This weekend, our Pensacola campus pastor, Chris Bell, was up to teach.  It's been neat getting to know Chris and thought I'd share some cool things I've learned about him:

PT: Tell us a little about your family.
CB:  I am married to Nan, whose much prettier than me, and we have two little boys, Gabe who is 3 1/2 and Cooper who is 11 months.  We've been married for 8 years and been doing ministry the whole time.

PT:  How long have you been in Pensacola?  
CB: We've been in Pcola for close to 5 years.  We moved from Atlanta to plant a church there.

PT: What did you learn from your former leader and pastor, James Merritt?  
CB: I saw discipline and drive.  Dr. Merritt was so disciplined in his studying and teaching the Bible and theology, he's one of the best theologians and teachers in the country in my opinion.  Also, he was very driven for the Church.  He was totally committed to seeing people come to Christ.  I learned a ton from him.

PT: What are 2 things that surprised you about our Pensacola launch?  
CB: One was how many people love Egg Drops!!  We were hoping for 500-1000, and we got 5000 people.  Secondly, I've been amazed at how hard both the team in Pcola and here in South Fl. have been willing to work to make this happen.  Lots of collaboration.

PT: In, Pensacola, a city with so many churches, why is FRC important?  
CB: Pensacola definitely didn't need another church, it needed a DIFFERENT church, and FRC is just that.  Our Vision is so unique and our approach is so relevant that we are able to break through the "church culture" of our city.  Over 400,000 people live in the Pcola Metro area, and a TON of them are far from God.

PT: How do you see FRC-Pcola in 5 years?  
CB: I want to see our campus have over 2000 people, fully running after their potential in Christ, and I want to see us help plant campuses across the Florida Panhandle.  I would love to see FRC have a presence all the way from Pensacola to Jacksonville.

PT:  What words come to mind when you think of FRC?  
CB:  Passion, creativity, leadership and diversity.

PT:  What blockbuster will you definitely check out this summer?  
CB:  "The Proposal," it's the perfect date movie, and with two little boys and a growing campus, we need a date night!!

PT: Thank you, Pastor Chris Bell, for sharing with us what God is doing in your life and in your dreams. Steph and I are so proud to you have you and Nan along with the kids be a part of the Flamingo Road family and we look forward to seeing what God does in your life and in the city of Pensacola.