Under Water and don't know it
Sometimes life is like swimming. You think it's no big deal, I've got this, then as you push forward, stroke after stroke... it hits you, I'm out of breath, tired and could in fact, be in some serious trouble.
When I was 19 (back in 1993) years old I thought for sure I could literally do anything because of the influence of a pastor friend of mine who really encouraged and poured into my life. He convinced me that I should quit it all and pursue a life of ministry, specifically youth ministry and helping him start this brand new church in my hometown. I had no idea what the future held, I just knew I wanted to do something big and make a difference with my life. Out of this conversation, a brand new church started meeting in the YWCA, which we rented Saturday and Sunday. Within about six months, my fiancé and I had about 100 teenagers meeting for Sunday night "youth church" and man did we have a blast! I couldn't believe that I was actually the leader of this wild bunch. With a heart full of blind passion, I forged ahead, preaching, teaching, using creative ideas and stirring the hearts of teenagers to surrender to a life of devotion to Jesus Christ. A few years came and went, I got married at age 21 to my high-school sweetheart, it was amazing!
While I was actually on my honeymoon, the church decided to buy and begin restoring a building for it's permanent meeting space. As soon as the honeymoon was over I immediately went to work. I and many of the men of the church did the labor ourselves. It was hard for sure but nothing could prepare me for what the next few years would entail. Ministry is a strange thing and the leaders of those ministries can be even stranger.
As I continue this blog, I plan share more of the early years of ministry and show how it progressed through a few different locations, positions and ultimately landed me, my wife whom I wed in 1994 and our two boys, born in 2001 and 2004 in Branson, MO. Who knows what the future holds for us. But for now, I feel like I need to write my story while simultaneously living the grind of life, sharing insights along the way. My prayer is that my words might speak something to you... but if nothing else, it's good for ME to work through all of this, in preparation for what is to come! WELCOME and thanks for joining me on this journey.
When I was 19 (back in 1993) years old I thought for sure I could literally do anything because of the influence of a pastor friend of mine who really encouraged and poured into my life. He convinced me that I should quit it all and pursue a life of ministry, specifically youth ministry and helping him start this brand new church in my hometown. I had no idea what the future held, I just knew I wanted to do something big and make a difference with my life. Out of this conversation, a brand new church started meeting in the YWCA, which we rented Saturday and Sunday. Within about six months, my fiancé and I had about 100 teenagers meeting for Sunday night "youth church" and man did we have a blast! I couldn't believe that I was actually the leader of this wild bunch. With a heart full of blind passion, I forged ahead, preaching, teaching, using creative ideas and stirring the hearts of teenagers to surrender to a life of devotion to Jesus Christ. A few years came and went, I got married at age 21 to my high-school sweetheart, it was amazing!
While I was actually on my honeymoon, the church decided to buy and begin restoring a building for it's permanent meeting space. As soon as the honeymoon was over I immediately went to work. I and many of the men of the church did the labor ourselves. It was hard for sure but nothing could prepare me for what the next few years would entail. Ministry is a strange thing and the leaders of those ministries can be even stranger.
As I continue this blog, I plan share more of the early years of ministry and show how it progressed through a few different locations, positions and ultimately landed me, my wife whom I wed in 1994 and our two boys, born in 2001 and 2004 in Branson, MO. Who knows what the future holds for us. But for now, I feel like I need to write my story while simultaneously living the grind of life, sharing insights along the way. My prayer is that my words might speak something to you... but if nothing else, it's good for ME to work through all of this, in preparation for what is to come! WELCOME and thanks for joining me on this journey.
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