Right now I am at the stage of promoting this new event called THE PLACE. It still feels weird for me to promote anything other than a restaurant that I am really excited about. I guess that a lot about my calling feels weird to me. I firmly believe that God has called me to vocational Christian ministry. I am thankful for and feel unworthy of this calling. I am simply a guy that God has asked to do some really awesome things and I have said, "yes." I don't why why He selected me to do some of the things that I have done, but I am glad. I don't feel very "pastoral" and am still coming to terms with God's plans for my life. I know that God is using me to help people and that's really amazing and wonderful to me. I am definitely just Dave. People will ask me what I do at Fairhaven church and sometimes I respond at first with, "I have a fancy sounding title, but I am really just Dave." I don't think that I am a great Christian, but I want to be. While I am far from perfect, I really do enjoy getting the opportunity to point people to a God who is perfect and wonderful beyond words. If you are still wondering, my title is presently Associate Pastor of Student Ministries.
For whatever reason, I feel God is leading me to start this event that I am calling, THE PLACE. I think a ministry for younger post high school people to come together and get to know God is really important and I wish that it was a priority for more churches. Too often I think that a student ministry is viewed as successful if a lot of people come to the high school ministry events. This is not even close to a good measurement. The Great Commission asks us to make disciples, not have a lot of people show up to our events. It is cool when a lot of people show up to have fun and check out God, but that's definitely not the end goal. Kevin and Kyle do a great job of leading the student ministries and being used by God to make disciples. These guys love God and students. It is a privilege for me to be their teammates. However, I think that it is past time that we offer more for people after high school. I think that doing this is a big part of working towards making disciples. I think that it is the 3rd part (the fist two being middle school and high school) of a student ministry bringing people to mature Christian adulthood. (obviously before adolescence the early childhood and kids ministry have an incredibly important role laying a foundation for spiritual growth in the lives of people)
All that brings me to THE PLACE which is based on Psalm 34:8 (I encourage you to check it out yourself). It basically talks about knowing God and taking refuge in Him. We are going to talk about this verse during the first two previews of The Place (July 30 and August 13). The last preview of the event we are going to talk about shame and regret. I think that will be a unique night. I will try to not make it too heavy, but it will be very honest and real. I just think that it is a crucial topic that the (universal) church does not do a great job of dealing with. This will be on August 27. We will be having fun and talking about the values of this new ministry at each preview event. THE PLACE will be in the student ministries room from 9-10:30 on Wednesdays. It will happen every Wednesday starting September 10. I encourage you to explore the CONVERGE website where you probably found this blog. http://www.fairhavenchurch.org/converge/
So please don't think of this as a sales pitch. This is just where I feel God is leading me. I just think that it would be awesome for people 18-25 to experience community, seeking God together.
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1 comment:
Dave,
I really don't intend for this to be awkward, but this is Miranda Weir's sister, Sam. Miranda gave me your blog, and I decided to check it out, since Todd had told me that you saw mine. I expect nothing. I just want to encourage a fellow Christian in his pursuit of the Lord's calling in his life. I think it is awesome that you feel the need to reach out to the college age crowd. When 85% of church-going students quit attending when they head off to college, it is a definite need for them to feel loved and connected. After all, they are the future. I hope you have a blessed day.
Sam
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