Well, much has changed in our lives since the last time I blogged.  Let me catch you up to speed real quick.

About a year ago Chrissy and I felt God was speaking to us to leave Massachusetts and move back to the west coast.  We were unsure of what that was going to entail, but we felt God leading us toward senior pastoring at a church.  I shared our feelings with the senior pastor of our church at Bethany Assembly.  He was very positive and encouraging about our plans. Interestingly enough, the first thing he said to me was “you should call your grandpa. I know he wants to retire in a few years and that would be a great place for you to learn and step into that role." I laughed it off and told him that was probably not the direction we were headed.

In the months to follow we sent our resume a few places looking for senior pastor positions, but nothing seemed to pan out.  Eventually we started thinking that perhaps God was wanting us to plant a church in Northern California. So, we resigned our position at Bethany with the plans of driving across the country, moving in with my parents and beginning the planning stages for a new church plant. 

Two weeks before we hit the road my grandfather called and asked me,"What do you think about planting a church within a church?"  He told me how his church desperately needed to start a contemporary service. He wanted someone to come alongside him for the next three years serving as senior associate pastor, overseeing the contemporary service, as well as launching several new ministries within the church that would appeal to young families.  He also said he and the board thought I was the man for the job.  I was caught a bit off guard because this was not what we had been thinking at all, yet something resounded within us when we heard, "plant a church within a church."  I told him we would pray and we began our 4000-mile trek from Agawam, Massachusetts to Sacramento, California.  Over the next two weeks that it took us to reach our destination, we prayed and discussed our feelings about the offer from my grandpa. The closer we came to Sacramento, the more we felt the peace of God towards this new position.  We arrived, met with my grandparents, met with the board, and two days later accepted the position as Senior Associate Pastor at Trinity Life Center. 

My grandfather plans on being here for the next three years.  We will learn, grow, and work alongside him here until his retirement.  The current plan is that we would then be the candidates for senior pastors.  We don't know what the future holds, but we know that God is in control and we are walking in His will.

We are so thrilled for this new opportunity and new adventure.  We know God has been in this thing from the very beginning and we are just enjoying the ride. We want to thank our many friends and ministry partners back in Massachusetts for all their prayers, encouragement and support throughout this process.  We anticipate getting to know the many people here at Trinity and we look forward to seeing God change many lives.  The best is yet to come...

You can check out trinity's website at www.tlcsac.org