Six years ago, David Docusen was serving at Calvary Assembly in Orlando, Florida, as the Master’s Commission Director. Using his talents and skills, David enjoyed his work behind the scenes helping with advertising and marketing.

But when a friend asked to speak with him about something important, David was left with an idea that he couldn’t push out of his mind. “My friend asked if I had ever considered church planting,” says David. “I said that I had no intentions of planting, but he left and that uncovered something in me that I wasn’t able to shake.”

David stayed at Calvary Assembly for another four years after that initial conversation. “I contacted a friend in North Carolina because God put that on our hearts,” he says. “In October 2007, I talked to Doug Witherup, the North Carolina District Youth Director, about wanting to plant.” As a result of this conversation, David ended up meeting Mike Field, a pastor who was getting ready to plant Hope Church in North Charlotte. “I felt like the Lord put on my heart that my wife and I, back in January of 2008, should lay down our dream to plant in order to support Mike in his church plant.” By July of 2008, David and his family had moved to Charlotte, raised their budget and had begun to help Mike start Hope Church. David and Mike came to an agreement that David and his wife Dara would serve Hope Church for one year, then the church would bless them as they left to launch their own plant.

Looking back on his experience, David recommends that future planters get involved in a church plant first. “Jump on with a church planter so that you don’t have to lead one right off the bat,” he says. “[Working with a church plant] you get to see how it works. My time at Hope Church was priceless. It prepared me for leading Center City Church and showed me what to do and what not to do. I wouldn’t trade waiting for anything.”

David remembered the words of a great business leader who said, “No organization can grow beyond the constraints of its leader.” Not wanting Center City Church to suffer because of his constraints, David went to Pastor Rick Ross at Concord First Assembly in Charlotte. “I asked him to mentor me,” David says. “I laid out my strengths and weaknesses and asked him to help me. When he saw that I was coming to him not for money, but for a mentor, a relationship formed. To this day it’s the healthiest thing that has come to us.” David and Pastor Rick discussed the Parent Affiliated Church listing and Pastor Rick offered to be the overseeing church. “We went from our own autonomous church and moved under the PAC covering,” says David. “We needed accountability and now they oversee our finances, we have access to their staff and it’s begun this awesome partnership. I will totally support the idea of PAC for the rest of my life because I’ve seen how valuable it is.”

Check back tomorrow for the rest of David’s story.