The Road Ahead: Trusting God in Our Search for a Student Pastor Role

A Look Back

             Rachel and I embarked on an incredible faith journey in 2018. We moved to Guatemala to live and serve as full-time missionaries. Then in 2021, we moved to Colorado Springs to help plant a church. Both opportunities helped us grow and taught us more about ourselves than any book could ever do! However, since moving to Colorado in 2021 we slowly stopped using this blog as a way to communicate with those who faithfully supported us as missionaries.

            Words cannot express how deeply thankful we are to have had (and still have) friends, family, mentors, and pastors who supported us, prayed for us, and discipled us along the way. The blog may have dwindled but please know that our passion for ministry has not. We are just as passionate as ever, and as I hope to convey, we are also moving forward with more clarity than we have ever had before!

The Past Six Years: New Chapters, New Lessons

            When we moved to Guatemala, we believed that we were stepping into our forever. I thought it was the first step (and final step) of becoming a full-time minister and living the rest of my life as a worker for the Kingdom. In Guatemala, we made some of the closest friends, experienced a world and lifestyle radically different than our own, and ultimately gained wisdom about ourselves. We thought we had moved to Guatemala to establish a youth ministry for the orphans at the organization we worked for. Turns out, our greatest ministry was to the other missionary families residing on the campus. Loving them, creating a space for them, and discipling their kids became our most fruitful ministry. We don’t regret a single moment of our time there. Thank you for supporting us and praying for us during that chapter of our lives.

            As our time in Guatemala came to a close, we were unsure of where to go next. We learned more about our calling and our giftings. We were excited to return to the United States. One crucial lesson we learned as missionaries was the importance of native missions. As a general rule of thumb, the best person to reach a Guatemalan… is another Guatemalan. Therefore, we were filled with excitement to return home as we believed that the best kind of person to reach an American is… well, an American! And so, in 2021, we embarked on a journey of helping plant a church in Colorado Springs. Once again, we found ourselves in a ministry that we loved. However, we also found ourselves learning and growing, realizing once again that our greatest ministry may not reside in what we initially set out to do.

            In 2023 our time as church planters came to a close. This time, instead of rushing off to find the next thing, we decided to slow down. We moved to Guatemala as a family of two (with one on the way). Now in 2023, we were a family 4 (Don’t worry, sweet Shiloh is on the way, we just didn’t know it yet then) and it was crucial that we slowed down, focused on our family, and re-evaluated the pursuit of our God-given mission. From 2023 till now we have had 3 primary goals in mind.

1. Connect with a healthy, growing, and thriving church where we could be members.
   • In our 5 years of intense ministry, we realized that more often than not we were the ones tasked with creating an environment for others, thus neglecting ourselves.
     
2. Build strong and healthy bonds as a family
   • Our family is the foundation for our ministry and even our faith. Long before God established his covenant with the people of Israel, he created the institution of marriage.
     1 Timothy 3:4-5 instructs that a leader in the church, “⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”
     
3. Embark on a Journey of Self-Discovery surrounded by friends and mentors for guidance.
   • Now, I don’t mean self-discovery in the way our American culture tends to use that expression. Instead, for the past 2 years we have evaluated and reflected on our experiences, trials, personalities, giftings (spiritual and otherwise), successes, failures, desires, life goals, family goals, and passions. All in an attempt to answer a single Question: Who are we and what is our 100-fold ministry? (see Matthew 13:8 & 23 for context on the 100-fold ministry).

It is now 12 days until 2025. It is with great joy that I get to say that we have faithfully accomplished these three goals over the past 2 years. God is good.

1. Church. We have found, attended, and now serve (as lay leaders) at Cross Creek Church. We have been blessed and honored to serve alongside faithful leaders who are passionate about the church and loving people into God’s Kingdom. Cross Creek Church has become a place of refuge, growth, and friendship. They also provided me with the opportunity to reset as a leader. I was able to simply attend, then connect, then serve, then lead.
   
2. Family. We are now a big ol’ family of FIVE!!! My current job as a paramedic/firefighter has provided me with the unique opportunity to pursue my master’s degree, serve in the church, and ULTIMATELY spend time with my family. I work 48 hours straight for the fire department but then I get 4 full days home with my wife and our adorable babies.
   • Further, we went through Re|engage. Re|engage is a powerful marriage ministry that helps marriages (struggling or not) reignite a passion for their marriage. Rachel and I both rated our marriage an 8 out of 10 and we were skeptical that this simple ministry could really bring it to a 9 or a 10. Per usual, I was humbled! Our marriage is the strongest it has ever been! Praise God!
     
3. Direction. Wow, if you have never sat down and reflected on your life’s experience you are missing out. I have learned more about myself in the past 2 years than I ever thought possible. I have a laundry list of people to thank. Let me first give two quotes from John Maxwell
   • “Experience isn’t the best teacher, evaluated experience is.”
   • “Experience teaches nothing, but evaluated experience teaches everything.”

Rachel and I believe that we can finally answer the question we set out to answer: Who are we and what is our 100-fold ministry?

Keep reading if you are curious about the answer the Lord has given us…

Vision for the Future: Student Pastor

            As we were faithful to connecting with a church family, faithful in firming up our marriage in grace and humility, and faithful in pursuing the Lord through evaluated experience we have come to an overwhelming conclusion and calling. We believe that God has uniquely equipped us, called us, and prepared us for fulfilling the role of a student pastor.

We do not know where. We do not know when. Shoot, we aren’t even sure of the next step (well, we kinda’ are, more on that below). But, if you know me, you know that I can sometimes take the next step before it has been revealed (my bad). This time, we are living in the fullness of where God has us. Moving forward in obedience to each directed step.

            You may be curious as to how we came to this conclusion. Well, it would take me 2 years to fully flesh that out! However, we would love to give some insight into how God has powerfully moved in our lives and brought us to this point. You can also use this link here to ask us any questions and we would love to give you a personal response!

1. Experience: Throughout this blog, I have already alluded to our experience as being one of our greatest teachers. Here is some of what we have learned.
   • Rachel and I both believed our calling was to be missionaries( we have bleived this from a very young age). Therefore, throughout all of our time in the USA, whether serving as counselors or youth leaders we were convinced that it wasn’t our greatest calling. That greater was yet to come… somewhere else… in another country.
   • Maybe one day the Lord will bring us back to the mission field. For now, His voice rings clear, we learned that our gifting resides in discipleship, creativity, and investing in the lives of young people with whose language and culture we understand and connect with easily.
     
2. Evaluated Experience: We looked back on our past 9 (technically 8.5) years of marriage and life together (and even further back as individuals) and found that our greatest successes have always been when we were in the thick of discipling young people.
   • Michael – I have served in the youth ministry since I was 16 years old. I can name almost every single youth I discipled personally. Further, I look up to every youth pastor I ever had the privilege to serve under. Further still, I admire them, envy them, and desire to do what they have done. My most cherished memories are of my camp days surrounded by Jesus-loving people collaborating together to ignite a Holy fire inside the hearts and minds of young people.
   • Rachel – Rachel started working with youth as a youth herself when at 15 years old she led worship dance classes for 3-10 year-olds through the ministry In His Steps Dance Ministry. Later she would go on to work as a counselor at Kaleidoscope camp, where she would fall in love with her future husband (that’s me by the way, I was completely oblivious the whole time… Thankfully God was watching out for me). Rachel invested 5 years in Kaleidoscope camp.
   • Family – As a unit, we would continue to serve in youth ministry under Jason and Rene Sherwin at Living Word Baptist church. And how could we ever forget the amazing fellowship only known as Monday Night Community.
     
3. Personality: this blog is already long enough without listing every aspect of my personality. Suffice it to say this. I seriously took and holistically evaluated every personality test I could find. Myers-Brigg (ENFP-T), StrengthsFinder (maximizer, activator, futuristic, communication, command), Enneagram (3 & 7 ties every time), and Keirsey temperament (The Idealist Champion). The overwhelming observation was that I belong in a ministry that allows for creativity, collaboration, team building, and innovation. While some other roles may fill those requirements, the student pastor role fulfills this the best.
   
4. Spiritual Gifts: I am a gifted communicator who has always been complimented on my ability to make difficult messages understandable, relatable, and funny. This is no skill of my own, but rather a gift from God through His Spirit in me. The Holy Spirit has enabled me to inspire others to come to the realization of who they really are in Him and to wake them up to God’s calling on their life. He has made me a catalyst for change and inspiration as I cast vision wherever I go.
   
5. Passion/Desires: Rachel and I also took the time to ask ourselves simple questions. What do we like doing the most? What excites us most? After all, we are more than just gifts and a personality test. As we began to think and dream, we realized that we have always had a passion for discipleship, leading young people, and helping others realize their identity and calling in Christ.

There is so much more we could share. As I said, this has been a 2-year journey of evaluation, praying, journaling, seeking guidance, counseling, and mentorship. If you are someone who would love to know more, just reach out!

So, What’s Next

            We are moving forward boldly yet slowly. I have connected with a church staffing organization that is intense, methodical, and serious about helping those who are called into the ministry to find their fit. We are in the “get to know you” stage. The better they get to know us the better they can connect us with churches and positions that are a good fit. They know our heart’s desires and our passions. For now, this is where the Lord has us. We will do our due diligence to put our best foot forward and move with grace and excellence. Yet, we will also trust in the sovereign nature of God who will close the doors he wants closed and open wide the ones he wishes for us to go through.

A Call to Prayer and Partnership

            We would like to invite you to partner with us in prayer. Whether you are a friend, family member, or mentor we would love to hear your thoughts, encouragements, and concerns. Be a part of this journey with us. Give us your insights if you are willing! Seriously click this link to do so!!

Here are our specific prayer requests:

1. Clarity and Guidance: to be faithful to God’s leading and only move toward a ministry position that God has clearly called and equipped us for.
   
2. Location: Ultimately, we want to go where God wants us. Period. Wherever he wants us to go, we will go. However, we also know that God hears our prayers. After 6 long years of living 2,000+ miles away from the closest family member, except Samantha who lives with us, we would like to request of the Lord that we find our fit somewhere on the East Coast. For whatever reason God has recently highlighted North Carolina to both Rachel and me. Pray as you are led. With the exception of a few siblings, all of our family lives in either Virginia or Noreth Carolina.
   
3. Future Position: We do not know where God will bring us. But He knows. Would you pray for the church where we will one day serve? Pray to make them ready to receive us. Pray they would have complete confidence in selecting us for the role. Pray that the Holy Spirit would confirm the church to us and us to the church.

Closing: Gratitude and Hope

            Thank you, reader. Thank you for loving us so much that you would make it through this wall of text because you love us and care about us. As I have already stated before. Words come short to thank you for your support and prayers. Especially to those of you who financially supported us when we were missionaries in Guatemala. Wow, just wow. Thank you. Thank you for believing in us and continuing to believe in us.

            Just because a new chapter may soon begin does not mean we will neglect the one we are in now! God is doing amazing things in our life, family, and church, and we are burning with excitement as we remain faithful to the here and now. We look forward to staying connected with you and sharing how the Lord is working in our lives and what He is teaching us.