This is a picture of Newport, Wales, with the River Usk
winding murkily to the Sea. Over the past several months I've become more
and more confident that this is where God wants to use me in the coming years.
It is a conviction long in coming, the culmination of nearly two years of
searching for a place to minister to young people and their families. I
believe that this is where the search may finally end (at least in this season
of life).
In the past two years I've thought that God might be leading
me to work with several different congregations. But my story with youth
ministry stretches back a good bit further than those two years. You see
in high school I started to think that youth ministry might just be something of
which I could make a vocation. However, I wasn't all together sure it was
something I was really cut out for. I was pretty shy in middle and high
school, and didn't particularly like groups of people larger than 2 or 3.
But I never could see myself doing anything that didn't have God at the
very, expressed center of its purpose and programming.
So I stuck with it and even shaped my college decision around the course of
study necessary for this vocation. It just so happened I settled on the
best university in the country (I'm a little biased), and went off to Abilene
Christian. While there I had great professors who encouraged and equipped
me for ministry. At the same time God slowly, but surely, pulled me out
of my shell and taught me to love and engage with people in small and large
groups, and in a variety of settings. On top of this I had several
internships where I got to try my hand at youth ministry with the wise
mentorship of other ministers. I started to think that, with God's help,
I might just be cut out for this.
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| Candlelight Devo at ACU |
Finally, the moment of truth came (or perhaps semester of
truth) and it was time for me to start applying for positions and figure out
where God wanted me to put my training in youth ministry to good use. So
I got to work, sending my resume here, there, and all over the place. It
was a bit nerve-racking at first, considering I had never asked a congregation
to consider me, or been considered by a "youth committee", or spent a
weekend interviewing. But over time God taught me an awful lot about the
process of applying, of following up, and of interviewing. In fact, I
started to feel I was a little too familiar with the process. After a
year and half of applying, and six weekend interviews without a job, I was just
about worn out with searching for a ministry position. But I kept
persevering, trusting that this was indeed what God had called me to.
Then, on an "out there" sort of whim, I got in
contact last August with several churches in the United Kingdom. We
e-mailed back and forth for a while, until the congregation in Wales put forth
a very prudent, but slightly ludicrous suggestion that I ought to come visit
and see for myself whether I would be a good fit. Amazingly God provided a way for me to come
visit both this congregation in Wales and another in Scotland. It was quite a whirlwind trip, including no
less than a broken wrist and more cups of tea than I care to remember. While the opportunity in Scotland did not
work out, it became increasingly clear that God could use me in Wales. This was not the most glamorous or “prudent”
option I had ever been given. But I kept
thinking, as I talked with friends and with the Father, that here is a place
that I could be useful for His Kingdom and His glory. So after a whole lot more thinking and
praying, and with the Newport Church’s encouraging support, I decided to step
out on faith to pursue this opportunity for ministry that I had become
convinced God was leading me into.
So here I am, caught in between an ending and a
beginning. I am so looking forward to
the ministry that can be done with this small church in Newport. And I am thankful that God is bringing an end
to this period of waiting, and wondering, and working while I wait. But there is still so much work to be done
before I can begin working with my brothers and sisters in Newport. They are not able to support me financially
and so I must raise my own support.
Also, there is the business of visas and immigration and all the things
that go into moving to another country.
So as I live here in between an ending and a beginning, thank you for
joining me in prayer and support for what God is doing in and through me.
Sincerely in Christ,
Chris
