how God transformed him from a sinner with a speech impediment into a Christian church planter.

“God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses,” he said.

Citing Romans 12:2, Searcy encouraged students to be transformed, first from fans, into followers. He said Christianity is not a culture of fans; it is designed to be a culture of followers.

“Jesus didn’t say come celebrate me; He said come follow me,” he said.

Searcy then told students he wants them to be transformed from a taker to a giver.

“In America we’ve settled for a ‘give me’ mentality,” he said, adding we must change our mindset from “’What can I get from God?’ to ‘What can I give to God?’”

Searcy then encouraged students to move from doing what is easy in life to taking on the things that are difficult.

“Everyone wants to live the easy life,” he said. “[The easy life] is an insignificant way to live.”

Searcy closed by challenging students to do something difficult for God, and asked them to take on the challenge of praying for New York City, where his church is currently located.