The Advanced Church Network
A fellowship of North Carolina churches united to advance the Kingdom of God through desperate prayer, pastoral encouragement, and strategic Gospel partnerships. At the end of 2019, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina reached out to Hephzibah Baptist Church and asked for a meeting to discuss how to bring area pastors together for the purpose of missional prayer.
The sincere desire was that as these pastors prayed together, God would ignite a passion for prayer, for revival and for the lost. Beyond that, what could happen if these churches, unified in prayer and purpose, were to grasp a kingdom vision to cooperate and accomplish more together than could be done by any one church alone.
Our initial goal was to enlist at least 10 pastors and churches in this work of prayer, encouragement and mission. To our surprise, over 40 pastors and convention leaders attended our first meeting! We continued to meet together for several months, eventually believing that the time was right to gather our churches for a night of praise and prayer together. That gathering was slated for
March 2020. With the onset of Covid-19, we were not able to gather and our churches turned to facing the challenges of remaining open and healthy in the midst of the pandemic. As 2020 ended and many pastors were weary from the new challenges of the year, we were reminded of the original vision and desired to not only revisit, but thoroughly develop what this type of cooperation and support could look like.
A small group of area pastors went on a retreat with the idea of praying and planning. It was out of that time that the Advance Church Network was born. Form was given to a strategy that involves a smaller cohort component as well as larger group gatherings. The Network would seek to bring churches together for prayer and missions as well as having a way to encourage our local pastors and their wives.
While the Network has been born in the Eastern Wake region of North Carolina, we pray that this network and its mission will spread into all of the surrounding communities and across our state. Churches have been trying far too long to survive ministry alone when so much more can be accomplished together. We invite you to reach out to us and let us help you get connected!
Core Objectives
Jeremiah 29:13; Nehemiah 1:4; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:16
Advancing the Kingdom as we pray for revival.
Advancing the Kingdom as we pray for the salvation of the lost.
Advancing the Kingdom as we pray for one another.
John 17; Hebrews 12:1; Hebrews 12:6-10; Galatians 6:9
Advancing the Kingdom as we proclaim God’s Word.
Advancing the Kingdom as we pursue personal holiness.
Advancing the Kingdom as we persevere in ministry.
John 20:21; Acts 1:8; Luke 4:18-19
Advancing the Kingdom as we go together to the nations.
Advancing the Kingdom as we bring hope to the hurting.
Advancing the Kingdom as we resource new church plants and revitalization efforts.
Network Expectations
- Participation in 18 small group cohorts and 6 large group gatherings. Twenty-four total 90 minute meetings spread out every other week beginning in January.
- Participation in the National Day of prayer event and missions week with all of our local congregations, and participation in a local couples retreat for our pastors and their wives.
- Commitment to build strong and lasting friendships and accountability among the area pastors you serve with.
- Commitment to work together to fulfill the Great Commission in our communities and to help our local churches see the larger Kingdom implications of cooperation.
- Affirmation of the doctrinal positions of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
- All costs have already been covered by the financial gifts given by local churches in the area.
Leadership Team
Aaron Wallace
Lead Pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell. He has served on staff at HBC since 1997 and has been lead pastor since 2010. He is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Melanie have two daughters.
Ed Rose
Lead Pastor at Watkins Chapel Baptist Church of Middlesex, NC since 2021. He is a graduate of Luther Rice College and is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Billy loves photography, fishing, playing bass guitar, and riding his motorcycle. He and his wife Katherine have three children.
Matt Walton
Lead Pastor at The Passage Church in Knightdale. He planted the Passage Church in 2009. He is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Jennifer have two sons.
George Fox
Lead Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Knightdale. He has served as lead pastor at BBC since 2009. He is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Anita have one son.
Jarrod Scott
Lead Pastor of Green Pines
Baptist Church in Knightdale.
He has served on staff at GPBC since 2005.
He is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Julie have four children.
Kevin Bragg
Worship Pastor at Hephzibah Baptist Church. He has served on staff at HBC since 2013. He studied Fine Arts and Music at Middle Tennessee State University, Cumberland University and Theology at Regent University. He and his wife Rita have three sons.
Dr. Mike Dodson
Director of Leadership Development for Hephzibah Baptist Church, Director of Development for ACN, and Elder at Shine Community Church. He has over 30 years of ministry experience in various roles, including faculty at SEBTS and as a missionary with the NAMB. He and his wife Kelly have 3 sons and 2 wonderful daughters-in-law.