This is going to be an awesome adventure! I truly feel that God has been at work behind the scenes orchestrating this moment. Emily, my amazing wife, and I are so excited to get started at Christ Church. This is something that God has been stirring within our heart and soul for well over a year now. We have both met a handful of Christ Church people and there is no doubt in our minds that the Christ Church-Drexel community will be a blessing to both serve and to serve alongside. As we have stated, our only interests are to see Jesus made known and to see God’s Kingdom served by his people. We will all have to be in deep prayer and thought to determine how God will use us to serve these purposes together. Emily and I are asking everyone to spend time on their knees seeking God’s direction and guidance.

We will be moving into the parsonage on July 9th. Our first Sunday with our new church family is Sunday, July 15th. I will be preaching a two part series on July 15th and July 22nd titled, “How God Ruined My Life;” during which I will share my “Jesus story.” Jesus story is the term I use for testimony. I have several more sermon series planned for the coming months, but I am asking the church to share with me those topics around which they would like to hear a message.

I am so excited to meet all of the people, hear their stories, learn what is important to them, and build relationships. I want to be in their homes and meeting around meal tables in local restaurants as we figure out how we can best care for each other and also be used as a blessing to our surrounding community and beyond. As I mentioned at our leaders meeting on May 31st, I look forward to building on the rich history of Christ Church to keep our focus on being a REAL church-a church that both us on the inside and the surrounding community recognize as Relevant, Enthusiastic, Authentic, and Loving.

-Stephen