In View of a Call
That title alone just blows me away. We have decided to follow what God wants in our lives, we are leaving everything we know and love behind to move to a place we have never been and yet before we even leave God is working out all the details all the while proving to us over and over again that He will fully provide for us and that this is exactly where He wants us. It is so surreal to think that this is our very first visit to a church in view of a call that we believe God is laying before us. I wanted to include this email that Alex sent out to some of our friends and family on June 19th, 2012 because I think it's important for us to look back and remember these times of being amazed at God's presence in our lives. This email was written after we flew to Virginia to visit FBC, Jonesville in view of call the weekend of July 16-18th 2012.
So, God really moved while we were in Virginia. We were a little nervous because we would be staying at the parsonage with the pastor and his wife the whole time we were there. this kind of meant that we would be in an interview for 3 straight days. What was really interesting, was that they ended up being a really great couple and it was not nearly as weird as I was afraid it would be!
The church family there was so friendly and kind and so excited about having a youth pastor! The church has really been going through a transition period the last 2 years and have had a large number of young families join the church. They have a youth coordinator position but unfortunately, there has been some difficulty with that person connecting with the students. They are excited about making a change and getting a Youth Pastor into the church to meet the kids where they are and challenge them.
The church is in the middle of a building campaign to build a new Family Life Center which will have a full size regulation basketball court, classrooms, education space, and a full size kitchen. There is no other space like this at any church in the area and it would allow us to position the church in a way that will allow us to reach more students than ever. It will give the kids in the town a place to congregate, study, receive tutoring, and have fun. They are trying to raise 50% of the price of the space and are over 75% of the way to that goal. They should break ground on it in the spring as soon as winter breaks next year.
The interview process was great. A lot of what I feel is extremely important in youth ministry was supported by the committees that we met with. The first interview at the parsonage on Saturday night was a little stressful only because 5 minutes before it started we received a phone call that Ethan was in a 4 wheeler accident and may have a broken arm. They were on their way to the ER to get x-rays and would let us know. Not exactly the type of call you want right before an interview, but God calmed our nerves and all went well.
God so clearly spoke to Mandy and I in some very neat ways. We had been praying that God would provide in several ways. One, we really wanted to find a church up near the school, which would have an AWANA program. The kids love AWANA and have been praying for that to be the case. This is one of the very few churches that have AWANA in the area, and the kids are really excited about that. I have always had a strong conviction that my first youth ministry would be called Salt and Light Youth Ministry, based out of the verses in Matthew that say we are to be salt and light in the world we live in. Well when we were touring the campus, the poster on the door was of a salt shaker and a light bulb, and it said be these........ wow God! The youth ministry is presently called Salt and Light Youth. I got to run sunday school with the students on Sunday morning and got to meet several of them. Tyler, Hannah, Hannah, Laken, Preston, Jaime, Sarah, Hope, and Emily were there and several other regulars were out due to it being summer. They were a great group of kids, some of whom were VERY quiet! We'll fix that for sure LOL!!!!!
All in all it was such an incredible trip and Mandy and I had an amazing time meeting another wonderful church family. Two weeks from now they will be voting on whether or not to call us as Youth Pastor's. We ask you all to be in prayer and that God would continue leading all of us into His perfect will!
We love all of our students where we are right now, and we will be with you until God calls us elsewhere. I can't wait to be with you all on Wednesday as we continue to look at our present study!
The church family there was so friendly and kind and so excited about having a youth pastor! The church has really been going through a transition period the last 2 years and have had a large number of young families join the church. They have a youth coordinator position but unfortunately, there has been some difficulty with that person connecting with the students. They are excited about making a change and getting a Youth Pastor into the church to meet the kids where they are and challenge them.
The church is in the middle of a building campaign to build a new Family Life Center which will have a full size regulation basketball court, classrooms, education space, and a full size kitchen. There is no other space like this at any church in the area and it would allow us to position the church in a way that will allow us to reach more students than ever. It will give the kids in the town a place to congregate, study, receive tutoring, and have fun. They are trying to raise 50% of the price of the space and are over 75% of the way to that goal. They should break ground on it in the spring as soon as winter breaks next year.
The interview process was great. A lot of what I feel is extremely important in youth ministry was supported by the committees that we met with. The first interview at the parsonage on Saturday night was a little stressful only because 5 minutes before it started we received a phone call that Ethan was in a 4 wheeler accident and may have a broken arm. They were on their way to the ER to get x-rays and would let us know. Not exactly the type of call you want right before an interview, but God calmed our nerves and all went well.
God so clearly spoke to Mandy and I in some very neat ways. We had been praying that God would provide in several ways. One, we really wanted to find a church up near the school, which would have an AWANA program. The kids love AWANA and have been praying for that to be the case. This is one of the very few churches that have AWANA in the area, and the kids are really excited about that. I have always had a strong conviction that my first youth ministry would be called Salt and Light Youth Ministry, based out of the verses in Matthew that say we are to be salt and light in the world we live in. Well when we were touring the campus, the poster on the door was of a salt shaker and a light bulb, and it said be these........ wow God! The youth ministry is presently called Salt and Light Youth. I got to run sunday school with the students on Sunday morning and got to meet several of them. Tyler, Hannah, Hannah, Laken, Preston, Jaime, Sarah, Hope, and Emily were there and several other regulars were out due to it being summer. They were a great group of kids, some of whom were VERY quiet! We'll fix that for sure LOL!!!!!
All in all it was such an incredible trip and Mandy and I had an amazing time meeting another wonderful church family. Two weeks from now they will be voting on whether or not to call us as Youth Pastor's. We ask you all to be in prayer and that God would continue leading all of us into His perfect will!
We love all of our students where we are right now, and we will be with you until God calls us elsewhere. I can't wait to be with you all on Wednesday as we continue to look at our present study!
posted by Mandy | 11:20 AM
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