My Life Update Part 2: We’re heading to Bellevue

I’m excited to announce that we are moving to Washington State where I just accepted a job to be the Associate Pastor of Children and Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue.  If you know us Presbyterians you know there are still a couple of steps that need to happen before it’s fully official. In two weeks we will fly up there for the congregational vote and hopefully soon after that I will be examined on the floor of the Seattle Presbytery and be approved to be ordained.

Since many of you have walked this journey with me I thought I’d unpack a little bit of it for you so you can see why we believe without a doubt that this is clearly the call God has directed us to.

First,  I should tell you that I consider First Pres Bellevue to be my home church in Washington state. Every time I am back there this is where I attend worship. It’s really fun knowing that I have been following along with the life of this church for the last 5+ years so I feel like I really know it’s values and vision well.

Second, we have a number of friends there. I have college roommates and friends from Seattle Pacific University, and my wife has a great friend  that she graduated high school with in Southern California.  For both of us to have dear friends already there we feel God’s hand in this call.  We are really looking forward to building a strong community group for our family and we feel we already have a head start.

Third, some of you might be wondering if I’m leaving “youth ministry.” The truth is I’m actually not.  In my current role in Texas I spend a lot of time working with 5-6th graders who are in our “youth” ministry. At FPCB those two grades are in the children’s department so I’ll get to spend just as much time with them.  Also, I have felt a big pull in recent years to be more involved with parents and the overall family.  FPCB is starting a “Sticky Faith” cohort with Fuller Seminary this winter. I led my church in  Dallas through that process and loved it. One thing that sticky faith encourages is for us to diminish the lines between various ministries in the church. I plan on having a lot of impact and interaction with parents of all ages of kids as well as staying engaged with students after they graduate from 6th grade.

Fourth, I have loved my time here in Dallas. Working at Highland Park Presbyterian Church will always be an amazing memory for me.  The students, parents, church staff and youth ministry team have been incredible. Living across the street from the church, close to the schools and in a wonderful small community is something we will always cherish. Our kids have been so blessed by this place and community. It will be hard to leave so many great friends.  I’m looking forward to continuing to see the great  things that HPPC will do in the future.

Fifth, I feel called back to the Northwest.  I left Washington the day after I graduated from college 18 years ago.  Over the years I have taken teams of students to work in Seattle almost every year. I do everything I can to get back there as much as possible. The best way I can explain this call is to say I feel like even after being gone so long I still “get” the mindset and life of most northwesterners. I love the prospect of reaching out to new families and being able to interact with them as a native and not a transplant as I have done in every other place I have done ministry. We are so excited to start a life for our family on the Eastside.

We are planning on waiting until after the school year before moving our family to Bellevue.  That gives me a nice long and healthy transition.  I plan on being up in the Northwest a number of times to start getting the ball rolling on some things and building relationships with the amazing staff.

As a part of this decision process we had a great group of friends come over and pray with and for us.  The confirmed this was the right call.  I also hold tightly to my life verse Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Because this call feels so right I know God is going to take care of us.  But, because I also believe in prayer I have just a couple of things I’d love you to pray about with us.

A couple things we could use prayer for: 

Housing- We currently live in a church house which has been amazing. We need to find a great solution where we can stay for many years. We are not sure if we will be able to purchase or if we will lease. Prayers over this are greatly appreciated as this is the one area that makes me anxious.

Schools-  This goes along with housing. Our kids have been blessed with amazing schools. We know all the schools on the Eastside are great and are just looking for the perfect place that our kids can feel at home.  It’s our goal to not move again while our kids are in school so this a 12 year commitment.

Car-  If you know me you know that I have a pretty great old car. I drive a 1974 VW Thing.  It’s a great car when you live across the street from church and your entire family goes to school and works within a 1/2 mile. It’s also a fun car when it’s sunny out.  It’s not a very good rain car.  I’m in the process of deciding if the THING will end up in Washington. If she doesn’t come with us (or really if she does too) I’ll need to find another car.  On a super positive note though our other car is a pretty new explorer with 4 wheel drive so bring on the snow.  :)