God is sending me to [?] to [?]…

“To live outside God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.” – Erwin Raphael Mcmanus

The last 5 months of my life in Spain have been life changing to say the least. I’ve built relationships that I know will last a life-time. I came out here knowing and believing fully that God had something planned for me, he wanted to take me places I never imagined i’d be.

One of my first sundays here I was talking with Tara Stephenson (great friend/staff at G42). We were eating dinner on our terrace when she said “You are going to know exactly what you are doing when you leave here.” Of course I believed that, well… I was REALLY hoping for that at least.

Who in my life 3 years ago would have ever believed I wanted to be a missionary for a year around the world? Who would have ever thought I’d move to Spain because I felt God wanted me to go there to learn about missions and church planting? Who would of thought that when I left Spain I wanted to move back to the United States and plant a church in one of the most dangerous, poverty stricken metro areas in the US, to tell everyone about Jesus! Well… thats what I am going to do!

Over the past few months I have had a growing desire to start a church, yes that means that I will be the Pastor of it… I don’t have my MDiv. – I didn’t go to Bible College – but I do know the heart of God, I am deeply passionate about him and I love his Children. Do I feel fully equipped? Nope, but I know God’s voice when I hear him and he has called me to things greater then me, bigger then me and he has always equipped me when I need it. Not to mention, he has given me his Spirit, and I couldn’t ask for more.
3 weeks ago in class we did a small group activity where the old interns got partnered with 2 new interns, 1 practical, 1 dreamer. The ? came to me…

“If money didn’t matter in your life, if you could do anything, what would you want to do?”

My reply “Well, I would start a church and be a pastor.”
The second I said that… my stomach got rocked. It turned upside down, it’s like i was the Pillsbury Doughboy and I just got poked. That’s what happens to me when I am certain The Holy Spirit is speaking to me. It was almost as if the words just poured out of my mouth. From there… the wheels began spinning.

The next day was my birthday… I got woken up at 5 am to a Word from God and he told me “4 Intense Generations.” As I began to pray and come to an understanding he told me I was going to be around for 4 Generations – a multi generational revival, myself, my kids, my grandkids and my great grandkids.

That same week two of my great friends here, Jenny and Jen told me they wanted to go to my church… my reply to Jenny,
“Well I would love for you to go to my church”
The reply…”No I really want to go to your church, God has been speaking to me a lot about helping others carry out their vision and passion.”
From there… Boom. Two people who are solid rocks wanting to walk with me into this wild journey ahead.

All of that in a nutshell, with a whole bunch of stuff in between… here I am now! 3 weeks left in Spain!
I bet you’re still wondering where I’m heading to plant this church? The city…
Memphis, Tennessee. At 25 years old, I have a fire in my heart to reach people in their 20s and 30’s, I desire for them to have a deep, passionate relationship with The Father and his Son Jesus! I want them to help bring this generation into what they were made for, Freedom in Christ! I want to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom, I want the captives to be free.
Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37
– Well, I have asked him to send out workers… and he answered me, he told me I am one of them!

No I am not going to Memphis the second I return home… but I am looking for jobs there! The plan is to move in October…find a job, work 40 hrs a week and start getting to know the city, getting to know the people. First starting off as a House Church and letting God move, it may take a year to get our first 10 people at our house! It may take a week. What’s the name of this establishment? “The Bakery.” We want to be able to bring fresh bread to the hearts of the people, Jesus is the bread of life, he said “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33 – Whoever comes to him will never go hungry, I want to feed the hungry! I want to feed them and teach them how to feed themselves and feed others!

In the Book “An Unstoppable Force” by Erwin McManus he says
“I know that we are the sheep of God, and sheep require the Shepherd to feed them, but there must come a time when we become shepherds who feed others.” – I want to help influence a generation to become shepherds, to disciple others who disciple others! Isn’t that what Jesus told us to do? ”
…”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”

With all of that being said, there are many more details and there is much more work to be done! I would love to chat more with anyone and everyone individually if you want to know more or maybe you want to join me in prayer for this endeavor!
Email me : Ryan.banko@gmail.com