When I was told "I think it's time for transition" my world was rocked. I am a loyalist and don't look to jump around from place to place. I have been in my last 2 jobs for almost 18 years. As you know, I have been a stay-at-home dad since March 1 and it has been fantastic. I have really enjoyed being home with my kids. (There is an upcoming post on stay-at-home Pappa life).
I want to tell you a story. On Saturday, March 8, I had lunch with my friend Kurt. We were catching up and sharing stories. He asked me what I wanted to do next. One of the things I told him I would love to do is to be a youth pastor leading a student ministry team in a local church. He thought I would be great in that kind of role. An hour later, Scott, the executive pastor at Southwest church in Indian Wells, California called him and told him that their student ministries team leader was leaving and wondered if Kurt knew anyone who might fit the bill. He told Scott that he just had lunch with his next guy!
I didn't know about that phone call until about a month later but Kurt did tell me that night but he found the perfect place for me. He set us both up on an email together and later that week we had a phone conversation just to get to know each other a little bit. We really enjoyed our conversation!
From there he asked us to look at some of the videos from the services that explain their vision for the future the church. After watching that and chatting the next week they asked us to come down and see if the area in the church and the people even fit. If that was the case then we could keep going with our conversation.
Even though we were down during a sandstorm we both loved our time there! We love the people, the area, the vision of the church, etc. We even stayed in the same hotel with bands who are performing at the Coachella festival and got to know son of them. That was pretty cool.
After praying and seeking counsel we decided we want to come back for round two. That was a week, for me, looking "under the hood" during all of their meetings throughout the week. I also got to sit down with several of the people on their team one on one. It was a great time and I was thankful that Jeanne-Ann joined me for the last weekend of that trip.
We met with the high school volunteer team for lunch and asked lots of questions back and forth. That was a really cool time. I also spoke at the 1st middle school service and then the high school service. On Monday we drove around with a real estate agent and looked at a bunch of homes before we flew home. Wow!
We chatted at the end of the week and agreed that we should make this thing happen. I'm so thankful that Kynzi and Karston have been involved in the conversation since the beginning. Although it will be a tough departure we all agree that this is what God is calling us to do.
So, on August 1, I will start at Southwest Church as the Student Ministries Team Leader/High School Pastor! I will be working with a great team in the student ministries world and a great team at the church! Anyone need a place to stay during their next vacation? 😊👍✈️
We sure could use your prayers on a number of things. We need to sell our house! Ugh. We also need to find a place to live there too. We need to find the right home, neighborhood, schools, etc. Transition is not easy. Jeanne-Ann is leaving a job she loves, we are leaving "family" and our home of 18 years, Kynzi and Karston are leaving all they have known (so are Haak and Nyah, but they are getting bunk beds when we move and that is all that really matters...though there will be a point when they don't understand why we can't see some of their favorite people) and we are starting over in so many senses.
I am super excited about what we are going to, but quite sad about what we are leaving.
Thank you for your prayers!
