Where Else Can I Go //
A Worship Devotional

It has stoked my heart to hear how our church has been blessed by the song Where Else Can I Go. I want to dive a little deeper into the Scriptural basis behind the song, and I hope you will go there with me. My desire is to help us draw nearer to Jesus as we look closer at the lyrics. We have many sources of inspiration in songwriting like experiencing nature, watching people, hearing powerful sermons and paying attention in our own relationships. Our greatest source of inspiration is the Bible. But more than a mere song factory, it is more fundamentally our basis for truth and life. God’s Word is both our litmus test and our sounding board, meaning our songs are often born from our experiences and desires, but we will only offer to the Body of Christ songs that reveal and reflect the heart and character of God as revealed in the Scriptures.

LET’S JUMP INTO WHERE ELSE CAN I GO TOGETHER:

VERSE – 

You’re the only One I truly need

The only One who calms my anxious soul

You’re the only One who brings me peace

Reassures me that I’m not alone

This song is rooted in John 6:68 where we find Peter’s reply to a life-altering question from Jesus. We’ll delve into that particular verse later, but it is clear from Peter’s response that Jesus is the answer to every longing of the human heart. While this is unquestionably true of all of God’s creation, I wrote this verse quite personally from longings that Jesus has met in my own life. We have all experienced anxiety, but if you have been through a long season feeling consistently unsettled, I encourage you to rest in these lyrics. They echo the truth found in God’s Word.

Reading Psalm 94:19 is like opening the diary written in the deepest place of my heart. The New King James Version says it well; “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” 

I can be so prone to worry. Not the nibble-your-fingernails kind of worry. It’s the more subtle kind that lies under the surface through the mundane moments of life. It can sway us from walking in the humble confidence afforded us by following Jesus’ Word and voice throughout our days and plunge us into a kind of paralysis in our decision-making, first frozen beneath a quiet, confusing fear and then swinging like a pendulum to comforting ourselves by indulging in fleshly pursuits. This is the problem with allowing anxiety to be our “roommate.”

BUT JESUS GIVES US ETERNAL COMFORT – REAL, UNADULTERATED COMFORT – THAT ALLOWS OUR SOULS TO SIGH WITH RELIEF.

Not because all trouble has been removed from existence but because He has touched our hearts’ deepest longing – we do not want to be alone. No one else’s attempts at bringing us peace will do the trick. So we sing this truth to remind our souls: You’re the only One.

PRE-CHORUS – 

My heart longs

For all You are

Peter could be brash. But he was real, and he wanted all of Jesus. Even as his part in Jesus’ betrayal was about to be revealed the night that Jesus offered to wash the disciples’ feet, Peter asked instead for his whole body to be washed. He was all in, and wanted as much of Jesus as he could get! If Jesus is all, then we want all of Him.

AND SINCE WE CANNOT CONTAIN ALL HE IS, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK FOR MORE REVELATION EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I love the way David puts it in Psalm 63, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (ESV)

CHORUS – 

Where else can I go what else can I do

But fall down to my knees and worship You

“So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:67-68 ESV)

The chorus of this song is its clarion call. It echoes Peter’s heart-rending question: where else can I go? This is the cry of the believer who says, “I have searched through this weary world to find true life and fulfillment, and I have come up utterly empty. I have found that Jesus is the only One who brings true life to my heart. So I will stop the fruitless search and give You what You want and what You deserve – my heart.”

CHORUS – 

You alone are God and evermore my heart is in Your hands

Jesus I’m Yours

I want you to take a moment here and own this truth:

GOD DECLARES THAT YOUR HEART IS PRECIOUS, AND NOT TO BE TREATED CARELESSLY.

Your heart is God’s treasured possession. It is a serious thing to entrust your heart to someone. There is no better person in whom to trust this treasure than in the strong, tender hands of Your Maker and Redeemer. I wrote this song with Thomas Wilson, and we labored for quite a while on getting these lines just right. But the phrase, “my heart is in Your hands” has been in the song since the first day of its conception. That part is sure: Jesus is the most trustworthy person in my life, and I choose to bow down my heart to Him in passionate worship and surrender.

BRIDGE – 

The fires may burn but You are with me

The winds may blow but You make me strong

The seas may rage but You walk on water

Even in the silence You’re my song

This portion comes from an array of Scriptures that describe the troubles of life as natural disasters. When the fires of life burn hot, Jesus is with us like He was with the three Hebrew friends in the fiery furnace of Daniel 3. When the winds of worry blow, like a gardener to a tree, Jesus ensures we are rooted deeply in His love (Ephesians 3:17-19). He stands by our side and uses the resistance to strengthen us and grow us. When the seas of turmoil rage, we can remember that Jesus walks on water. He is able to silence the storm (Matthew 14). And when there are no words to say, the simple utterance of the name of Jesus will bring us the assurance and help we need.

“I am standing in absolute stillness, silent before the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for Him to rescue me. Only God is my Savior and He will not fail me.” (Psalm 62:5 TPT)

That last line of Psalm 62:5 can be your humble, confident declaration when you have been redeemed and have found your fulfillment in Jesus:

HE WILL NOT FAIL ME. 

Everyone and everything else will fail us – it’s inevitable. But Jesus never leaves us empty or alone.

The bridge in modern worship songs is meant to build a truth like a tidal wave that crashes back into the chorus, the central theme. And so we find ourselves building on the truth that Jesus is perfectly righteous, supremely strong and unfailingly good. And He is present – He will never leave us alone. So, where else can we go to find what our hearts need? He alone has the words of eternal life.

IN RESPONSE:

Take a moment today to sing through the song Where Else Can I Go and declare these truths to God and to your own soul. Put aside other distractions and give Him your heart again today. Take a deep breath and allow Him to speak to you. Write down what you sense He is saying to you, no matter how simple or lengthy. Let those words guide you today. He alone has the words of eternal life.

By James Mark Gulley – Worship Pastor

End of Fast Prayer Rally

Join us as we come together to worship Jesus and celebrate the end of our fast. We will honor Jesus through testimonies, worship and corporate prayer.

1st – 5th Graders will also have Kids Prayer in Room 500. Kids Ministry will not be available for Infants through Kinder, but smaller kids are welcome to join their parents in the Auditorium.

Unbound

End human trafficking. Ignite hope.

 Unbound is Antioch’s anti-human trafficking ministry, working to mobilize the Church and activate local communities to fight human trafficking. Since 2012, Unbound Waco has empowered more than 10,000 youth to stay safe, trained thousands of professionals to identify and respond to human trafficking and served more than 340 victims and survivors in our community. Unbound Waco also provides leadership to the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition. 

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Man and Salvation

We believe man was created by a direct and immediate act of God. [Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:4]

We believe man, by transgression, fell from the state of righteousness and holiness in which he was first created into total spiritual depravity, a state of death in trespasses and sins in which he is held as a slave of sin and an enemy of God. As such, he is unable to attain divine righteousness by his own efforts but must be redeemed and delivered by the power of the gospel. [Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4]

We believe repentance and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are an integral part of God’s work of justification of the believer. Through faith in the shed blood of Christ, he or she is justified and made a partaker in the death of Christ. [Romans 5:1, 9]

We believe it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]

We further believe the emphasis for a continuous walk in grace should be on demonstrating righteousness and purity of heart, believing in the keeping power of God, walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh, living a lifestyle that demonstrates the character, standards and convictions of Jesus Christ and not being conformed to the world. [Jude 24; Romans 8:25; Galatians 5:16-25; Romans 4:1-5; Romans 12:1-2]

We believe repentance is dependent upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit in the lives of sinners and believers and upon their response. The conviction of the Holy Spirit, which often accompanies the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, will result in the revelation of the sinfulness of self, which should lead to godly sorrow. [2 Corinthians 7:10; Psalm 51; Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25; Romans 1:18-32; Matthew 9:12-13]

We believe that in the final judgment, which will accompany the return of Christ, every person will give an account to God of every aspect of this earthly life. Unbelievers will be separated from God for eternity in hell. Believers will experience the final resurrection and live eternally with Christ in the new heavens and the new earth. [1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15]

The Godhead

We believe in one God who has revealed Himself in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. [Romans 1:20]

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all co-eternal and all stand equally superior to time, free from the temporal distinctions of past and future.

We believe in God the Father, Creator of all things visible and invisible. [Colossians 1:15-16]

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who came into the world to reveal the Father and was the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. Jesus Christ was the Creator of everything, for by Him all things were made. We further believe that in Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form and that He was very-God and very-Man. [John 1:1-2, 14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Acts 7:37-38]

We believe in Jesus Christ’s pre-existence, incarnation, virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, substitutionary and atoning death, bodily resurrection, bodily ascension into heaven, exaltation, present rule at the right hand of God, coming personal return in power and great glory and everlasting Kingdom and dominion. [Acts 1:11; Acts 3:19-21; Daniel 7:14; Revelation 20:4]

We acknowledge His Lordship—that Jesus Christ is Lord over all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth. [Philippians 2:9-10]

We believe in the Holy Spirit, His present ministry, His indwelling, His empowering, His impartation of gifts for today and His transforming power in the lives of all believers. [1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:13-14]

The Lord's Commands

We believe in the Lord’s Supper and believer’s baptism as acts of our obedience and a testimony of our faith. [Matthew 3:6; Mark 16:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29]

We believe water baptism (by immersion) is an obedient response to the command of Jesus. Baptism is to be performed only upon repentant believers in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:18-20]

We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:4; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6]

We hold that the real evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is one’s response to the Word of God, a Christ-like life, showing forth Christ’s character and experiencing and manifesting the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. [John 16:13-14; John 15:26; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11]

The Family

We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. [Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:20-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Psalm 139:13-15]

The Church

We believe the Church is both universal and local. All believers form the Church, in unity with all believers throughout history; and yet, the church is also local, with believers gathering in committed community and under the authority of Christ. [Ephesians 1:22-23]

Scripture describes the Church as:

This language is intimate and reveals Jesus’ commitment to and care for His people. Furthermore, the Church is God’s instrument for revealing His purpose and the fullness of Jesus on earth for His glory. [Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 1:23]

STARS

We believe mentoring relationships can help kids succeed in school and in life, which will be part of transforming their lives, their families and our community’s future. 

Antioch started the STARS Mentoring Project in response to the needs among youth in our neighborhood. In this Mentoring Project, we are building strength, resilience and hope in the children of our community through mentoring relationships and academic support.

Many kids in our community are struggling in school, experiencing some degree of poverty or are lacking positive adult role models. These are huge barriers to a child’s success in school and to ending cycles of generational poverty. Studies have shown that not graduating from high school has a huge effect on people’s lives, and 3rd-grade reading ability is one of the main factors that determine whether someone makes it to high school graduation. We invite you to join us and invest in the students of our community.

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Serve

STARS Book Club

Our vision is to see a future where every student in Waco, TX, can read and succeed. Statistics show that 3rd graders who read below their grade level are eight times less likely to graduate high school. STARS aims to change the course of a child’s life by raising volunteers to read with two to three students once a week for 30 minutes at their school. This is a big treat for the kids, and we’ve seen many of them catch up to their grade’s reading level. Our goal is to have 1,000 mentors in schools throughout Waco. 

Serve

Friday Club

Invest in the lives of children at Friday Club with games, fun challenges, tasty snacks, small group discussions and even field trips around the city. We meet every Friday from 4:15 to 6:30 p.m. during the school year. Not only do you get to invest in a child, but you’ll also have an opportunity to connect with the family if you pick up or drop off your student(s).

Recovery Ministry

Our desire is to empower men and women to know their identity in Christ and help them develop Bible-based tools to live out their life’s purpose in freedom.   

Antioch Recovery Ministry exists to help bring holistic transformation to both men and women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction through biblically based recovery groups and discipleship. We provide a safe, welcoming and judgment-free environment where men and women come together to work through their recovery journey. We offer an opportunity to be part of a supportive community and learn together through authentic discipleship how to get free from addiction. 

Addiction can leave behind a wide range of short- and long-term effects that can be devastating—not just to the individual—but to the community, state and nation. It destroys families, friendships and careers and impacts a person’s overall health. Here is how we integrate discipleship into recovery:   

  • Weekly Recovery Groups (Separate meetings for men and women) 
  • Discipleship Groups 
  • Referral Assistance  
  • Provide Community Support
  • Provide Recovery Tools

What volunteering look like:

  • Assist in leading a recovery group
  • Teach
  • Lead Worship
  • Discipleship Opportunities

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the application.

Apply here

Equipping the House of Prayer Nights

Interested in growing in prayer? Come to an Equipping the House of Prayer Night for catalytic worship and teaching.

Church Planting School

Reaching the nations of the earth

A core part of Antioch’s vision is to see reproducing, disciple-making churches planted in every country around the world. Jesus said in Matthew 28, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” For some, this means responding to the call of God on their lives to go to another nation and be part of God’s redemptive work. If God has called you and you have completed the Antioch Discipleship School, we invite you to apply to the Antioch Church Planting School. The ACPS will train and equip you for overseas work as well as increase your awareness of what God is doing in the earth. 

If you aren’t sure if you’re called to the nations but are interested in learning more about it, we would love to talk to you.

Contact us

Marriage and Family

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.  The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his companion in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage.
Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:20-25; Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 5:24; Genesis 2:20-21; Titus 2:4-5; Psalm 139:13-15

Faith in Practice

Sexuality
Women in Ministry
Race and the Glory of God

Jail Ministry

There are roughly 251,000 inmates behind bars in Texas housed within State Prison, Federal Prison and Local Jails. But these numbers do not include the number of people who cycle through multiple county jails across our state. Roughly, 505,000 individuals cycle through the county jails within the State of Texas each year, and within our own community, McLennan County Jail averages 216 monthly bookings. Our desire is to be a solution to this growing problem; therefore, as a church we are committed to our local county jail to bring the hope and healing of Jesus and provide connections to individuals upon their release.

As a church, we provide Sunday services in McLennan County Jail for both Men and Women, which includes: worship, preaching/teaching, and ministry response times. For inmates who want to go deeper in their walk with the Lord, we provided discipleship opportunities where they can meet with a pastor or volunteer for discipleship. We also provide inmates with bibles and devotionals upon request. Jail Ministry happens every Sundays from 12:30 PM-4:15 PM.

If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the application.

Apply here

Food Distribution

Antioch Waco is partnering with Shepherd’s Heart to serve as a mobile food pantry in our local neighborhood. The food distribution happens twice a month from 2:45 PM-4:15 PM on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month. Through this partnership, we provide groceries to hundreds of families in need within our community and have the opportunity to pray and minister to everyone coming through our church parking lot.

If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the application.

Apply here

Sports Ministry

Through our Sports Ministry, we’re able to engage kids and families in our local community where they’re most comfortable and provide great coaching, mentorship and a model of life following Jesus. We do this by working with local little leagues, running sports camps and taking impact trips. This is a great way to build relationships with families and student athletes in our Waco community.

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the application.

Apply here

Prayer Trips

Strategic Prayer Trips are short-term trips overseas and in the US where we learn to follow the Holy Spirit, ask for His guidance and leadership and obey onsite. The goal of these trips is to obey the Father and to see the Kingdom of God advance in the earth.

SERVE Trips

SERVE is an opportunity to spend up to 11 months as part of an international church planting team. Participants get the experience of making disciples, living cross-culturally and working as a team under the leadership of seasoned missionaries. This internship experience helps young people determine whether long-term church planting is right for them. Timeframes and costs for the internships will vary based on location and will be subject to final approval from the Long Term Team who would be hosting. Please note that the SERVE application is in-depth and comes with the requirement of having finished an Antioch Discipleship School.

Engage the Nations

Engage the Nations exists to bridge the gap between the local church and our long-term teams by mobilizing interns to help fulfill the Great Commission in this generation. We will mobilize teams for 3-month internships that will work with long-term teams to catalyze church planting and disciple-making movements in their regions. Our goal is that each intern will have encounters with Jesus, be equipped as a disciple-maker, be envisioned for the lost and learn how to support the long-term work going on around the world. Our hope is that our summer teams will be able to identify key, fruitful and apostolic locals who, upon the team’s departure at the end of the summer, can be connected with the long-term team for continued investment and discipleship.

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Acts of Mercy

Acts of Mercy is the Crisis Relief and Disaster Relief arm of Antioch and Antioch Movement. Acts of Mercy works to mobilize the Church to save lives in times of disaster and to bring sustainable transformation to communities locally and around the world.

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Prayer Captain

Prayer Captains are church Owners that lead a one-hour weekly prayer time with at least two other people for four months. Prayer Captains can attend monthly worship and equipping times led by our Encounter Ministries Team. If you’re interested in serving as a Prayer Captain, please email prayer.center@antiochwaco.com. 

The Bible

We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, living, eternally reliable Word of God, equally in all parts, and without error in its original manuscript and our primary and authoritative source of revelation from God, superior to conscience and reason, though not contrary to reason. Therefore, the Bible is our final authority for faith and practice and is necessary for our daily lives as it continually points us toward the person of Jesus. [2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12]