JourneyNote: Transition

Courtesy of abbey*christine/flickr

This past Sunday, The Bridge‘s lead pastor, Rick Cox, shared about a coming transition within our new church;  last week, Sarah and I shared the following note with a few of you about this same transition and now we’re sharing it with anyone interested:

At the end of this month, Sarah and I will complete our time of service with The Bridge. We are celebrating the great things God has done which he has graciously allowed us to be part of, including our continued partnership with the Coxes. As of right now, though, we have no clear direction of ‘next’ for us and are diligently seeking God. We know we love the people here and God has given us a deep, passionate love for the city but we are also aware that though we try to set our path, God determines our steps. That said, we would be honored if you would make our next step and our need for provision a serious matter of prayer.

Though this kind of transition has been planned from the inception of The Bridge and our leaders have been aware of this timeline for awhile now, we had to keep things close-to-the-vest in order to guard agenda harmony and momentum. So, while this may seem to be coming out of nowhere, rest assured this is something good, right, and well thought out. With that in mind, we want to make sure you’re aware of a few things we’re really thankful for in coming to this point:

The Bridge is a ‘Sending’ Church: One of the things we have seen the Holy Spirit instill within the spiritual DNA of The Bridge is the nature of a ‘sending’ church. We have already been part of sending a short-term missionary on a trip, have active parishioners at community events, and have seen The Bridge grow in excitement about partnering with future church plants and international ministries. Our transition is an act of faith on their part just as it is on ours as they ‘send’ us out to whatever God has in store.

The Bridge is a Generous Church: Even though they were under no obligation to do so, and despite shortfalls in our personal fundraising needs/goals, The Bridge has generously provided a housing allowance for us during the past few months to help make sure our needs were cared for as we lived and ministered here.

The Timing is Right: The needs of a church before it has officially launched are different than the needs of a post-launch church focused on remaining missional while caring for the regular cycle of weekly worship gatherings. That said, The Bridge doesn’t need two ‘lead’ pastors/planters at this stage of her development and all along the plan has been for the Gomezes to be sent out while Rick Cox remained the senior pastor at The Bridge. It’s time for this transition to take place and is a good & healthy thing for everybody.

Personally, we’re very thankful, greatly excited, and more than a little anxious about what’s next as we hand off ministry, get our affairs in order and deal with the reality of all three of our jobs coming to a rapid close. Please pray for wisdom, discernment, and work in the right place at the right time (finding employment is a very real, very urgent need). […]

Things are swiftly moving and not long after we originally sent the note above, a clearer picture of ‘next’ has begun to take shape–we look forward to sharing what that is as soon as we’re able. In the meantime, we’re celebrating what God has done through The Bridge and what it means to be part of a District so focused on using every available means to reach those who don’t know Jesus. We are, indeed, honored that you are part of our continuing journey and ask you to keep praying!

Thanks for journeying with us,
Jeremiah, Sarah, and Jubilee

(Have you seen the pictures of our latest outing with Jubilee? Be sure to take a look at them here.)