“We just want to say, hey, we love Sam and Toni Collier, and we just want to give you guys our absolute blessing for the next season that you feel to step into,” Dooley said. “As Hillsong Church, we are committed to continuing to build a church that will make a difference all over the earth and celebrate Jesus; draw people, we pray, to Jesus; and see lives changed.”
“And we pray that that is exactly what you continue to do on your journey. So I just want to say, from us to you, ‘God bless you.’ May His love, His grace, all the good things of God be all over you guys as you move forward,” Dooley continued. “We’re praying for you, and I would just ask that you would continue to pray for us in this season.”
Story Church will launch, in the same building in which Hillsong Atlanta met, on Easter Sunday, April 17. Whether the church will remain in that location indefinitely “all depends on how much you give,” Collier told his congregation with a chuckle that indicated he was only half-joking.
Collier expressed that he understood there may be some people who had been a part of Hillsong Atlanta who wouldn’t want to be a part of Story Church, providing a list of other local churches that he believed were great options.
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“We don’t own you. We get to steward you, and we will celebrate you wherever you go,” Collier said. Nevertheless, Collier expressed his desire for everyone to stay, saying that he would be “blessed” to have them.
Collier explained that the church would take two weekends off from meeting in order for leadership to continue fundraising efforts and for the pastors to rest and reset before launching with fresh enthusiasm on Easter Sunday.
