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| Our family, the team and board gathered around to pray |
There are a lot of great churches in our Assemblies of God fellowship, but I am not at all embarrassed -- nor do I think I over-state it -- to say we have the privilege of pastoring one of the very best. The team God has given us is filled to the gills with professional, God-loving, skilled and talented servants. They inspire me.
The church board is so supportive and honoring and gives all the right challenges and accountability.
On top of that, Journey is filled with gracious, kind, loving, worshipping, serving, authentic, forgiving folks. We arrived in Kenosha 19 years ago - we were in our 30s - our youngest daughter, Olivia, was in kindergarten. She's pushing 25 today.
In the first weeks of being here, I lived in the spare bedroom of one of the families in our church while Joelene held down the fort in Appleton, Wisconsin, waiting for our home there to sell. I worked in Kenosha Monday thru Thursday afternoon and then drove the two hours north to be with my family Thursday night and Friday. On Saturday we all drove to Kenosha in two separate vehicles. The church put us in a hotel Saturday night so we could be together and we all came to church on Sunday to lead worship. Then Sunday afternoon, Joelene would head north again with the three girls so they could get to school on Monday. And we'd all begin the process all over for another week.
We did that for about three months.Once our home sold in Appleton, the fam came to Kenosha and we all moved into the basement of some lovely folks from our church - the 6 of us - me, Joelene, Whitney, Allison, Olivia ... and Polly, the American Eskimo dog. We stayed there for a year while we were building a house in Pleasant Prairie.
We watched our family grow up there.
During those great years of ministry - as pastors of worship - we produced more than 20 musicals for Easter, Christmas and Fourth of July. We led more than 500 worship services, accompanied by a great worship team, a band and 30-piece orchestra and at times, a 100-voice choir.
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| Altars full at end of service this past weekend |
Those were the days. We loved the family of musicians God gave us to serve with.
After 10 years and a burning in our hearts to lead in other areas, God moved us to Co-Lead Pastor with Pastor Dan Remus. The past nearly 10 years serving in that capacity has been the greatest joy. We have learned, grown, been satisfied and blessed.
Now we have the opportunity to be Lead Pastors of this church we adore on our own.
Our church - First Assembly of God -- Kenosha First Assembly -- KFA -- now Journey Church -- ever changing and growing -- has always been strong. It's been led by Godly and wise leadership thru many years. The church has followed that leadership with faith and passion. It hasn't been afraid to change. It's been courageous, not needing to be like every other church on the block. They've made the name of Jesus famous in their communities by having a huge heart for people - by loving their cities - by serving them - by understanding and believing that God's mission requires personal sacrifice. They've weathered storms of all kinds and come thru difficulty loving one another and loving Jesus. The greatest asset of our church has been its Holy Spirit unity.
Joelene and I are blessed and thankful and we're better people because we've been part of this tremendous congregation as well as the hand of God that's been on Journey Church.
Thank you.
We love you and we ask for your prayers.
And be blessed.
3 comments:
Oh wow, PK! I was just thinking of JC today! I was having a conversation with a young man I met about our experiences as Christians. We both have strayed, but the whole talk made me ponder it all. Less than a week ago, I moved back to Kenosha. I told him sometime I might go back.
I was surprised to see this blog post. Big congrats to you both! That is so awesome! I am and always have been very proud of you. You are a wonderful person and pastor. I saw some of the things you posted on FB and here about your Sabbatical. I think it is fabulous that you two were able to spend so much time abroad! How exciting!
So, you are 'holding down the fort' now? haha...JK I seem to often have this habit of putting myself in another's shoes, so I wonder if it will be a challenge to speak every week. I suppose other pastors do, too, but you tend to be creative in that way. I am sure I would be inspired by your messages. I always was. I imagine if Stephen and I have more talks like that, then I will miss it at JC even more. Maybe this was a Divine Intervention. As we all know, God will come for us if we stray from Him. At any rate, this day and it's course makes me smile...
My friend asked me why I chose this church and it took me back to the place I was in my life all of those years ago. I was looking for a way to get closer to God and I wanted a deep meaning in my life. I was happy, but still, there was this little space in my heart that was God-shaped.
I tried other churches and for this reason, or that, it wasn't quite what I needed. SO...I saw this huge church and I thought several things. You must be doing something right to have so many parishioners. It was big enough to sneak in anonymously. I knew nothing about your beliefs and I knew no one who went there. Attending a small church felt like a lot of pressure. And, you have so much to offer...groups, classes, a school, plenty of opportunities to serve.
I wouldn't go anywhere else. There is no reason to.
It is fun to read about your early days at Journey Church. It's easy to forget the sacrifices people make and the process of faithfulness that individuals and families go through as God is getting them ready for the next chapter of their journey! Congrats. Enjoy this new chapter!
-Dave
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