Ministry Update #1

Phew.

It has been such a whirlwind of a month. We've finally landed in Rocklin and have been hard at work settling in. Despite the 100+ degree weather, we are finding that God has been preparing us for this place long before we even knew it was a possibility.

As for the last month, here are some highlights:

Moving Week

One of the funky things about this move was that we moved most of our stuff to our new home in Roseville nearly two weeks before we were due in Rocklin. Moving is one of the most stressful things that can happen, but we were blessed in a number of different ways with this move. Community Covenant Rocklin sent us a moving team with a truck and trailer to make sure all of our stuff was moved efficiently. Let me tell you, this team was a HUGE blessing. Not only did they drive all the way down to Goleta, but they showed up and immediately started loading boxes. They are also expert packers.

Side note: When they first got into Goleta, we were a little skeptical that all of our stuff would fit into the trailer they had brought. But lo and behold, their expertise guided all of our stuff into every nook and cranny of the trailer.

The second way that we were really blessed in the moving process was the amazing group of students from Community Covenant Goleta that showed up to help lift all of the heavy things. The morning of moving day, we sent out a text to all the students asking them if they would come by and help. We got three responses, so we weren't holding our breath for more to show.

But a dozen students showed up to help us. A dozen. We were so incredibly touched by this because it reminded us that these students cared for and loved us a lot.

Between the moving team and the dozen students that helped out, the moving process did not take very long at all. From the moment the Rocklin team showed up to the moment we closed up the trailer was about 90 minutes. It was incredible to see the students from Goleta and the team from Rocklin going up and down the stairs lifting boxes that weighed more than they did.

The moving process was not nearly as stressful as it could have been, thanks to this phenomenal group of human beings.

Staff Retreat in Yosemite

One of the reasons we moved two weeks in advance is because we were going to be spending a week in Yosemite with the staff of Community Covenant Rocklin, and we didn't want to have the stress of packing hanging over us. After everything was moved into our place in Roseville, we headed to Yosemite to spend the week getting to know our new staff team.

We are really excited to be joining this staff team. One of the reasons being is because there is such a great chemistry with the team, and it is evident that they genuinely enjoy each other's company. The entire week was spent eating, laughing and vision casting what this next season of ministry will look like at Community Covenant Church of Rocklin.

One of the biggest difficulties of this past year was navigating how to minister to people in the midst of a global pandemic. This next season of ministry is going to be a tough one as well. The reason being is that we will have to learn how to do ministry in a new way in a post-Coivd world. Nothing is going to be "normal," and we have to be in constant prayer seeking what the Holy Spirit would have us do to continue the work of the Gospel. Regardless of how challenging this next season will be, we are extremely excited to be doing ministry alongside such an amazing team.

Goodbye Santa Barbara, Hello Rocklin!

Leaving Santa Barbara/Goleta was a lot tougher than we thought it would be. We knew that saying goodbye to our community was going to be difficult, but as reality started to sink in, it became evident that we (in many ways) weren't ready to say goodbye, especially to our students. The last four years in Santa Barbara/Goleta were extremely difficult, but they were also life-giving.

These students care deeply for each other, and it was such an honor getting to shepherd them over the last four years.

One of the best things about serving this group of students was how much they challenged us to grow in our understanding of ourselves, God and youth ministry. Their constant barrage of questions about the Bible forced us to constantly be in the Word. We will take the lessons we learned from them with us for the rest of our lives.

To the students of Community Covenant Goleta, you have no idea how much you meant to us. We love you and will miss you terribly.

Goodbyes are never easy, but we are convinced that Rocklin is where God has called us and we are waiting in eager anticipation for the Lord to reveal the reasons why we've been called to this place at this time.

Alright God, what you got for us?