Darren Rouanzoin on Entering the Digital Desert, the Risk of Becoming a Disembodied Influencer, and Having a Vision Bigger Than Your Church

Darren Rouanzoin from Garden Church in Long Beach, California joins Jason this week on the podcast. They begin by Darren sharing his journey of growing up and not believing in the gifts of the Spirit until visiting a church where the supernatural seemed natural; atheists accepted Jesus, the sick were healed, and prophecy was spoken. He resolved to experience this in his own life and to build a church that would be empowered by the Spirit. This led him and his wife to begin a church community of small groups that eventually turned into services, serving their city, loving the poor, and raising up staff.

What sets Garden Church apart is that it’s not a church born from a vision just for a church, but from a vision for the city. Darren’s heart is that in a diverse, economically unequal city like Long Beach, they could serve and disciple both the CEO and the single mom, which doesn’t always fit in certain models or strategies of the church.

Darren unpacks the importance of mentors in his life and gives advice on how others can foster those relationships. He also explains that what you build in you is what you build around you and how that should prioritize our spiritual formation as pastors so we can see churches of resiliency, humility, and Spirit empowerment. This is especially important because the temptation for leaders today can be to focus on platform and influence, which aren’t always bad, but can lead to us becoming disembodied influencers instead of incarnational followers doing life with our community.

They end by Darren telling Jason about the digital desert God led him to in 2019, a time of hiding and getting off social media. He encourages us to consider ways we might enter into this journey for intimacy with Jesus and to protect us from the pressure of culture. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Darren Rouanzoin.

This episode was brought to you by International Justice Mission. Learn more at www.ijm.ca/cclp.

Blog | www.ccln.ca/season2/episode51

Website | www.ccln.ca