Five Years of The Gospel Forum

Five Years of The Gospel Forum

Believe it or not, five years tomorrow, (March 2nd, 2020) The Gospel Forum began. It’s surreal to think that so much time has passed as we continue serving Christ for the sake of the local church. As we mark this milestone, I want to take a moment to reflect on how it all began.

BEGINNINGS:

In 2018, I met a group of new friends in my local area—friends who were a breath of fresh air. They were exactly what I had been praying for: reformed in their theology, committed to expositional preaching, and deeply devoted to the local church. At that time, I didn’t know anyone nearby who shared these reformed convictions, and to be honest, it felt a little lonely.

While I had good and faithful pastor friends locally, none of them held to reformed theology. So when I finally connected with these brothers—Pilgrim, Micah, Nick, Shane, James, and Paul—I was thrilled.

The first thing we did together was host a Night of Reformation on November 1, 2019, at Shoreline Church (now known as King’s Cross Church). It was a beautiful evening of worship and brief presentations on the five solas of the Protestant Reformation. That night ignited a hunger in us to do something even bigger.

VISION:

After that event, we began dreaming together. We all shared a common desire: to build a local collective of reformed brothers for the health of the local church. We longed to see a local reformation—churches that were faithful to the gospel, committed to sound doctrine, rooted in the sufficiency of Scripture, and grounded in biblical ecclesiology.

In February 2020, we gathered to discuss our next steps. We knew we wanted to launch a blog and a podcast—something that would serve our churches, our region, and believers everywhere.

NAME:

One of our first big decisions was choosing a name. Initially, “The Gospel Collective” was suggested, but some of us weren’t thrilled with the initials. Plus, we didn’t want any confusion with another well-known ministry that was beginning to drift theologically (The Gospel Coalition). As we sat around a table at Shoreline Church, tossing around ideas, James Goetke made a suggestion: since our podcast and blog would be a place for exchanging ideas, why not call it The Gospel Forum? The name immediately resonated with everyone, and it stuck.

LAUNCH

We officially launched The Gospel Forum on March 2, 2020, releasing Episode 0, a five-minute introduction recorded just moments after deciding on the name. 

Our first official episode was also launched on March 2nd and was on “What is the Gospel?” Listen here.

Little did we know what March 2020 had in store—not just for us, but for the world. Just two weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

Despite the uncertainty, we pressed on. We continued producing podcasts and writing articles, and in God’s providence, this timing gave us a captive audience. With so many people stuck at home and looking for biblical encouragement, we were able to point them to the sovereignty of God in the midst of chaos.

SINCE:

By God’s mercy and grace, The Gospel Forum continues to exist and thrive. Our vision remains the same: to be a blessing to the local church.

Over the years, our team has changed. Some of the original members have moved on, but God has brought new friends who share our convictions and our passion for gospel health in our churches. Micah, Nick and I remain but now we have added Shawn, Josh, Aaron, Caleb, and Jayson. We’ve also had other brothers who have helped us along the way (Joe and Alan.)

What started as a blog and podcast has now expanded to conferences and book writing. It’s exciting to see how God is growing this ministry. In fact, one of the most thrilling developments is that some of the women in our churches are now organizing a ladies’ conference under the banner of The Gospel Forum. In 2023, we officially registered as a not-for-profit organization in the state of Florida.

This ministry has never been just about a group of men—it’s about the entire local church. As we look to the future, we long to see more conferences, workshops, mission opportunities, and even additional podcasts branching out from what the Lord has started.

SOLI DEO GLORIA:

As we celebrate these first five years, we do so with gratitude. The Gospel Forum belongs to Christ, and our prayer is that He will continue to use it for His glory and the good of His church.

We are a collective of reformation-minded Christians that cares about doctrine and the local church. 

May God be glorified in it all.

Dan