We have been in our current ministry for 5 years. Actually, this past Sunday, July 1, was exactly 5 years to the day of when Matt officially became pastor of Belleville Baptist Church. Its been a wonderful 5 years. Oh, there have been some hard times. We've experienced a lot, as you always will in life, and ministry. We've seen people come, and go. People saved, and people fall away from the Lord. When we started, there were about 25-30 people attending on a Sunday morning (which is always the most attended service). And now, just this past month, we have had several Sundays in a row where we had 75-78 attend. We have been averaging around 70. We've had a lot of younger families come out. And we have fallen in love with our church and our community.
But God is working in our lives, and Matt and I feel the strong leading from the Lord that He is moving us on. So, this past Sunday - 5 years after we began - Matt resigned as pastor of our church. It had already been decided among the leadership that Matt would announce it to the church, then continue on until the last Sunday in July. So 4 weeks from now, we will no longer be there at Belleville.
Its so exciting to see how God so clearly showed this to both Matt and I - separately. Matt had been feeling a "tugging" on his heart for a couple months. He wasn't completely sure what exactly that all meant, but he began praying all about it. Meanwhile, I was feeling some strange "feelings" of my own. I can tell you, that in the past, whenever Matt would even briefly mention every leaving this ministry for another, I would immediately get anxious, I would get a huge lump in my throat, and would feel very scared. But recently, I felt God changing my heart.
We went away on vacation in May. We had a great week with some family and we both got lots of time to rest, relax, and think. We came back home and that first Sunday back, I knew. I knew we were done here. It wasn't because of anything bad. The church is actually in a great place. Its growing, the people are eager to learn and grow in their walk with God. But I just knew God was moving us on. I was a little confused as to this feeling. It was actually a very strange feeling. I didn't know what to make of it. So later that day, I told Matt I needed to tell him how I felt. And wouldn't you know that Matt had been having the exact same feelings that morning as well.
So we earnestly began to pray and seek the Lord's will in all of this. We kept it between ourselves for weeks until we were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt. For a while we were just going to wait until a new ministry opened up, but nothing was happening and we knew that God was wanting us to take a step of faith and completely trust him. Matt let the leadership know this past week. His first meeting with one of them was Tuesday morning, and not even 5 hours later, we received an email from a church wanting Matt's resume and more information about his ministry experience (Matt had been putting his name out there to several places.) That right there was more confirmation that we were doing exactly what God wanted.
At first we were unsure of how to tell people, a little nervous about the reactions we would receive. But yet again, God has it all in control, and when Matt announced it on Sunday, the support we received has been amazing. Yes, there were many tears. I received more hugs (and extremely TIGHT ones at that) then I ever have in one day. But most everyone told us that, though they were sad to see us go, they were so very glad that we were following the Lord. That means so much to us! There are a few who are not ready to accept it yet, and I think are upset with us, but we know God will take care of that as well.
So now I ask that you all would pray for us. As of the end of the month, we do not have an income. We maybe feel a little like Abraham in Genesis when God told him to go. So Abraham did, not knowing where. So please pray for leading in that area. Matt is fully prepared to work a "regular" job if that's what needs to be done for the time being. I feel so at peace with all of this. Oh, I do wonder how we are going to pay the bills, but I know God's got it in control. I am trying to plan ahead, though. We had a yard sale last Saturday, and I am putting up all kinds of things for sale online - already sold some stuff. But again, I know God's got it all under control.
Also, please pray for us as a family as we go through this transition. Our church here is the only one the kids have known. This town is their home. We've told them about how things are going to change, but they don't really know what all that entails. Pray that, whatever the Lord has for us, they will be able to adjust somewhat smoothly. They love our church, and all the people there. They feel so at home there.
So that's what new with us! We are excited at what God has in store! Stay tuned and I'll fill you in as we find out ourselves! :-)
Until next time....
2 comments:
You know we're praying for you all!
So cool to see God working in your lives! Thanks for sharing! I'll be praying for His leading for you all!
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