The Heart of OneLife

What was once a vision that seemed so far from achieving seems to be becoming the very reality that I am walking into!

Seven years ago while in college I was led to research the meaning of my name (Nehemiah) and who this guy was in the bible. During my research I was greatly moved by how Nehemiah was heartbroken at the news of his hometown lying in ruins. I was also moved by how he chose to leave his position as a cupbearer to the king (a comfortable/stable position) to go rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and re-establish the government of the city. At this time God began to speak loud & clear to me: “Just as Nehemiah helped rebuild his city, I am going to work in you & through you to help rebuild the lives of your generation”. Even though my relationship with Christ was not solid, His voice was so clear to me; and in that moment I knew that I had been called to reach my generation & live a life much greater than the one I was currently living.

At age 21 I became a minister at my Dad’s church (The same place I hated going to as a teen) and began serving/working in various ministries and churches around North & South Carolina, but something was missing. You see older ministers & pastors taught me that the pulpit was the platform for ministry, but I wanted something more. I wanted to experience a great revival & mighty move of God in my generation. I wanted to see youth & young adults reach their God given potential. I wanted to see ministry done & lives transformed outside the four walls of a building. I wanted to see what it looked like if Christ was infused into the hearts of young people around the world & in every facet of our culture. Once again I heard a familiar voice, this time saying: “I called you to do something different, but in order for you to experience it you have to do as Nehemiah did; step outside of your comfort zone and I will prepare you for what is next”. I had no clue what this meant until a few months later when I was introduced to Elevation Church. This church was not like any church I had ever attended before and being that my dad was a pastor & I was in ministry, I had attended quite a few churches.
The volunteers were engaging, the music sparked worship, and the message was relational & delivered by a pastor wearing skinny jeans; but the thing that really caught my attention was that JESUS WAS BEING LIFTED UP, THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS MOVING & LIVES WERE BEING TRANSFORMED by the thousands. I’d never experienced anything like that before and I wanted God to use me in the same manner to reach my generation.

In 2010 I found myself attending Elevation consistently & in 2011 I was led to stop taking speaking engagements or plan any “ministry” events for the entire year, but rather focus on serving at the church, sitting under the teaching of Pastor Furtick, & preparing for what God had in store for my life. That summer God opened the door for me to become an intern with the church, which allowed me to serve in a greater capacity & experience God move firsthand. As an intern I was poured into & had my potential pulled out on a regular basis by Pastor Furtick & the staff. It seemed like every day my life was being transformed and my idea of ministry began to shift. In just 12 weeks I witnessed everything from thousands of people being baptized and marriages put back together to seeing tens of thousands of dollars given to outreach partners and hundreds of teens giving their lives to Christ. This season of my life pushed me to make a bold decision to dedicate the rest of my time here on earth to ministry and pursuing the calling I have received.

Final Confirmation/The vision of OneLife

Since that day back in college & my life changing experience at Elevation, I knew that I would start a ministry that focused on sharing the gospel with my generation & to those that may never step foot in a church building. I knew that one day I would be a part of a movement of relentless young people who wanted to experience an awakening. I knew that God would give me a vision to help revolutionize Hip Hop, Urban, & Pop culture with the message of Jesus. What I didn’t know was, what it would be called, how I was going to start it, who was going to help me with it, & what would it looked like. These questions of doubt almost made me put the whole thing to the back of my head again…then I read Ephesians 4:1

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received

These words (that were written by Paul while sitting in prison for proclaiming the gospel) made me began to ask myself some very convicting questions.

Through these series of questions came an even greater conviction & the final confirmation (or kick in the pants) I needed to move forward with the very thing God was calling me to; and out of that God birthed The OneLife Movement.

OneLife is a group of 18 to 30somethings that feels it is our call to duty to use the “OneLife” we have been given to creatively infiltrate & revolutionize culture with the message of Christ and ignite a life changing revival in our generation. By developing various platforms to present the gospel & serve the needs of others; it is our hope that Onelife can reach individuals outside the church building, make disciples, raise up leaders, & transform cities all for the sake of Christ. OneLife is not a church but rather an urban evangelistic movement of youth & young adults that serves as the hands and feet of “the Church (the body of Christ)” and focuses on fulfilling the great commission by reaching young people where they are, pouring into them, pulling out their potential, & pushing them to their purpose.

I have failed many times and have made some pretty dumb decisions in my life, so I don’t claim to know it all neither do I claim to know all the answers. The one thing I do know however, is that I am moved by my conviction and I know that there is a generation that needs to hear the message of Christ, needs to know their identity is in Him & needs to experience His great power & love in their lives and that’s exactly what OneLife was created for. No this task won’t be easy but I am confident that as long as Jesus is at the center of everything we do, we will see God do something indescribable right before our eyes.

As we build our team & launch the beginning stages of this ministry, I ask that you pray for wisdom, clear direction, & Gods favor for us in this journey. I also ask that you pray about joining our team & using your gifts and talents to help us in our efforts to infuse the message of Jesus in the hearts of young people around the world.

Nehemiah 6: 15-16: So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our GOD.

This is the beginning of a movement

This Is OneLife,

Nehemiah Robinson (Lead Director)

Give My Life To You ~ Elevation Worship (For The Honor)