OUR NEW CHAPTER- WHAT'S NEXT IN MINISTRY LIFE

Last Fall I shared with you that the Lord led us to leave the church where Ray had served as a minister on staff for 22 years.  I won't go into any of that explanation again but you can catch up here if you missed it.  But the short answer is- by leaving, we were following what we felt the Lord was calling us to do even though we had no idea what our next step would be.  And maybe because we didn't have an answer or explanation to what we would be doing next, many were under the impression that Ray had retired.  Nope!  We're still many years away from considering that.  We are pleased to share that since January 1st, we stepped into our next chapter in ministry at Edmond Community Church where Ray is serving as the Executive Pastor.

Edmond Community is a church plant that started in 2018, so this is a very different journey for us!  We've been on staff at small churches in the past, but being a part of a church body that doesn't have a physical building to call home has been a new experience.  We currently meet on Sunday Mornings in the Ballroom at the Edmond Conference Center and have several community groups that meet for Bible Study in various locations throughout the week. 

I'll back up a bit to how this came about... this might be more details than you care to know, but it all works together to show how God has orchestrated this path for us.  So if I'm sharing, I'm sharing allllll of the details- ha! As I mentioned, we didn't know what was next but we did know that we needed a season of rest.  The past 10 years or so in particular brought an especially heavy leadership load for Ray, and as a friend in a similar situation once suggested, we didn't know how tired we were until we were finished.  Any ministry friend can affirm that you're never really off the clock regardless of what the calendar or clock says. So, he took some purposeful time to NOT think about what was next, or look for a job, update any bios, make any contacts etc. We visited the kids and traveled a bit (shared what we did here, here, and here) and spent LOTS of time on the patio thinking, praying and trusting that the Lord knew what was in store for us and that everything would come together in His timing.  (And obviously Ray grew a big beard!) 😂

We also enjoyed having a string of Sundays to go to church various places with different family members and with friends who minister at other local churches, that opportunity only happens once in a blue moon when you're on a church staff! 

Through those months he continued with a few clients that he does executive leadership coaching with through Solomon Strategic Advisors.  He's been with this group for several years now and truly loves helping strengthen and develop leaders in all types of businesses in addition to the work he does as a minister. He's had the opportunity to step into advising full time, but we knew that he was still called to be in full time ministry work so even now he continues to enjoy working with a few clients a month on the side. 

After several weeks of rest he started dreaming about what he would love to do, possible roles that would benefit from his gifts and experience, and having casual conversations with ministry friends and leaders to share how the Lord was working in his heart.  

One of those conversations eventually landed us at ECC!  Rewind to our college years, Ray was an upperclassmen leading a small group of freshmen at orientation, and had a new student also named Ray in his group. So basically, my Ray was like a "big brother" to Ray S. on campus. After college Ray S. went on to serve in various ministry positions, including one where we reconnected with him years ago.  He was the Youth Minister at the church we left when we started there over 22 years ago, so they served together there for a period of time and have just kept in touch over the years.  He went on to plant a church in the Phoenix area as the Pastor, and after a number of years there felt the Lord calling him back to Oklahoma to plant a church here. Fun fact- back then 3 local churches including our former church approached him about starting a church in the fast growing area of East Edmond, so we are now serving at the church that our "home" church had a part in planting 8 years ago! 

Sooooo.... as I mentioned the guys kept in touch over the years and sometime in November had lunch to catch up and hear what the Lord was doing in one another's lives.  As my Ray shared his story, Ray S. said, "We have a possible opportunity opening after the new year, will you pray about working with us?"  I will say, he had mentioned coming to work with him before off and on over over the years, but we never felt the Lord calling us to do that at that time.  This time, it was intriguing! Intriguing, but so very different than the size and pace we were coming from- which isn't bad at all, just a complete shift for us.  Moving from working with a staff of 40ish to one- the Pastor- and joining in with a church body with a whole different way to do ministry due to the nature of it being a church plant and not having a building of their own is a whole new challenge.  We had already been praying for months and months about what the Lord wanted us to do, and although this was a completely different path we felt confident that this is where the Lord wanted us for our next season of ministry. 

Although his title is Executive Pastor, really Ray is doing whatever needs doing to come alongside the Pastor as a helper and to take care of some of the functions and day to day needs of the church. He is working to expand the community Bible Study groups that are available as we grow, evaluating and planning for future staffing and building needs, and has taken on all of the communications (newsletter, social media, etc.) for the church.  He's strengthening and learning all kinds of skills!  We've added a Student Ministry Associate and Administrative Assistant since the first of the year, so he also works closely with them.  Since we don't have a building that means he's not going in to an office every day. He's not mad about that, our kitchen table is his office!  He is getting awfully familiar with all of the local coffee shops as he's found they are the perfect for when face to face meetings are in order. 

Although we don't have a church building to call our own at the moment, God has been and continues to be faithful! The Lord provided and the church had the opportunity a few years ago to purchase 50 acres on the far east side of Edmond, just off of historic Route 66, and construction is underway on our first building!  We are hopeful to be on the property and in our Phase 1 building by the end of the year.  We say often that we feel like we're jumping in for the fun part and reaping the benefits of many others who have been so faithful since the beginning of the church to dream, plant seeds, sacrifice time and finances, cultivate relationships, and grow the church.  We got to jump on board right when things are about to take off! 

Here are a few highlights of what we've been doing since starting at the first of the year- the church has given us such a warm welcome! Due to winter weather we had a virtual service one Sunday in February and watched from home as the pastor walked the property and talked through the future plans and campus development where we are looking forward to gathering one day soon. 

Our family was able to join us for Easter. Now that our kids are grown and living in different cities it's rare to be able to go to church all together (another change we're adapting to!), so this was a treat!  We had our highest attendance ever of 170 for Easter, we're usually averaging around 100 on Sunday mornings.  We have enjoyed getting to introduce our kids to the church members and for them to get acquainted, it's so different serving at a church now where there isn't a history and shared experience of serving with our kids. 

Every year the church has a special outdoor service followed by a crayfish boil, that was fun! 

This is the pastor and his wife. The guys are thoroughly enjoying ministering together and Ray S. is so kind and truly grateful to have Ray working alongside him. 

In May we met on the property as the footings of the foundation were being poured to have a dedication service for the new building.  

Last month we had a clean up day on the property to do some mowing, clear brush, trim trees, plant some flowers at the prayer garden that was already added to the back side of the property a while back, etc.  

As of the past couple of weeks the foundation is poured and steel is going up!  This first phase building will house our gathering space, a couple of offices, a few classrooms, and will have porches along the sides. 😊 With it being right in the center of an area that is about to explode in growth and population, the pastor is excited for this to be a place for families to come not only for worship, but for recreation, activities, and many occasions to gather. It's also right on Route 66 so we're excited about the ministry possibilities that will bring as people travel along the Mother Road. If you're familiar with the area we'll be right across the road from Pops! 

So there you go, you're all caught up on this aspect of our lives! Everything is going well, we are grateful to be where the Lord has placed us and Ray is thrilled to be on the front end of helping to grow and build up a church! We currently have a team on a mission trip in Brazil, so Ray is actually preaching this Sunday. We are enjoying the change of pace and new challenges, meeting new friends, and learning how to be flexible and creative in ministry!

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