The past couple of months have been a little crazy around here.
The biggest factor contributing to the craziness?
My family is embarking on a new adventure starting this summer.
Yesterday I accepted a call to become the High School and Young Adults Pastor at First Baptist Church Loganville in Georgia and will begin serving there on June 18, 2017. Today I submitted my resignation as the Family Pastor at Valley Grove Baptist and will serve here until June 11, 2017.
During the entire process, God has been working in big ways. I know pastors tend to make cliché statements like that, but it’s the truth. Several months ago I received a message from the Executive Pastor in Loganville. He let me know that they were searching for a man who can equip students to continue following Jesus once they are in college and had all but shut down the search after months of looking through resumes. It turns out that he asked a close pastor friend for a recommendation, and my name was passed along.
I wasn’t looking to move to the Atlanta area and honestly had never heard of Loganville before my phone conversation! But the more we talked, the more I could see their heart for ministry and how God was at work.
You all know that I have a passion for encouraging and equipping pastors, leaders, and students to serve Jesus. High school and college are critical phases in the life of a young adult. These phases of life are of the utmost importance to me because that is when students start to discover what is means to live out their faith in Jesus. Students ask hard questions because they are discovering how God wants them to live. This is when students make the jump from merely listening to applying God’s Word. My heart for equipping leaders and students aligns perfectly with FBC Loganville’s. We are excited to see what God has in store as we serve in Loganville!
While we are stoked to accept the call to serve at FBC Loganville, it is definitely a bittersweet time for our family. Anne and I will be leaving our home in East Tennessee, which is a decision we don’t take lightly. We are sad about leaving the incredible people at Valley Grove and the Knoxville area. You all are our family, friends, and co-ministers. This area has always been my home, and Anne and I are so thankful for the friendships, memories, and investment that you all have made in our lives.
(And as a side note, we will never cheer for the Georgia Bulldogs. I will have Josh Dobbs’ Hail Mary playing on a loop in my office from now till I go to Heaven!)
Leaving Valley Grove and the Knoxville area has been a difficult decision for us to make. You all are family. You have helped raise Tripp and Brooke. Most of you have even sung “What Does The Fox Say?” with my kids during Bible study. We have made memories, shared milestones, walked alongside one another, and consumed large amounts of coffee together.
Moving to Loganville isn’t an attempt to run from Knoxville. That isn’t the case at all. We are faithfully following where Jesus is leading our family.
We are 100 percent certain that God is leading us to make the move to Loganville, Georgia. Anne and I sense God’s Spirit leading us to FBC Loganville. She and I are unified in spirit and are at peace.
As Christians, we understand that our lives are not our own. Our lives are hidden in Jesus and when He leads, we go. Going is always an adventure, and God has promised to provide for His plans.
One of my mentors has a quote that he says frequently:
“If I am where God wants me to be, not only will I have everything I need from God, God will also have everything He needs from me.”
This is my prayer for my ministry and my family: to be exactly where God wants me to be. I know that my life is making the biggest impact for the Kingdom of God when I’m in lockstep with Jesus.
Please be praying for Anne, Tripp, Brooke, and I as we begin the transition to Loganville, Georgia.
We are thankful for your prayers and support!
