Our Next Step in the Journey

Starting in early December, Mary and I will be transitioning into a new phase of our lives. I will begin a church planting residency at Emmanuel Covenant Church in Roseville, MN. After leaving Highrock Covenant Church in Boston, MA more than two years ago, we look forward to our time at Emmanuel with excitement.

We moved out to the Minneapolis area because of a possible church planting job with Wooddale church, a large mega-church in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. After things didn’t work out with Wooddale, I pursued church planting with another denomination. They were agreeable to move forward, but I didn’t feel ready to plant yet and I wasn’t sure the denomination was a good fit for me. I returned to the Evangelical Covenant denomination last January. After meeting with some of the staff of the denomination, it was determined that I should go through a church planters’ assessment last May (read about that here). Both Mary and I have been surprised by the love and support of the ECC. They seem to do church planting well, and I feel very much at home within the denomination.

Throughout the last four years, I’ve worked for Gordon-Conwell as a Web developer, first for Ockenga and then for the IT department. I’ve worked on a variety of their web applications, and I’ve helped design a number of their pages. It has been a positive work environment, and I’ve learned a lot about teamwork and leadership from watching my co-workers there. It has also been a fun place for me to work. Weird as this may sound, I like programming. There is a creative element of putting all that code together to accomplish a task that will make the end-user’s life just a little bit simpler and more efficient that gives me satisfaction. I will miss my job at Gordon-Conwell.

Working at Emmanuel is the next step in the journey for us, and I believe it’s a good one. I’ve met with the lead pastor there, and I’ve gotten a feel for their church culture. I think it’s a great fit for me, and I’m eager to be a part of the ministry of their church. They are a one year old church plant that seems to be healthy and thriving. The duration of the residency is six months. The goal is to get me back into vocational ministry, help better connect me to the Covenant church in Minneapolis, and provide a hands on church-planting learning environment. During the residency I will be gearing up for planting a church, so that upon the completion of the residency we can hit the ground running.

Thanks to everyone who has supported and prayed for us through this transition. I’m starting to recognize that we aren’t really transitioning from an uncertain place to a certain place, but that this is just the next step in our faith journey--certainty about the future is elusive. We know what the next six months look like, and for now that’s good enough for us!

ECC Assessment

Mary and I just returned from the Evangelical Covenant Church's church planter assessment.  The assessment was held at a nearby Covenant church in Plymouth MN.  It started at noon this past Wednesday, May 28, and finished up at noon today May 31st.  There were 15 couples being assessed, and around 12 assessors. The assessors included regional church planting directors, church planters, and ECC pastors. The assessment was exhausting and exciting at the same time.

Throughout the week we were asked to do a number of things.  I preached a short mini-sermon.  I gave a call to ministry presentation.  I fielded questions on my call to ministry, my interest in church planting and how I perceived my call to church planting.  Mary and I were asked about our relationship and about how we minister together.  We worked in teams on church planting case studies.  We worked in teams on local church planting strategies.  We gave presentations.  We were interviewed.  From early in the morning to late in the evening the days were filled with these activities and more.  It was very, very tiring.

But it was also exciting.  The ECC had a couple of career counselors/vocational psychologists that helped us review some of our personality and gift finder tests.  They spent a good amount of time unpacking the ins and outs of Golden Personality Test, DISC, and StrengthFinders.  These tests along with their interpretations provided some helpful insights into each of our personality types and our modes of operation when we interact with others.  I also gained very helpful insights into some of my ministry strengths and areas of growth.

The result of the assessment was a recommendation for us to plant a church.  As many of you know, Mary and I have been wrestling with a call to church planting for the last couple years, and we've felt like we have been wandering in a dark vocational wilderness for 3+ years as we've tried to discern our next steps.  This process was an incredibly helpful clarifying event.  It both encouraged us in our gifting and helped us gain clarity on our call to ministry.  Their recommendation comes with considerable support.  It is conditional on us spending some time in a Covenant church in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area honing some of my ministry skills as I prepare to set out and plant.  This condition seems very wise, and it gives me even more confidence of their assessment of us.

Mary and I are feeling very, very loved and served by the ECC.  The assessors labored all day observing us, and then much of the night deliberating and praying together over us.  Their thoughtful assessment has been a means of God's grace.  Right now we are feeling good.  I'll post more in a couple days on Mary's and my personality types and strengths and what that all means. 

Thanks to all who prayed for us and for those who have supported and cared for us through this process!