FEC welcomes Jay Nickless to church planting team
FEC is pleased to welcome a familiar face to a new role at the FEC office. Effective April 3, Jay Nickless joined the FEC ministry team as the new church planting field coordinator. No stranger to church planting, Jay has served as a church planter, strategic leader, and coach several times in various locations over the years. Most recently, Jay has been leading the multiplication initiative at Pine Hills Church, which has either launched or is preparing to launch several churches in the past few years, including LifeGate, Pine Hills Kendallville, Pine Hills The City, The Well, and Graceway Church in Auburn.
“Church planting is the most effective way to reach people for the Gospel, and evangelism is the primary reason I am involved in church-planting,” Jay shares. He points to Acts 1:8, which states that “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This scripture has been a hallmark of Jay’s ministry, particularly at Synergy Multiplication Center, an FEC ministry in Kansas, where Jay continues to mentor and train new church planters. Synergy exists “to plant and multiply life-giving churches locally, regionally, nationally, and globally that bring people to Christ, build them up in the faith, and send them out to change the world.”
According to Jay, “this [church planting] never gets old. The goal of our church plants is to accept people where they are and give them room to grow.” In his new role, Jay will continue to find, train, and coach new church planters and develop an in-house assessment tool to help potential leaders discover their strengths in relation to church planting.
In addition, Jay will continue to give leadership and oversight to Pine Hills Church Multiplication Initiative with about 15-20 hours per week. Pine Hills Church is thrilled to share Jay’s church planting leadership skills and abilities with the FEC Resource Center.
