A STORY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
Epic Church is a community of followers of Jesus committing to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope for the whole world. We are a Christian community devoted to living out God's story as the best possible way to live, led by the Spirit that God gives us. The name of our community comes from our desire to take a look at Scripture as an Grand Story. An Epic.

When examining what we believe about our faith, we soon discover that God has been writing a story from the beginning of time. It is an epic of hope and redemption for the entire world where God is restoring all that was lost to the way He intended it to be. It becomes evident that we ALL have a role to play in this story. 

At Epic, we have committed to live our lives connected to Jesus, with each other, and with the world around us. We see church as a way of life together celebrating faith, Jesus, uniqueness, diversity, change, unity, and rest. It's a journey that is constantly changing us, and one that we believe can change the world.

In a world where Christians are often divided and labeled as Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical, Emergent church, fundamentalist or liberal, we seek to simply live as authentic followers of Jesus Christ without labels.  

Kelly Lyon

is married to Jan and they have three children, Jordan, Nick, and Chloe.

He was born in the Amazon jungle of Peru where his parents worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Growing up among this unique missionary community is where he developed a love for cultures, scripture, flying, good coffee, and a world in great need.

Kelly attended Oral Roberts University, where he majored in Communications and met his wife Jan. During this time of adjustment to life in the United States, Kelly became convinced that he would spend the rest of his life in Peru where good coffee and revolution seem to co-exist rather well.

His love for flying led him back to the United States for years of devotion to aviation and mobilizing people to be involved in making a difference in the world. Kelly currently consults for an aviation trade association. That’s the short story.

Kelly's life has provided him the opportunity to see God working around the world. His passion is to teach scripture in a way that connects people to a deeper understanding of God's heart for the entire world. He hopes to always be involved in encouraging and mobilizing people to become involved in God's Epic story.

The Epic Church community is made up of a diverse group of people - young and old, married and single, corporate executives and a party dj - all with a common vision: effect change in our world. We'll be sharing our stories during our journey together in hopes that many will be encouraged, challenged, and inspired:

Chloe's Story
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” I went to the streets of my city for the same reason Thoreau ventured into the woods—to live deliberately. I wanted to bring beauty to the broken and ugly corners of our society, but I didn’t know what to expect—until I met Larry, a homeless man who completely ruined my cushy suburban life in the best possible way.

Red leather skin held up his heavy blue eyes that enthusiastically stared back at mine as we sat on a concrete curb by the abandoned downtown gas station. This was our Monday night hangout affectionately called “Love Bags.” My friends and I give out bags of food and toiletries with a warm hand and a loving smile to our homeless friends every Monday night. One Monday night, I sat down with Larry and out came his story; he was the “head-honcho” contractor for a construction company in West Palm, but when his wife lost her battle with cancer, he lost it all—the house, the car, and his reason to live. Beer bottle in hand, he traded his bed for a concrete slab and his dignity for homelessness.

I first met Larry at his weakest point; out-of-control wasted, but crying from his soul for a second chance at life. A Love Bags volunteer got Larry into a program and off the streets that December. Larry quickly became our Love Bags success story; he got a job, an apartment, and ran fast toward his dream of starting over. I loved not seeing him Monday nights because I knew he was finding his way in the world free from alcoholism and homelessness. However, months later, there was Larry hunched over, sitting on the concrete curb again. My heart fell to my feet. Because of the difficult economic times; Larry was laid off from his job and lost it all again. I threw my arms around his shoulders as tears fell from his eyes.

“Chloe, I failed. I failed again.” He said. Right then Larry dared me to be great. His tears dared me to believe in the impossible. His shame dared me to forget the limitations attached to my age and carry his fifty-one year old burden on my seventeen-year old back. He was more than another homeless man—he became my dear friend, and his life was no longer just another story; it became my story too.

“I’m going to get you out of here”, I told Larry. “I would love to believe that, but there’s no guarantee, Chloe,” he said, while he stared at his dirt covered shoes. I looked him deep in the eyes. “Larry, I’m getting you out of here because this is what I live for.” I didn’t expect those words to come out of my mouth; I not only convinced Larry I was serious, I convinced myself, too.

The next day momentum hit us like a whirlwind. With a few phone calls and Google searches, I got Larry into detox at a local hospital. Five days later, I picked up a new man from that hospital. We spent the next two days in line under the scorching sun waiting to get Larry entered into a program. Eventually, Larry was admitted into a six-month substance abuse program called “House of Hope.” Hope was an understatement compared to the joy on Larry’s smile.

He called me recently to say thank you.
“I’m going to make it this time,” he said and I believe it. From that day on my selfish thoughts, my fear of failure, and the sense of limitations placed on my youth began to die. I went to the streets because I wanted to live deliberately. Larry’s drive put to route my doubt and allowed me to truly live. Larry put to route all that was not life and in his success I discovered that we both could live.