more will be revealed

I have some big news in my life and today is the first day I am able to share it publicly. Yes, it’s true….I am moving to Tampa, FL! I have been invited to join a team planting a church there and will be moving down right after Thanksgiving. The church is called Coastland Tampa and is being started by Steve Sjogren, who planted and pastored the Cincinnati Vineyard church and sparked the whole servant evangelism movement. I’m very excited that God has led me to be a part of this church and can’t wait to get down there!

This is a bittersweet day, though. I have been attending Far Hills for seven years and have been on staff for the last five. I’ve been very involved in the student ministry, especially in the last 9 months where I’ve been serving as the interim student pastor. I shared with the volunteer team this morning that I was leaving, and that was difficult. Pete Schwalm, our interim senior pastor, shared with the congregation I was joining Coastland, while I shared with the students during our worship service about my transition. This church and these students have been through quite a bit the last 18 months, and knowing my departure will cause more grief is hard. I love the students and volunteers and want the best for them, but I know I must be obedient to where God is leading me, and I have to trust that He is in control.

I have two more weeks at Far Hills, with the 18th being my last Sunday there. It’s going to be tough to leave, but a new experience awaits me in Tampa, and for that I am thrilled. I’ll be sharing a lot more about how I got connected to Coastland over the next several weeks. Stay tuned!

Posted on Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 7:45 pm in church life, coastland, latest in my life | rss feed for comments| Leave a response, or trackback