This month, I embark on a new journey that I truly feel God has purposed for me. Over the past two years on staff at my church I have had different titles and served in different ministry areas. I knew two years ago that God was about to do great things with Rachel and I as we continued to pursue his calling in ministry. We struggled through the thoughts that God was calling us to something different and new. We understood the importance of obedience and moved with God into our next phase of ministry. Really unclear what that looked like, we struggled through the transition.

Towards the end of 2009 and serving as Groups pastor at GracePoint I started feeling unsettled and in talking with Mike Snow (another pastor on staff) we began the conversation of our roles on staff and if we were truly in the right position. We started to ask ourselves what it might look like if we were in each other’s shoes and felt, through those conversations, that we would best be serving the local church if we were to do so. Mike wears a lot of hats and carries a number of different titles (depending on the day), and one of his main focuses was the youth ministry at GracePoint.

After graduating high school and being extremely involved in successful youth ministries almost 12 years ago, I felt God was calling me into youth ministry. I decided to take a year and serve in missions with Youth With A Mission and the next year I spent in practical ministry training at a Bible School in Tulsa. In Tulsa, I was able to serve at one of the larger youth ministries there and continued to feel God leading me in youth ministry. I returned to Wichita and pursued Rachel, and eventually we got married and found a church home that we felt we could both grow spiritually together. Right away we got plugged into the youth ministry as adult leaders, teaching a Sunday School class and sponsoring events and the main youth worship night. After a year of serving in that role, I was given the opportunity to join the paid staff as pastor over the Children’s Ministry. Everything in me wanted to say no. Both my wife and I were focused on youth ministry and missions and that is where our heart was. At the time, Rachel hated kids (joking…kind of)…but after prayer and even testing God, we decided I should take the position. It was one of the greatest decisions I ever made. I felt like I heard and followed God and I had stepped into truly His calling.

On the last night of a midweek program I had created for children’s ministry, I looked at many of the kids with tears in my eyes to explain that I had felt God was calling me out of Children’s Ministry. I told them some of the very same things that I had told some of them in the days I started – that God has a specific plan and future for their generation. God is going to do something that will absolutely blow their minds and beat every power ranger, pokemon, or harry potter scene to pieces. I ended with telling them that there is one thing that they need to know – JESUS NEVER FAILS. No matter what happens in their life you can always count on Jesus and his timing.

This month, I start a new position at GracePoint – Student Ministries Pastor. The timing is right. After preparing the past several weeks I began to realize that what I thought was God calling me to youth ministry 8 years ago, was actually God calling me to a generation. You see, the kids that were in Kindergarten in my kids ministry are now in 6th/7th grade of student ministry.

God is up to something with my life. I believe this is going to be a great year. I am expecting great things. Beyond ministry, I am praying for God’s favor for my family. That God will strengthen my relationship with Rachel like never before. That God will begin to reveal himself to us in greater ways. That God will open doors for us and that He will simply move in our lives. I want to experience life to its fullest this year. I want to experience verve.

//terry