Student Ministry - December 2022
Dear Church Family,
This will be my last newsletter article as one of your pastors. To say that this time of life and ministry with you has been a blessing is a vast understatement. It is with sadness and excitement that we step out in faith to what God is calling us to. If you have not heard yet, I have accepted a call to go be the Senior Pastor at Second Baptist Church in Angleton, Texas. This is a calling that God has put on my life, and being a senior pastor is the direction I have felt God pulling me for many years. But it is now that He is saying, “it’s time.” So, Kayla and I would be doing a disservice to Second Baptist, to Oakhill Baptist, to ourselves, and to God if we did not obey His call. Thank you for supporting us as we seek to follow the Lord.
With that said, it will not be easy leaving Oakhill. You have been our church home for a long time, and our family has grown exponentially since coming here. Our children have been so blessed by you, and so has my wife. For that I simply want to thank you very much. I could not
ask for more than for a church to love the Lord and love my family.
I would be remis to try to list everyone whom I need to thank for loving my family. But I do want to call attention to just a few; first, I want to thank Mike Schloss and Nick Kessler. These two men are our lay-Elders, and they love the Lord and this church. They and their families have blessed my family and me more than they know. We love them and are very thankful for them. Next, I want to thank Matt Virgin, Paul Willett, and Todd Linn. These men are my friends whom I trust. These are men who push me to pursue God’s will for my life. They are men who love me and care about how I live. They are iron sharpening iron. There are many people who have played this exact same role in my life, but I want to thank these men publicly for their love and support as I have been seeking God’s will. Everyone needs people like these men in their life to help disciple and encourage toward God’s will.
Third, I want to thank Bryan Gotcher. He is my friend and co-laborer in the gospel ministry. He is my workout partner, sounding board, and counselor in the ministry. I have learned so many things from just working side-by-side with Pastor Bryan. He is a man who loves God, loves the church, loves his family, and works hard to love God and serve His people. I am forever his friend and partner in the gospel ministry.
Finally, I want to thank Pastor Alan. He is very much a father in the faith… He is literally old enough to be my father! But seriously, he is one of the major reasons I came to Oakhill in the first place. I knew he would be a man I could look up to and learn from about how to be a good and faithful pastor. That proved to be true. I have been so blessed to know him, work with him, and learn from him. He loves deeply and cares passionately. He desperately loves the church, but he more desperately loves the Lord. I know that God will bless him in whatever he does, because he will do everything for the glory of God.
I pray you will listen to these men. I pray you will have people like them in your life. I pray God’s blessings on this church and on your life. I pray we all meet again in the near future.
Trust the Lord. Read His Word. Love Him. Love others. And make Christ primary in your life.