We’re here!
Our family made it to Virginia! We moved a couple weeks ago and we’re very excited to be back in the Roanoke Valley.
This past month has been a whirlwind for us: I preached my last sermon at Good Shepherd (for now!), we packed up and said our goodbyes in Florence, we moved into our new house in Roanoke, and we’ve begun meeting with people who are interested in being a part of the church plant.
I preached my last sermon at Good Shepherd (for now!).
One week before the move, I preached my last sermon at our church in Florence. I’ve been telling people that it was my last sermon for now because I’m hoping they’ll have me back to preach at some point in the future.
I was given the opportunity to choose the passage, which always seems to be a little more difficult than preaching the next passage in a book of the Bible.
Nevertheless, I chose Acts 2:42-47.
I had many conversations with people around Florence who professed Christ but didn’t think going to church was a necessary expression of their Christian faith. I felt this passage was worthwhile because it emphasizes the importance of worship; the Lord ministers through Sunday worship in a more profound way than in personal devotions or small groups. I wanted to encourage folks to see Sunday worship not simply as their Christian duty, but as the primary means by which the Lord draws them into His presence.
In Acts 2:42-47, we see that the early church believed the means of grace they received through Lord’s Day worship was critical for their spiritual vitality.
To be fair, I don’t think this issue is exclusive to Florence. This way of thinking has pervaded the American church and points to a broader issue within Evangelicalism. It was certainly a problem before COVID, but COVID has exacerbated it.
If you’re interested in listening to or reading the sermon, you can find it here.
Our last Sunday together as a family at Good Shepherd in Florence, South Carolina.
Good Shepherd also threw us a Going-Away Party.
That same Sunday evening, our church family in Florence threw us a Going-Away Party.
It’s difficult to put into words what it meant to us. Many people shared memories, kind words, and well-wishes, and they prayed over our family. We certainly felt loved and continue to cherish their support and encouragement of this new work in Virginia.
What a blessing to do ministry alongside the Severances for the past 4 years!
We packed up the UHaul.
One week later, we packed up the UHaul and headed for Roanoke… but getting the UHaul turned out to be a challenge. It made a stressful day even more stressful.
The short version:
Our UHaul was in the wrong location, 40 minutes away.
The independent UHaul dealer at the further location left the wrong keys in the dropbox.
Lauren’s stepdad, Glenn, flew one-way into Florence to help load and drive the UHaul back to Roanoke, but his flight kept getting delayed.
It was a comedy of errors but by God’s grace, the day improved.
We finally got squared away with a UHaul truck. Glenn’s flight arrived an hour before we finished packing the moving truck. And close to 20 people came to help us clear out the house and play tetris to fit all of our furniture into the UHaul.
After saying our goodbyes, we had a smooth drive to Virginia.
Part of our moving crew. We are very grateful for everyone who gave up their afternoon to help us!
We moved into our new house.
Lauren and I are blessed with retired parents who now live within minutes of us.
They not only helped renovate, repair, and clean our new house before we moved, but they also helped us move in and took care of the kids while we unpacked. We could not have done it without them!
We’re grateful for the extra space in our new house, our big backyard with many deer that visit us daily, and the convenience of where our house is located. It’s feeling more and more like home.
We’re officially in the gathering stage of church planting.
But the whole reason we moved is to fulfill the call that the Lord has put on our lives to plant Providence Presbyterian Church in Roanoke! We’re excited to finally be here and get to work!
Right now we’re in the gathering phase of church planting. I’m trying to meet with as many people as possible who might be interested in being a part of Providence and I’ve already had several encouraging meetings over lunch and coffee. We’re also beginning to host people in our home.
Westminster PCA in Roanoke is also allowing me to preach at their evening worship service in January and early February. This will give people an opportunity to join us for worship and hear me preach before our Informational Meetings in February and March.
So mark your calendars and plan to join us at Westminster PCA - 2216 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke - (or pray for us from afar!):
Sunday, January 2nd at 5:00pm
Sunday, January 9th at 5:00pm
Sunday, January 16th at 5:00pm
Sunday, January 23rd at 5:00pm
Sunday, January 30th at 5:00pm
Sunday, February 6th at 5:00pm
I’m also working to nail down dates for Informational Meetings. As soon as I have those squared away, I’ll be sure to send them out.
And lastly, we’re very close to our support raising goals!
Folks often assume that because we’ve moved, we’ve raised all the support we need. But that would be incorrect.
As it stands right now, we’ve raised 95% of our first year’s budget. We’re only $7,000 away!
Our Year One budget will be completely funded by outside support. The goal for Year Two is to have 33% of the budget funded by internal giving and 67% external. Year Three, 67% internal and 33% external. And by Year Four we hope to be fully self-sustained by internal giving.
If you would like to support the church plant and help us reach our goal of $131,000 for the first year’s budget, click the Give button below to visit our support site or reach out to me directly by replying to this email.
Please be in prayer for:
Our family as we settle into our new home
Raising the remainder of support for our Year One budget
Our meetings with people who are interested in being a part of the church plant
Opportunities to share the gospel with those we come into contact with
If you or someone you know is in the Roanoke Valley and interested in planting Providence Presbyterian Church with us, please reach out to me! I’d love to connect.
