New Ground

A Ministry Update in the Life of the Emersons

Change is a constant part of life.

Now, I am not the kind of person to bounce around. I shirk at the thought of ladder climbing and platform building (it’s ironic, I know). My primary ministry motivator has always been pleasing God and loving people. So, when God leads our family somewhere, we set up to stay. I plan to stay until closing time. The last to leave. So, I set up shop and buy my funeral plot.

But life is full of change. We follow where the Lord leads, lay our best plans and see what happens. Then, we try to hold them loosely and surrender them if Jesus leads us somewhere else. It’s easier said than done.

A couple years ago we started to notice a shifting in our hearts. We didn’t think it meant we were going anywhere, but we were expecting change. We didn’t feel released, nor did we desire to do something different, but our eyes were wider and more aware to something bigger than ourselves and our day to day lives.

So, after a challenging season, hard decisions, bittersweet goodbyes, some retrospect and the words of a new friend – we could finally see what the Lord had been doing.

He was disrupting the ground, where He called us to and that we had so firmly planted ourselves in. He was disturbing the roots that we had set so deep down. Shaking and moving the things we dearly loved. Preparing us for what was next. Whatever that was.

At the same time, unbeknownst to us, He was preparing new ground. A new place to set down roots and fall in love with new people. And to be part of a new thing He was doing in a place of need and opportunity.

So, this summer, as a family we made a difficult decision, and I resigned my position as Assistant Pastor at the Crosspoint Church after over a decade of precious memories and meaningful ministry. They were some of the best years of our lives.

And now, in the time in between, we prepare for what’s next. Reaching the lost and the least in the Southeast of Edmonton. Joining an brilliant team of Jesus followers. Serving the amazing people of Beulah Alliance Church and loving our neighbours in the Millwoods area.

I believe that the Lord is increasing our faith, and calling us to a harvest in Southeast Edmonton. He is awakening the spiritually dead, walking among the living, to life in Christ through the good news of Jesus, and we can’t wait to see what God will do.

Over the next year we will be preparing a peculiar people, called to this particular work, for this specific time. A community we already believe God has gone ahead of us to prepare to reach lost people he loves. If that’s you, I would love to chat.

What is the Lord inviting you into? Would you join Him in his redemptive mission in the world, right here in Edmonton?