What Does Flourishing Mean?

Some might say “money!” or “power!” or “fame!”, but for believers, we are after something different. Purpose, hope, fulfillment; this is the kind of fruit that we want to bear in life!

The promise of scripture is simple, if you will be faithful to God and His way for your life, He will make you fruitful!

We believe God sent his son Jesus to save the world, not condemn it (John 3:17). Jesus said he came to give us life and life to the full (John 10:10).

We want to join God in this desire and see people experience a full life. Jesus died for us so that we could be restored in our relationship with God and live to our potential.

That is flourishing!

WHY PALM?

In the Bible, the way this relationship with God is described is like a tree planted near the water.

(Psalm 1, Psalm 92, Jeremiah 17)

God uses this imagery over and over again to invite us into an intimate relationship with Him. As the tree is rooted near the stream, it stays healthy and bears fruit, no matter the season. Jesus continues this imagery in the New Testament in John 15, and we believe that is God’s desire for you; to be rooted in Jesus, to be spiritually healthy, and have a resilient faith that can stand in any culture, any context, or any season of life. We want to see people flourish. One of the trees described in Psalm 92 is a Palm tree, and we thought this was the perfect name for the church!

When we say FAITH, it is more than just belief. These 5 words below, describe what we desire for you to experience on your faith journey with God.

EXPERIENCE F.A.I.T.H.

FREEDOM

Freedom from the punishment of sin. (Heb.10:22, Romans 10:9, Romans 3:22-25)

God has set us free from the punishment of our sin! We are free to choose Him, and when we accept Jesus we are forgiven and “made clean” (John 15:3). God’s people are supposed to live in this freedom. I know what it is like to love Jesus, attend church every week, but not be free. Sin robs us of impact and power, and when we can’t get rid of the sin that “so easily entangles” us (Hebrews 12), we live beneath the calling that God has for us. We hope at our church that people experience forgiveness for their souls and freedom from sin.

Freedom from addiction. (2 Pet. 1:3, John 15: 5-8, Gal. 5, Romans 8:13)

Free to choose Jesus as savior (John 11:25, John 3:17)

AUTHENTICITY

Real with God. (Col. 1:14, Acts 26:18)

Real with others. (Romans 12:3, Matthew 18:15)

Freedom leads to authenticity. When there is nothing hidden between you and God, it is easy to live authentically with others! If we know anything about the next generation, we know that they desire to see something real. We want to be real, true believers that walk-the-walk, not just talk-the-talk.

INTIMACY

You can know God and are invited into a personal relationship with Him (John 10:27, Eph. 1:5)

I have not felt alone one day in my life since following Jesus. In a time when more Americans are experiencing loneliness, we want to proclaim this encouraging message: You don’t have to be alone! You can know God. God wants to be known by His people. In relationship with God, we experience the love of the Father. We hope at our church people come to know God in an intimate way, and find a life-giving community of believers to walk through life with.

TRANSFORMATION

God changes us. (Eph. 1:13-14)

We are in a process of being changed until we join him in heaven (Col. 3:5, Eph. 4:13-16)

It’s about progress, not perfection! When we say “yes” to Jesus, there should be changes in our lives. As we walk authentically with God and develop our intimacy with Him, he starts to change us. Our thoughts, our desires, our behaviors, our beliefs—all of these start to change after following Jesus, and this transformation continues the rest of our lives. As long as you are here on Earth, God has more to do in you.

HEALTH

God makes us fruitful and healthy (John 10:10, Ezekiel 36:26)

All of the works of God written above can be summarized in this word: Health. As we root our lives in Jesus, there is fruit. God takes us from spiritual death to spiritual life, and we want to have a healthy, mature, fruitful church that is impacting our community for Jesus. When believers are healthy, there is always impact.

Zach & Annie Wilbur

ABOUT US

From a young age, Zach knew he would be in full- time ministry.

Zach served in multiple ministries while in college and completed a Business Admin. degree from Liberty University in 2016. He got into full-time ministry immediately after as a Resident Pastor at 12stone Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the Residency is to train pastors, and he spent 2 years in Georgia, serving primarily with youth and young adults before finishing that training program and taking over as High School Pastor at Skyline Church in San Diego. Zach spent almost 6 years on staff there as the High School Pastor and Young Adult Pastor, with the last two years of ministry joined by Annie.

Annie has served in youth, in the tech department, in young adult ministry, and is excited to serve at Palm Church.

Zach is currently finishing his Masters of Divinity with Kairos University, and is excited to continue his ministry journey as the Lead Pastor of Palm Church.

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