By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
MANDEVILLE – Former University of Kentucky football star Dicky Lyons believed his life was headed in the right direction, that is until he met church planter Sam Cirrincione at a Mandeville coffee shop in early 2017.
Lyons quickly discovered through this meeting and follow-up conversations that he needed a Savior.
Four months after meeting with Cirrincione for coffee, Lyons and his wife, Mindy, were convicted of their need for Christ, committed their lives to Him and celebrated a new life in Jesus through baptism at the Field Church in Mandeville.
Lyons and his wife are two of 54 new converts baptized at the Field Church since its first worship service Sept. 11, 2016. Cirrincione said he is thankful to see how God has used the new believers to bring about a wave of growth at the Field Church.
“It’s emotional to see the baptisms,” Cirrincione said. “We are seeing these families raise their own children built on a solid foundation that is centered on Christ. To see them loving and following Jesus is a praise to God.”
PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
“I had questions about the church plant the day I met Sam and through that process I started to find a relationship with Jesus,” he said. “Before that, I would tell people I thought I was a Christian because Jesus loves me. I didn’t know it was a two-way street.
Dicky Lyons is baptized in 2017 at the Field Church. He is one of 54 new converts baptized since the church’s first worship service Sept. 11, 2016.
“Before I accepted Christ I was going from church to church, but not long after I met Sam I saw the light,” he said. “I was so caught up in seeing who was right instead of focusing on Jesus Christ. Once he brought my attention to Jesus it was like everything else fell by the wayside. It was total transformation.”
Lyons’ days are no longer consumed with reliving the glory days from Kentucky football games but rather are centered on pouring biblical knowledge into other believers and seekers of the faith.
“Now all I do is try to strengthen that relationship by digging in His word,” he said. “Christ consumes my thoughts from the time I get up in the morning until I go to sleep.”
A DIFFERENT GAME PLAN
Cirrincione and Chad Wiles moved from Center Point Church in Lexington, Kentucky, to start the Field Church in June 2016, and planned to hold the first worship service in August 2017.
However, God’s plan was far different.
Cirrincione and his core team, mostly from Lexington, began forming relationships with people from the community, and quickly saw a group form. So, instead of waiting a year to have their first service, the group of 20 met for corporate worship in a local restaurant that next month, September 2016.
“We continued to grow and reach people,” he said. “We value very highly reaching people in our own worlds and equipping them to reach people in their own worlds. Our goal was to reach people organically through building friendships in the community and equipping our people to do the same thing.
“We kept doing the same things,” he continued. “We were convinced if we do the right things with the right heart we could let the chips fall as they may.”
OUTGREW FACILITY
By April 2017, the congregation moved into a nearby facility, drawing a crowd of 115 people for Sunday morning worship service. A year later, average attendance doubled to 220.
The church is preparing to move yet again in August to accommodate anticipated growth. The new facility, with 6,300 square feet of space, will include a worship center, lobby, children’s education department and a patio, and it is just a few miles away from its current location.
“Right now, we are a set-up and tear-down church that has the building for just one day a week,” he said. “Now, we will have a 24-7 presence in our own building. We are around a whole new mission field that we haven’t interacted as much and we are excited about what God will do.”
