Pure hands · Pure hearts · One pursuit

BuildersNeedBuilders.

ASCEND is a covenant family of apostolic and fivefold leaders, senior pastors, and church planters building healthy houses that fear God, carry His presence, preach His Kingdom, make disciples, and think generationally.

Start the conversation Meet the family

1 houses · 1 states · 1 nationsClick a flame to meet the houseFounded 2025 · Psalm 24:3-4

01 / Why ASCEND exists

You can be surrounded and still carry the weight alone.

Pastors are often expected to counsel everyone while having few places to speak honestly themselves. Builders need more than an audience. They need safe soil, wise counsel, prayer, accountability, and people who understand the assignment.

ASCEND gathers leaders who want to build churches that are healthy in private and fruitful in public. We walk in covenant so the leader, the family, and the house can be strengthened together.

02 / The family

The fire
is spreading.

Every flame on this map is a house that said yes to covenant. Not a logo on a list. Pastors who know each other by name, carry each other's weight, and build in the same Spirit.

0Houses

0States

0Nations

Covenant houseYour house

03 / The people behind the covenant

Know who youare walking with.

ApostleJeremy Gibson

ASCEND is led by Apostle Jeremy and Pastor Gabrielle Gibson, founders of One Way Church in Suwanee, Georgia.

Their work in the local church shapes their conviction that leaders need wise counsel, honest accountability, and care for their souls and families.

A covenant relationship should begin with a real conversation. We begin by listening to your story and answering your questions before either side considers a covenant.

PastorGabrielle Gibson

A conversation before a covenant

Bring your real questions.

What does covering mean in practice?
Who makes decisions for your church?
What does the commitment require?

Start with a pastoral conversation and discern the fit with clarity.

Start the conversation

04 / What we hold

Four convictionswe will not trade.

A network is held together by what it refuses to compromise. These are the four things the covenant is built on, and the Scripture that stands behind each one.

Presence

We linger in His presence before we lead.

Exodus 33:15

Moses would not take one step without Him.

Before we plan, we pray. Covenant calls and gatherings begin by making room for Him, and no strategy is allowed to replace waiting.

Purity

We refuse to trade character for influence.

Psalm 24:3-4

The hill of the Lord is climbed with clean hands and a pure heart.

A gift can open a door that character cannot keep open. We ask about your marriage, your finances, and your private life before we celebrate your platform.

People

We care for the leader and the household.

Acts 20:28

Watch over yourselves first, then the flock.

Your spouse and your children belong in the covenant conversation. A leader who loses the family to build the church has built nothing that lasts.

Posterity

We build what outlives us.

2 Timothy 2:2

What you have heard, entrust to faithful people who will teach others.

We measure fruit by the leaders you raise and the houses you send, not by the size of your Sunday. We do not maintain. We multiply.

We are not collecting members. We are building a movement of houses that burn until He comes.

Read what we believe

05 / What covenant carries

What the relationshipactually gives you.

Connection is only meaningful when it carries weight in real life. Here is what the relationship is designed to provide.

Counsel

Apostolic perspective

Honest counsel and prayer for the decisions that shape your ministry. Direct counsel for major decisions is part of the Covering track.

Community

Builders at the table

Monthly covenant calls with vetted senior leaders who can speak from the realities of building a local church.

Formation

Tools for the house

Teachings, frameworks, and resources that help form leaders and strengthen presence-driven churches.

Care

Your soul matters

Soul care, prayer, and support when leadership is costly. You should not have to carry a crisis in silence.

Gathering

In the room together

An annual summit for worship, teaching, and the kind of relationship that deepens when leaders meet face to face.

Sending

Ordered commissioning

For leaders in the Covering track, a pathway toward commissioning and ordination through recognized relationship and discernment.

Who ASCEND is for

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who carry responsibility for people.

Senior pastors, church planters, and the leaders building a movement beside them. If you are not yet leading a house, begin with Formation School of Leadership. ASCEND is for leaders already carrying people.

06 / Find your fit

Two tracks.One covenant family.

Both paths are honored. The difference is the kind of authority and access you are inviting into your leadership.

Track one · Governmental relationship

Apostolic Covering.

For senior leaders seeking direct apostolic relationship, counsel, prayer, and meaningful accountability as they govern what God has entrusted to them.

Direct access to Apostle Jeremy for major ministry decisions
Personal counsel, prayer, and accountability
Pathway to commissioning and ordination
Monthly calls, community, resources, and gathering

What it is not

Covering is not ownership of your church and not a replacement for your own board or elders. It is not bought. It is established after review, conversation, and a written agreement.

Explore Covering

Track two · Relational partnership

Apostolic Alignment.

For leaders who want covenant community, peer sharpening, shared conviction, and support without formal governmental covering.

Monthly covenant calls with senior leaders
Community, prayer, and peer accountability
Resource vault and annual summit invitation
Soul care and crisis support access

What it is not

Alignment is not covering, and it is not a name on a list. It asks you to show up for the calls, the prayer, and the people.

Explore Alignment

Unsure which fits? You can discuss that in your discovery conversation. Your church remains legally and operationally independent in either track. Covenant includes a one-time alignment seed and an ongoing monthly financial commitment; the amounts are explained before you decide.

07 / Clear authority

Covenantwith clarity.

If you lead a church, you should know exactly what an apostolic relationship means for your authority and your house.

The local church

You lead your house.

Your church retains its legal and operational autonomy. Its finances, staff, and day-to-day decisions remain with its own leadership.

The relationship

We walk with you.

Covering invites direct apostolic counsel, prayer, and accountability for major ministry decisions. Alignment provides covenant community without formal governmental covering.

The commitment

We put it in writing.

The expectations, financial commitment, and terms for your track are shared during discernment and set out in a covenant agreement before you join.

And the questions every leader should ask us

Oversight

Accountability runs upward too.

Apostle Jeremy does not stand outside the covenant he asks you to enter. He is covered by Apostle Yolanda Stith, and any leader in covenant may bring a concern about his conduct directly to her.

When things go wrong

Truth first. Restoration always.

If a leader in covenant is found in moral failure, abuse of authority, or financial misconduct, we respond with truth and care before reputation. Apostle Jeremy and the council of elders hear every matter together. Restoration is the goal, and a season of stepping back may be required.

Access

Covering stays personal.

Apostle Jeremy receives covering relationships only as far as he can truly shepherd them. If that capacity is ever full, we say so honestly and offer Alignment instead.

How we respond when a concern is raised

Step 01

Bring it.

Any leader in covenant may bring a concern to Apostle Jeremy. A concern about Apostle Jeremy goes directly to Apostle Yolanda Stith, who covers him.

Matthew 18:15-17

Step 02

Hear it.

Apostle Jeremy and the council of elders examine the matter together. The leader is heard in person, the facts are tested, and no charge stands on one voice alone.

1 Timothy 5:19

Step 03

Decide it.

They decide together and tell the leader plainly. The outcome may be no finding, correction, a season of stepping back from ministry, or release from covenant. Anyone harmed is protected first, and where the law requires it we report to the proper civil authorities.

Proverbs 28:13

Step 04

Restore it.

Restoration follows a written path: an elder who walks with the leader, care for the leader's household and house, and clear conditions for any return. The council confirms before anyone is restored to ministry.

Galatians 6:1

08 / The path in

We do notrush covenant.

Your inquiry opens a conversation. It does not create a covenant or obligate you to join. A form can start the conversation. Only the conversation can start a covenant.

Apply

Tell us about your church, your leadership, your family, and the relationship you are discerning. The application is thorough on purpose. Your inquiry begins a personal review.

Written · prayerfully reviewed

Be heard

When there is potential alignment, we have a direct conversation with Apostle Jeremy. We ask questions, listen, and discern the relationship together.

30 to 45 minutes · No obligation

Be placed

After prayer and review, leadership recommends a track: Covering, Alignment, or not yet. Not every inquiry becomes a covenant. When the answer is not yet, we tell you why.

An honest answer

Covenant

If alignment is confirmed, you receive the expectations and covenant agreement for your track. Both sides enter with clarity.

The beginning of the relationship

Start the conversationYour inquiry starts a conversation. There is no obligation to join.

09 / What we believe

Rooted inthe Word.Alive inthe Spirit.

These are the convictions every ASCEND house holds in common. Scripture judges every practice, every prophetic word, and every leader, including us.

01The Scriptures

The Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God and the final authority for doctrine, practice, and every prophetic word. Nothing we receive stands above it.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 · 2 Peter 1:20-21

02One God

There is one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in power and in glory.

Deuteronomy 6:4 · Matthew 28:19 · 2 Corinthians 13:14

03Jesus Christ

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, born of a virgin, sinless in life, crucified for our sins, raised bodily on the third day, ascended to the Father, and coming again in glory.

John 1:1,14 · 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 · Acts 1:9-11

04Salvation

All have sinned. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, by repentance and new birth, and not by works.

Romans 3:23 · Ephesians 2:8-9 · John 3:3

05The Holy Spirit

We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit for power and witness, and in the gifts of the Spirit active today, exercised in love, in order, and under accountability.

Acts 1:8 · Acts 2:4 · 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 · 1 Corinthians 14:40

06Holiness

God calls His people to purity of heart and life. Holiness is formed by the Spirit in private before it is displayed in public.

1 Peter 1:15-16 · Psalm 24:3-4 · Hebrews 12:14

07The Church

The Church is the body of Christ, expressed in the local house. Every believer belongs to a local church, and we practice water baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Ephesians 1:22-23 · Acts 2:42 · Matthew 28:19 · 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 · Hebrews 10:24-25

08Apostolic and fivefold ministry

Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints and build the body until we reach maturity. These ministries are governed by Scripture, character, and accountability, and every prophetic word is tested.

Ephesians 4:11-13 · 1 Corinthians 14:29 · 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21

09Presence, prayer, and revival

We exist for the presence of God. We believe in a Church devoted to prayer, in repentance, and in seasons of revival when God visits His people and the lost are saved.

Exodus 33:15 · 2 Chronicles 7:14 · Acts 3:19

10Healing and deliverance

Christ's finished work includes healing and deliverance. God heals and sets free today through the prayer of faith and the power of the Spirit.

Isaiah 53:4-5 · Mark 16:17-18 · James 5:14-15

11Marriage and family

Marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. The family is the first house a leader must keep.

Genesis 2:24 · Ephesians 5:25-33 · 1 Timothy 3:4-5

12The Commission and the return of Christ

The Church is sent to make disciples of every nation. Christ will return bodily, the dead will be raised, all will be judged, and the redeemed will live with Him forever.

Matthew 28:19-20 · 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 · Revelation 20:11-15

10 / Clear answers

Let's answerthe hard questions.

Covenant deserves clarity. Here are the questions leaders most often need answered before applying.

Still have a question? Write to us directly.

Who is ASCEND for?

ASCEND is for senior pastors, church planters, church leaders, and apostolic and fivefold leaders who have served in their role for at least a year and share our convictions about God's presence, purity, healthy leadership, and discipleship. Leaders outside the United States are welcome.

What is the difference between Covering and Alignment?

Covering is a governmental apostolic relationship with direct counsel and accountability for major ministry decisions, plus a potential commissioning pathway. Alignment is a covenantal peer relationship with community, resources, and support, without formal governmental submission. Both are valued.

Will ASCEND own or control my church?

No. Your church retains full legal and operational autonomy. Even with Covering, you remain responsible for leading your local church. You are inviting trusted apostolic input and accountability into your leadership.

Is there a financial commitment?

Yes. Partnership includes a one-time alignment seed and an ongoing monthly commitment. The specific amounts and terms are shared during the discovery process so you can make an informed decision before signing a covenant agreement.

What if I already belong to another network?

We honor existing relationships. We will ask about your current covering, what is prompting a possible transition, and whether you have had honest conversations with your current leaders. We do not seek to pull people away from healthy commitments.

Can I move between the two tracks?

Yes. A move from Alignment to Covering, or from Covering to Alignment, happens through conversation and mutual discernment as relationships and seasons change.

What happens after I apply?

Your inquiry is reviewed personally. If there appears to be alignment, we will invite you to a discovery conversation. Reaching out does not guarantee acceptance and does not itself establish a covenant relationship.

What if the relationship is no longer the right fit?

Either party may end the covenant relationship with written notice. We aim to part with clarity, honor, and prayer rather than pressure.

11 / Pastoral field notes

Teaching forthe weightyou carry.

Seven substantive guides on church order, apostolic relationship, leadership health, presence, growth, systems, and structure. Read them freely, then bring the questions to your leadership table.

Explore the resources

The invitation

Your next seasonneeds people.

If you recognize your convictions here, tell us your story. We will prayerfully discern the next step with you.