A Bittersweet Day

Yesterday morning I did something difficult. I resigned as the associate pastor at the First Baptist Church of Jasper. I did this because God has called our family to Southwest Missouri where I will be the lead pastor at First Baptist Church of Marionville.

A little over a year ago the Lord unsettled my heart concerning my aim to forever be an associate pastor. I’ve loved being able to serve in this capacity, but the Lord made it abundantly clear to my wife and I that he had been preparing us to lead pastor.

It was very difficult getting us to leave the great people here at Jasper. We’ve developed great friendships and I believe the Lord has used us to strengthen His church and to glorify Jesus in our nearly six years here. But I believe my work here is finished and I look forward to seeing what God will do with the next guy. Great things are in store for FBC Jasper.

My wife and I are very excited about this new opportunity. Marionville is about 30 minutes south of Springfield, MO. The church has so many exciting things to offer. I’m excited to preach every Sunday. I can’t wait to build relationships and begin discipling people. The church is very active in the community and it seems like they are effectively reaching children and students.

Pray for our family as we go through this transition. Every one in our family is excited about what God has in store for us—at the same time it is bittersweet. We’ve developed some great friendships here and it hurts to leave. Pray also for our housing situation that the Lord will help us sell our house and find a new place to call home.