Lessons From the CityReach Story

Lessons From the CityReach Story

How "unlikelies" are leading transformation in urban ministry

Brian Bolt

Brian Bolt’s ministry journey began the night he was shot–the first line in his new FREE eBook, Reach: A Story of Multiplication in the City. Bolt goes on to share how God led him to recovery, to Himself and eventually into church planting, ultimately founding the CityReach church-planting network in the Northeast. In the post below, he shares three of the seven hardest and best lessons he’s learned through following a God of second chances–while highlighting the encouraging stories of men and women emerging from recovery to become inspired church planters and leaders. 
I have learned the hard way that pain is the best teacher. I have also learned that out of great pain comes great purpose. Here are some of the biggest, hardest and best lessons we’ve discovered along the way.

Bad things aren’t always bad.

They might seem bad in the moment. But in the middle of the bad things is always a promise from God. Jesus specializes in turning bad things around for the good.
Our recovery homes directors, church planters and a lot of our leaders come from a rough past, but God has turned this around for the good. I love this story about Anthony, one of my pastors/planters. Anthony and his wife were bound by drugs and alcohol. His life was marked with pain and addiction. Not only was he ruining his life, but also he was selling drugs, assisting in the ruin of lives of others as well.
One day several years ago, Anthony was invited to an Easter service at CityReach Church Pittsburgh. At that service, he gave his life to Jesus. Anthony began to run after Jesus. His wife gave her life to Jesus as well. They got off drugs, repaired their marriage and began to prepare themselves to serve in ministry.
Now you would think that the issues of a drug-addictive past would be nothing but bad for a person who’s feeling called to go into the ministry. But in a way, Anthony’s past is a form of preparation. He knows the culture. He understands the problem. He can minister out of the grace He has experienced. God took Anthony’s drug addiction and drug dealing and redeemed them to do something amazing.
So Anthony was uniquely prepared to plant a church aimed toward reaching drug addicts. But he also needed some biblical and ministerial training. He attended the Northeast Ministry School and every day, his passion for people just like him grew with greater intensity. So we began to prepare him practically to go back into his hometown, where he used to sell drugs, so that he could preach the gospel there and plant a church.
That’s the second way God takes bad things and makes them good. Anthony’s story is a message of hope and redemption to the entire neighborhood. The people there remember what Anthony was like. Today, they see a changed man, a man free from drugs. His life carries a message of the power of God to transform a life.

God uses unlikely people in overlooked places to do extraordinary things.

In my journey, I’ve learned that God loves to use the people no one expects Him to use.

God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him  (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
I love this promise. When God uses an unlikely person, the result is that God always gets the glory. When God gets the glory, people look to Jesus. When people look to Jesus, salvation and transformation are released into their lives. As more unlikely people are saved, the revolution continues.
I’ve also noticed that these “unlikely” people are very moldable and teachable. Teachability is a huge factor in training church planters. When someone questions everything you tell him to do, the process slows down immensely. But when someone is humble enough to listen and be taught, he grows very rapidly and is prepared for the task at hand.
God loves to use unlikely people. He loves to send them to overlooked places! When you couple unlikely people with overlooked places, you get a win-win, a perfect pair, a match made by the Lord—a perfect place for miracles to take place. I call this a “miracle zone”—a place where the unlikely are sent to the overlooked and forgotten. And it’s that place where God is so overjoyed at what’s happening that He releases His power and grace.
We have seen this happen throughout the CityReach Network. Pastor Justin Mazlanka grew up on the north side of Pittsburgh. He was a drug addict and alcoholic. One night after an evening of drinking, he wrecked his car. It was a miracle he walked away. The only spot in the vehicle that remained intact was the area right behind the steering wheel. God had spared Justin for a purpose.
After his accident, Justin gave his life to Jesus and got plugged into Allison Park Church. When I came to town to plant CityReach Church, Justin joined my team. He served alongside me from the beginning. He was our first men’s recovery home director, and then became my associate pastor. After serving with me for several years, God called Justin to an overlooked place. We sent him out to plant CityReach Church Cleveland. He and his wife Suzie moved there and started both a men’s recovery home and a church. Last year, Justin’s church planted two other churches in Cleveland neighborhoods that are poor, broken, and in need of God’s grace.
Justin was an “unlikely.” These particular neighborhoods in Cleveland have been “overlooked.” God has combined the two into a movement of grace in that city.

Everyone needs to submit to someone.

“You can’t be a great leader until you’re a great follower.” “You can never have authority until you come under authority.” I believe these principles and try to practice them.
I have had the honor of being under Pastor Jeff Leake (pastor of Allison Park Church and author of the FREE eBook The Question That Changed My Life) for nearly 10 years now. He is a spiritual authority in my life and also a spiritual father. I have gone to Jeff with every major life change, personally, and concerning ministry. As I submitted to Jeff, God continued to bless my obedience to the authority He placed in my life. There’s nothing like leading something with the knowledge of the covering a spiritual father provides. There is safety in counsel.
We believe this is key to the churches we plant as well. We want to pastor the planters and their families. We want them to see CityReach Network as their family. And we teach that you cannot be fully blessed unless you are fully submitted to someone else.
Ultimately, my prayer is that Jesus remains at the center of our lives and ministry. Our heart and mission is to reach the “one” who is far from God and help them become a passionate follower of Jesus.

About the Author

Brian Bolt gave his life to Christ in the back of an ambulance after being shot in the head. His life was radically transformed when he became a part of a men’s recovery home. There, he discovered his calling to become a pastor and plant churches.
After attending Bible college in eastern Pennsylvania, Bolt relocated to Pittsburgh and started the first men’s Hope Home and CityReach Church, where he presently serves as the lead pastor. Out of this ministry grew the CityReach Network, which exists to start churches in cities across America. So far, the Network includes 13 existing churches and is on target to double that number.  In addition to being founder and president of CityReach Network, Bolt is also the executive director of Network of Hope, a compassion-based non-profit.