It’s an amazing thing to start a church. It really is. There’s tremendous uncertainty, constant change, exciting developments, new friendships, and a never changing God.

I can’t tell you what the last few weeks have been like for me. There have been many moments of unspeakable joy. There have been moments that have given me pause. I’m learning a lot about myself and why older churches and long time Christians have a hard time seeing evangelistic fruit born of their labors.

I’ve had great early morning conversations, phenomenal lunch meetings, and have had the privilege and joy of welcoming wonderful couples into our home in the evenings. I’ve sent emails, written blogs, watched movies, talked with Boards of Directors, engaged in commerce, toured facilities, drank Rocket Fuel, read great books, shed tears, gotten angry, and just about everything in between.

And you know something, I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. In the year leading up to planting here in Jefferson City, I heard a lot of church planters gripe and moan and bemoan the situation God had placed them in. They talked about how this was the hardest thing they had ever done and how I just had to wait that there’d be days I’d feel like quitting and days I’d hate my church etc. They talked bad about the people in their church frequently.

Is it hard? Yes. Is it tough at times? Yes. Are there times where you question whether God actually called you to do this? Yes. But for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. And I pray that for the next 50 years or however long God sees fit to keep me on this planet, that I always labor for the Gospel in Jefferson City with a passion and a joy that is unmistakable.

I love the people of Eternity and I’m looking forward to a long life spent together…