Emmaus’ First Church Plant

At our Members Meeting on May 3rd, we were excited to share that our search for another staff pastor has officially come to an end because the Lord has brought us a solid brother to fill that role. Ryan Bishop will be joining the staff sometime in early to mid-June.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll also be putting out a podcast-style interview with Ryan, so you can hear from him directly, who he is, his transition out of his current role, and why he’s excited about coming to Emmaus. We think it’ll be a really helpful opportunity for you to get to know him a little before he officially arrives.

And church, we want to ask you to make plans to be here the afternoon of Sunday, May 24th, because Ryan, his wife Kelli, and their five kids will be joining us for a church-wide fellowship and meet-and-greet. We’d love for as many of our members as possible to be there so you can meet them in person and spend time together as a church family. We’ll send more details out later this week.

We’re really excited about what Ryan’s addition means for this next season of Emmaus. But as excited as we were to share that news, we were just as excited to tell you that we believe we’re now at a place where we’re healthy enough to plant a church!

Lord willing, in October of 2027, Emmaus will send some of our members to plant a new congregation in the Hutto area, led by Davey Davis, one of our international gospel partners who has recently returned to the States.

We hope this is the first of many church plants. We want church planting to become part of the DNA of Emmaus because healthy churches reproduce. That’s the kind of church we want to be.

Now, both of these announcements come with a cost. Planting a church means sending people and giving money. Adding another staff pastor means making a financial commitment that depends on the faithful generosity of this church to sustain it.

With that in mind, we want to encourage you toward three things.

First, pray. Pray specifically and consistently. Pray for Davey and his wife, Callie, as they raise support. Pray for Ryan and Kelli and their five children as they make this transition. Pray for the people in Hutto who need a faithful church. And pray for Emmaus, that we would be a congregation marked by generosity and faithfulness.

Second, give faithfully. We’re not stepping into these commitments hoping everything somehow works out financially. We’re doing this because we believe the Lord has led us here, trusting that the same God who opened these doors will also provide what’s needed to walk through them. And much of that provision comes through you. Your generosity is part of what the Lord has already used to make these opportunities possible at this stage in the life of our church, so continue to give faithfully.

And third, for some of you, we want to invite you to consider going with the church plant.

We recognize that change is difficult. And the idea of losing members hurts. But like the old hymn says, “We meet to part, and part to meet.” One of the ways we believe we can faithfully pursue obedience to the Great Commission is through church planting and that means sending a group of faithful members to start a new church in an area where they can be a corporate witness to the work of the gospel.

So specifically, if you live south of Old Settler’s Boulevard in Round Rock, we especially want you to consider this. As we continue to consider the possibility of moving westward to a new location, planting in the Hutto area is one of the ways we want to make sure people there are cared for well.

We’re not requiring anyone to go, and we don’t want anyone making that decision quickly or in isolation, either. Pray about it with real openness and invite the elders into that conversation. We want to help you think through what faithfulness looks like for your family. That’s what we’re here for.

Church family, this is a good and exciting moment. We’re praying we can walk through this with open hands and full confidence that the Lord who started this work will be faithful to complete it.