It was the day before the big move. Everything they owned, including the clothes dryer without a washing machine companion, was packed tightly into the biggest moving truck they could find. It was so tight that the deer head had to find a place in the front seat. Travis and Becky Linn were about to embark on a journey to move their family from Brookings, SD to Moorhead, MN. They were excited to start the work of planting a church in the new community they were to call home. It was also the same day they received word that their housing plans had fallen through.
That night Travis found himself in a familiar place, where months before God had seeded the desire to plant a church, on his knees in prayer. It wasn’t the only hiccup either. Becky had applied for twenty teaching positions without landing a job. Yet they submitted their calling to God and still left the next day for Moorhead. They put everything into storage and chose to let God work out the details.
Submitting their calling to God was not new to the Linns. They felt at home in Brookings, where they had great jobs and were involved in the community. Becky had started a small group Bible study with other moms she knew from her kids’ school. It went so well that soon she was inviting their spouses and families to join the group. As Travis became involved they realized how much they enjoyed working together and reaching unchurched people.
Around this time a church planter shared his experience starting a new church. Travis remembered thinking, “Thank God I never have to do that!” God had another thing in mind and Travis felt Him saying, “I am the God of your calling. I need you to give your calling to me.” Two weeks after that service, Travis felt the presence of God in their bedroom and spent time in prayer. He knew God was leading them to plant a church, and that moment was not forgotten months later as they drove into Moorhead, homeless.
Shortly after arriving in Moorhead, they found a house where the realtor informed them it oddly had a washing machine without a dryer. Within a week, Becky was also offered a teaching position.
Soon they began the work of helping the unchurched in the Fargo/Moorhead area find a church home. They launched Relevant Life Church in September of 2014 with a vision to give people “a reason to get out of bed” on Sunday mornings.
Looking back on their journey from that prayer time in the bedroom to moving into the house in need of a their lonely dryer, Travis says, “Jesus is the Lord of our calling. When we’re submitted to Him, not only is it the best thing for that region that you’re being called to, but the best thing for you and your family.”
