The Road Trip for Reforming Church and Family took us over 12,000 miles – half the distance of the circumference of the earth. My uncle who has always owned motorhomes says that they break down every 300 miles… We had 3 motorhomes. Do the math. Even though we had no “major” problems, we replaced lots of parts at almost every stop to keep us running down the road. But, we were grateful that the Lord always had a mechanic nearby or a church or an individual who fixed them for us. In this sense, the Road Trip was the NCFIC’s stimulus package for the small mechanics of America. We had something to fix at every stop along the way.

We were astonished to look back and see that we had no accidents, no dents, no flat tires, no major repairs (like blown motors and transmissions), and were never stuck in a bad place on the road. We made it to all of our appointments.

We have been asked many times to sum up what we saw and learned on the NCFIC Road Trip. Here are nine unusual realities we faced that reflect some of the forces at work around the nation.

I. Massive changes are taking place in many lives

There are seismic lifestyle shifts that are taking place in people’s lives all around the nation. They are megashift level transformations. People are changing the most significant areas of their lives – education, family life and church life. When you change the way you educate the younger generation, rejecting the government school method, everything about your life changes. If a father begins to conduct family worship, his whole schedule and value system for time allocation changes. When a family begins to be part of a church more than just on Sunday, but begins to show hospitality and mercy in the community, the whole priority system of the family schedule changes. We saw these massive lifestyle changes everywhere we went.

These changes are so profoundly transforming that those who are experiencing them are living lifestyles totally unrecognizable in the mainstream population.

These changes are so jarring, and so socially unusual to those who exhibit them, that they are almost always met with disdain and slander, even though they are explicitly Christian patterns.

One clear sign of a revival is that people’s lives change. A mark of true conversion is that people repent of pagan ways and turn to the living God by changing the way they live. 

II.  “Power families”

Everywhere we went we saw a particular kind of family in action. I am calling them “power families.” These families dedicated significant resources to serving the church in their communities. They cared about their communities, friends, pastors, and former pastors. They invited their whole community to come and then worked like beavers to make it a pleasant experience.

They advertised, organized, set up, and cleaned up. They fed hordes of people delicious food. We saw whole families working together to furnish these meetings. Instead of outsourcing these things to catering companies and other professionals, they did it themselves with every family member shouldering responsibility.

When we arrived we saw these hospitality machines cranking up. It was inspiring to see what an influence a family can have on a whole community. They organized events where people drove as far as eight hours to participate.

It was faithful, diligent families in local churches that made our regional meetings work.

These families are like beacons of light in their regions. They worked hard. They had a vision for reaching the people in their communities.

III.  Progressive sanctification

It became clear to us that many of the churches that affiliate with us are getting stronger. This was one of the great joys of the trip. We saw that churches are adopting the principle of the sufficiency of Scripture and applying it to their church and family lives.  As a result, they are working to progressively establish churches on the Word of God alone. They are adopting historic confessions of faith, engaging in expository preaching, implementing biblical church discipline and are growing in their understanding of how to apply the regulative principle of worship in their churches.

Some churches in these regions used to be what we have called “unbiblical, leaderless house churches.” Others were practicing what some call, “home churching” where a family or a loose collection of people meet yet without the marks of a biblical church. For many years, we have attempted to speak to these unbiblical expressions in Christian culture.

What encouraged us was that some of the churches we were at were in this condition even three years ago. But since they have adopted the principle of the sufficiency of Scripture, they have become biblical churches by patterning themselves to biblical practices.

IV. Leaders Heeding Biblical instruction regarding ecclesiology

We met many men along the way who are involved in our online webinar elder discipleship program. It was a joy to meet these men face to face. But our joy was supercharged by the fact that these men are attempting to put the things we are teaching into practice.

Our elder discipleship program attempts to cast a vision for biblical church life by reading books and discussing critical issues of church and family life.

V.  Relationships bound together across America

We saw how God has knit a people together across the whole nation around biblical principles of church and family life. We saw how people were being connected via our web site and yearly conferences. While one of the motorhomes had to stay behind for repairs, our young men were able to stay with two families listed on the NCFIC web site – one in Wyoming and the other in Arkansas. One of those young men, Ryan Glick says, “one of the best parts of the Road trip was getting left behind… there was always a family within fifteen minutes or less. Most of them had never been to an NCFIC conference and had only seen our info online.” They ministered to Ryan by showing him hospitality giving him a place to stay, and feeding him until the vehicle was repaired. These families, though they had never met any of us personally, were kind enough to shower us with blessings.

VI. Hunger for answers

Extended times of personal interaction were the norm. We had many hours of Q&A time that revealed the longings, trials, and challenges that people are facing in matters of church and family life. Unfortunately, we never had enough time as the nights did not contain enough minutes for all of the questions people had.

Everywhere we went, the people were extremely attentive and interested in the message. I was surprised over and over again at the passion which was expressed.

There was significant diversity among the attendees. Some were thoroughly familiar with our message. Others were just realizing these things. Some had concerns and others were upset by the message and were not afraid to say so.

My prayer for these times was that Proverbs 15:28 would be fulfilled, “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer,” and that the experience would reflect Proverbs 15:23, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is.”

VII.  Bonds of love with young men across America

We were privileged with wonderful reunions with our former NCFIC interns from around the nation. This was such a happiness for us. We saw all except one of our former interns on the Road Trip. Our hearts burned within us that we could be together again. Our love for these young men was born out of service together in Wake Forest and at Hope Baptist Church. The memories flooded our minds and we were so thankful to be with these faithful and dear young men.

VIII.  Eye opening personal testimonies with a common thread

We conducted many interviews with people in the cities we visited. These were stories of individual, family and church reformation. We interviewed pastors, youth pastors and individuals. The most consistent story we heard in the interviews went like this. A father is saying, “5 years ago we started reading the Word of God to my family and now our family is completely changed.” The testimonies bore witness to the power of the Word of God to change lives.

IX. The exegetical arguments against age segregation are gaining traction nationally

We spoke to many pastors and youth pastors who have come to the conclusion that age segregated youth ministry is unbiblical and should be abandoned. The discussion on this issue has been broadened significantly in the past three years. Two things have happened. There has been broad recognition that youth ministry is severely broken. Nearly everyone agrees with this proposition. This was not the case several years ago. Second, the exegetical arguments against age-segregation are being recognized. Now, for the first time in my lifetime, there are many within mainstream evangelicalism who are recognizing the difficulty of skirting the exegetical argument.  The argument is this: there is not a shred of evidence for age-segregated ministry anywhere in the Bible. We were thankful to announce and show the trailer of our upcoming youth ministry film – Segregation! – A Critical Analysis of the Modern Youth Ministry Movement during the road trip. We hope to release the film this fall.

Here were the messages we brought:

Common Infections in Family-Integrated Churches, Scott Brown
We Are in a Time of Reformation, Scott Brown
How to Build a God-Centered Family, Scott Brown
What Happens to Those Who Tear Down Their Father’s Idols, Scott Brown
Preparing Sons and Daughters for Marriage and Dominion, Scott Brown
God Forbid that I Should Boast Except in the Cross of Christ, Scott Brown
Family Worship, Scott Brown
The Glory of God is the Center of the Church, Scott Brown
Biblical Youth Ministry – What It Is and What It Is Not, Peter Bradrick
A Charge to Young Men, Peter Bradrick
Be Fruitful and Multiply, Craig Houston
Fitly Formed Together, Craig Houston
Members of One Another, Dan Horn
Why Doctrine Matters in Church Life, Dan Horn
The Indispensable Center of Church and Family Reformation, Dan Horn
Reforming Worship, Exodus 32 Jason Young
Do the Word, James 1:21-25, Jason Young
Always Reforming, Steve Gruitzius
Living Stones Built Together, Gary Powers
A Discussion for Applying Proverbs 31, Deborah, Monica, Blair and Claudia Brown and Kelly Bradrick

The Road Trip Team was a wonderful picture of the body of Christ functioning together. The division of labor worked very well as we had what seemed the perfect team with all the right skills mixing together.

Here is how the team members functioned.

	Deborah Brown spoke at the ladies teas and coordinated the messages that her daughters delivered. She bounced her grandsons on her knees while preparing food for all the motorhomes on the road so we could keep moving. She kept everyones spirits alive with her natural cheerfulness, mercy and love. And… hardly breaking a sweat, did laundry for seventeen travelers on the weekends.
	Claudia Brown spoke at ladies teas, helped Debobrah with everything, and ran the book table. She was our supreme booktable sales person because she had edited most of the books and could tell customers what the books were all about.
	Blair Brown ran registration, took lots of pictures, spoke at ladies teas and helped Deborah with her duties.
	David Brown was the administrative mastermind. Every day, we reaped rewards for David’s forethought many months before departure.  He set forth a fantastic logistical program. The equipment, the schedule, the team was very well conceived.
	Monica Brown, David’s wife of three months Spoke at ladies teas, had her hands full with her husband… gets the flexibility award for having to share her new husband with a bunch of grungy guys in her motorhome, and carried her new baby with joy.
	Peter Bradrick was the jack of all trades as a speaker, Master of Ceremonies, interviewer, singer, and front man for coordination with contacts up ahead.
	Kelly Bradrick: was busy speaking at the ladies teas, and keeping her little boys functioning.
	Triumph Perseverance Bradrick, age 3 was the Memory Verse Guy, who also gets the award for being the happiest when the sickest.
	Knox Defender Bradrick, age 2 popularized his trademark by greeting and hand shaking everyone within five feet, in a way only Knox can do.
	Loyal Cromwell Bradrick, age 6 mos:  was the sweetest, blue eyed, happy, loyal baby there ever was.
	Nic Ruiz was our tireless videographer, shooting interviews, main sessions at the meetings and editing during the drive times in between. He also had opportunity to share the testimony of his conversion.
	Juan Ruiz was busy with setting up, videotaping, and transcribing messages and Q&A Sessions at the speed of 90 wpm.
	Tyler Dorin our Fall intern, joined us early to help us with logistical needs including driving almost 12,000 miles, setting up, maintaining motorhomes, taking pictures and just being Tyler, a delightful conversationalist.
	Ryan Glick was another of the three tireless drivers. He was our nature photographer, roadie and blogger.
	Matthew Jackson flew into Chicago to be our mechanical genius. He kept every vehicle checked at each stop.  Not only did he keep the vehicles hydrated and oiled, but he also pulled some of the better practical jokes along the way.
	Taylor Tsantles was my personal assistant blogging and making and changing my powerpoints. He was another of our tireless drivers who drove approximately 95% of the miles. He was a faithful servant, conversationalist and photographer.  He spoke at the meetings, wrote blogs for me, led singing and all manner of platform responsibilities.
	Stephen Bradrick was a constant help, by fixing and servicing and hauling and doing whatever was needed until he swapped places with Matthew Jackson in Chicago.
	Stephen Sides held down the fort for us in Wake Forest, greasing the skids, shipping packages, handling online orders, and keeping the book and CD sales going.

Jonathan Edwards in his sermon, "The Perpetuity of the Sabbath" makes his case for God's requirement of sabbath keeping and in the statement below, gives one of the reasons we ought to observe the sabbath,

"By a strict observance of the sabbath, the face of religion is kept up in the world. If it were not for the sabbath, there would be but little public and visible appearance of serving, worshipping, and reverencing the supreme and invisible Being. The sabbath seems to have been appointed very much for this end, viz. to uphold the visibility of religion in public, or among professing societies of men; and by how much greater the strictness is with which the sabbath is observed, and with how much more solemnity the duties of it are observed among a people; by so much the greater is the manifestation among them of respect to the Divine Being.

This should be a powerful motive with us to the observation of the sabbath. It should be our study above all things to honour and glorify God. It should be the great thing with all that bear the name of Christians, to honour their great God and King, and I hope is a great thing with many that hear me at this time. If it be your inquiry, if it be your desire, to honour God; by this subject you are directed to one way whereby you may do much in that way, viz. by honouring the sabbath, and by showing a careful and strict observance of it."
 

We organized the Reforming Church and Family Road Trip around five weekend regional conferences (Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Phoneix and Atlanta) and made as many stops in between them as we could.

There are approximately 700 churches currently affiliated with the NCFIC and we were able to get within driving distance of most of them.  Most of these churches have emerged within the last decade and are part of what we believe is one of the many reformational influences in American Christian landscape.

Segregation from NCFIC on Vimeo.

I am writing today to ask for your prayers and assistance as we now turn our attention to making Segregation, a documentary film investigating the problems with modern youth ministry and the solution of biblical youth ministry found in the Word of God.

The Storyline

The storyline of the documentary follows young Christian film maker, Philip Leclerc, around the nation as he seeks answers to what has happened to the Christian youth in his generation.

Philip’s journey takes him from talking to kids in local youth groups, to documenting popular youth events, interviewing national youth ministry leaders, listening to youth pastors, and finally to meeting with a growing number of pastors and elders who are entirely abandoning the modern method of age-segregated Sunday school and youth ministry.

Along the way, Philip also interviews youth pastors who have come to see the futility of using the world's methods of teaching children in the church. These youth pastors have fled age-segregated youth ministry after realizing that no leader in scripture ever practiced age-segregated ministry and that the practice is foreign to Scripture.

The truth is shocking. Statistics suggest that between 65% and 85% of "Christian" youth leave the church when they enter college. Our interviews confirm this over and over again. And yet, while the gurus of modern youth ministry agree that there is disaster in the church, Philip finds that their response is only to prescribe various modifications to the current model. Realizing the utter brokenness of the entire establishment, he goes in search of the origins of modern youth ministry, how we got to where we are today, and, most significantly, what the Bible says about ministry to youth. The exciting reality is that God has prescribed a perfect model of youth ministry, all we have to do is put it into practice.

Our Message

Our message is clear. Like Nehemiah, we must fall on our faces before the Lord, repent for our sins and the sins of our nation, and turn to the Word of God in humble obedience. Then we must fearlessly proclaim the sufficiency of God's Word for youth ministry and our responsibility to obey. This is the essence of Segregation! This film explains the problem in the modern American church – a rejection of the sufficiency of Scripture – and shows how we got here through compromise. We then present the solution in the Word of God and issue a passionate plea to fathers and pastors to return to God's model of training children in the church.

Why Now?

We believe that the time is ripe to make this film for many reasons.

The failure of modern youth ministry is a discussion that has become front and center in the evangelical community. However, while the problem has been identified, few are answering with clear exegetical arguments. My proposal is that there is not a shred of evidence for age-segregated ministry anywhere in the Bible and not a single godly leader in biblical history ever practiced it. So far, I have not received one credible exegetical argument against this proposition.

Now is not a time for introspection or compromise. It is not even time for more research and statistical analysis. That has already been done by many. It is time to call the church to back to the clear commands of Scripture, to repent and reject the methodology of the world, and to obey by implementing biblical, age-integrated worship and discipleship in the church.

Will You Help Us?

Would you consider helping us? We need $85,000 in order to complete this film making project. Praise the Lord: He has brought in $29,000 already which has brought us this far in the project. We are earnestly praying that the Lord would provide the remaining $55,000 in order to finish the film and have it in your hands by this fall.

Donate Now

Please join us in praying for the reformation of Christ's Church and for His blessing on our efforts to confront the disastrous "love of the world" in the modern American church and to proclaim the truth of Christ's all sufficient Word.

If you would like to donate to this film project, but would like to discuss it first, feel free to email me with your contact information and we can arrange a time for a personal phone conversation.

“These awakenings when they have first seized on persons have had two effects: one was, that they have brought them immediately to quit their sinful practices, and the looser sort have been brought to forsake and dreaded heir former vices and extravagancies. When once the Spirit of God began to be so wonderfully poured out in a general way through the town, people had soon done with their old quarrels, backbitings, and intermeddling with other men's matters; the tavern was soon left empty, and persons kept very much at home; none went abroad unless on necessary business, or on some religious account, and every day seemed in many respects like a Sabbath day. And the other effect was that it put them on earnest application to the means of salvation - reading, prayer meditation, the ordinances of God's house, and private conference, their cry was "What shall we do to be saved?" The place of resort was now altered it was no longer the tavern, but the minister's house, that was thronged far more than ever the tavern had been wont to be.” (Pg. 68, The Jonathan Edwards Reader, Yale Nota Bene)

Click for Registration or Conference Information

During one of the outpourings of grace before the Great Awakening of 1740, there were periods of spiritual blessing in Northampton, Massachusetts where Jonathan Edwards was pastor. Here is how he describes it,

“There was scarcely a single person in the town, either old or young, that was left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world. Those that were want to be the vainest and loosest, and those that had been most disposed to think and speak slightly of vital and experimental religion, were now generally subject to great awakenings. And the work of conversion was carried on in a most astonishing manner, and increased more; souls did as it were come by flocks to Jesus Christ, from day to day for many months together, might be seen evident instances of sinners brought out in darkness into marvelous light, and delivered out of an horrible pit, and from the miry clay, and set upon a rock with a new song of praise to God in their mouths.” (1 Peter 2: 9, Psalms 40: 2-3.) (Pg. 62- 63, The Jonathan Edwards Reader, Yale Nota Bene)     

Here is my grandson, Knox Defender Bradrick, shaking hands with Honor Phillips just before we floated down the Guadalupe River. His trademark at this time in his life is his firm handshake offered freely to anyone within five feet.

During times of awakening, singing takes on an passion that is unknown in times of spiritual deadness. Jonathan Edwards reports,

“Our public praises were then greatly enlivened; God was then served in our psalmody, in some measure, in the beauty of holiness [Ps. 96: 9]. It has been observable that there has been scarce any part of divine worship, wherein good men amongst us have had grace so drawn forth and their hearts so lifted up in the ways of God, as in singing his praises. Our congregation excelled all that ever I knew in the external part of the duty before, generally carrying regularly and well three parts of music, and the women a part by themselves. But now they were evidently wont to sing with unusual elevation of heart and voice, which made the duty pleasant indeed... a loose careless person could scarcely find a companion in the whole neighborhood; and if there was anyone that seemed to remain senseless or unconcerned, it would be spoken of as a strange thing.” (Pg. 64, 65, The Jonathan Edwards Reader, Yale Nota Bene)

A Tiny Little Compromise from NCFIC on Vimeo.

The Difference is in the Fruit from NCFIC on Vimeo.

Road Trip Video Clips from Oakhurst from NCFIC on Vimeo.