To the ends of the Earth

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses- telling people about Me everywhere- in Jerusalem, throughout Judea,

in Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth."

Acts 1:8

To the ends of the Earth... well right now, for us, that is Westlake, TX. For those of you who haven't heard, Ryan recently was offered a position as the youth pastor at Redeemer Church at Westlake. Redeemer Church is part of the Acts 29 network of church plants. Ryan heard about the opportunity from our friend Andrew, whom he is doing Tommy Nelson's Program with. Andrew is also the music pastor at Redeemer. For the past month, Ryan, Andrew, our pastor Scott, and all of our families have been praying about this decision. Ryan was officially hired right before Christmas and we began attending Redeemer the next Sunday.

Everyone at the church is so friendly and welcoming. Right now it is still very small (only about 50 people compared to 3,000 at Denton Bible) and Ryan is only on staff part time. Hopefully in 2010 the church and youth group will continue to grow and Ryan will eventually be full time.

"You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others."

2 Timothy 2:2

Changing churches from Denton Bible to Redeemer is definitely a transition. I truly love Denton and over the past 8 years Denton Bible has become my church family. All of my best friends were made through Bible studies. I went on some life changing mission trips with College Life, part of Denton Bible. I was baptized in the chapel. Ryan and I were also married in the chapel. Tommy is a wonderful pastor and teacher. I love the feeling of walking into service and knowing so many good friends.

However, as hard as it is to become part of a new fellowship and family, I am also at peace that it is what pleases God the most. I feel that I have been taught and discipled and now it is time to share what I have learned with a new community. Looking at the New Testament, the disciples were absolutely challenged to grow and take their faith to new places. The early church would not have been effective is Jesus' disciples stayed as a small group in Jerusalem their entire lives. I know that in time God will bless our obedience to leave what is comfortable and provide a new church family. I am excited to work alongside Ryan as his wife and get to teach and love our youth group. I don't always feel that I am worthy to mentor students but I trust that God will use me and my life experiences.

As silly as it may sound, I try to look at this opportunity with the same perspective that a missionary would. A missionary often has to leave what is familiar, say good bye to old friends, sleep in new places, learn new cultures and customs, and fight the urge to cling to what is comfortable. But missionaries also get to experience new, exciting things, make new friends, experience God's provision, and hopefully see new believers come to know Christ. That is a sacrifice I am so willing to make.

Its also a blessing to have a few familiar faces at Redeemer with us. Andrew, our music pastor, played for College Life and Denton Bible and brings many familiar songs for worship. His wife Monica, is close with my best friend, Erica, and although I don't know Monica that well yet, I love her fun spirit and from what I know from Erica, I know she will be a good friend. I think going to a new church would be even more challenging if we had to walk in knowing nobody. So I am thankful for the beginnings of our friendship with them.

As you read my blog, I would ask that you pray for Redeemer and for us. Pray that Redeemer would grow as new people come and visit from the community. Pray for Scott, our pastor, that he would continue preach messages from the Scripture that would change hearts. Pray for the youth group, that kids would come and that overtime we can build strong friendships. Pray for Ryan, that he would have discernment and encouragement as begins to build a group and create a routine. Pray that financially Ryan would be able to be on staff full time. Pray for us for the next year, that we would be patient for seeing where and what God wants us to do and that we would always be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the Gospel.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this :)


P.S. For those of you wondering, we still haven't caught our rodent friend living in the kitchen. Traps and bait are set out but not working. I plan to call our apartment office again tomorrow to see what else we need to do. For now, we have named our unwelcomed house guest Ratatoui.