Note to the Reader: This is part two of a blog series about feeling
called away from the church that has been my home for the past 6 1/2
years. Part one was the story told from my perspective. Part Two will be a letter from the Pastor written to communicate
his part of the story. It's been such a privilege to be under his
leadership for all of my adult life so far and I was honored that he
would take the time to write this letter so I wanted to share it as
well!
April 12, 2012
Dear Kale’s Supporters,
It’s rare that I’m happy to see people leave my church. But I’m thrilled that Kale is leaving. Good riddance, I say!
Just kidding. Last year Kale came and told me he sensed an opportunity to serve at a church near SLU’s campus, which could allow him to better serve his students. Kale values church loyalty and did not want to leave without praying and discussing the opportunity first with his leaders. He also knows he has a special relationship with Rooftop and some of its members, on whom he depends for prayer and financial support. So we met repeatedly to talk about this possibility, and Kale even met with the elders to ask for their wisdom and submit to their leadership.
In the end, the elders agreed that the kingdom of Jesus Christ would benefit from Kale leaving Rooftop to work more closely with a different church, and we directed him to do so. In fact, before Kale could LEAVE Rooftop we decided to SEND him out. This is what churches should be doing: sending people out into new fields of harvest. We’re excited to see what the Holy Spirit does in and through Kale and his students at their new place of worship.
I’m writing you this letter so you can have confidence that Rooftop’s relationship with Kale remains strong. We are still a strong supporter of his work at Intervarsity, and would not have sent him out if we didn’t think he was ready for this new opportunity, or if we thought he was going about it the wrong way. We are pleased to continue supporting Kale and we hope you are, too.
For the kingdom,
Matt Herndon
Rooftop Community Church
19 April 2012
Missionaries Never "Leave": Part One
Note to the Reader: This is part one of a blog series about feeling called away from the church that has been my home for the past 6 1/2 years. Part two will be a letter from the Pastor written to communicate his part of the story. It's been such a privilege to be under his leadership for all of my adult life so far and I was honored that he would take the time to write this letter so I wanted to share it as well!
Ever since I came to Saint Louis for school back in the fall of 2005, being involved in a local church has been absolutely critical for me. God blessed me very early on by leading me to work in the Housing Department at SLU where I met a guy who was interning at this place called Rooftop Community Church. He invited me to go with him when I was making the rounds as a scared 18-year-old in a new place trying to find a home. I immediately fell in love, stopped my church-search, and planted myself in that community.
For the past 6 1/2 years, Rooftop has been my home. When most of my personal life fell apart during my freshman year of college, it was the place where Jesus called me into community. When I first felt called to be a missionary, it was Rooftop that came alongside me equipping and encouraging me to follow Jesus into the mission field. For me, Rooftop is not just my "church" or my "friends" (though both of those are true); Rooftop is family.
With this family behind me, I started my missionary journey at SLU. About a year ago, my students and I were invited by a church in Soulard to partner with them in tutoring 3rd graders at Peabody Elementary in the Peabody Projects between Soulard and Lafayette Square. Peabody is one of the lowest performing elementary schools in the city and is located in the heart of this project neighborhood. About 15 of my students and I started volunteering there on a regular basis and fell in love with the school and the students. I started dreaming more and more about what it would look like to build greater bridges between the City and the Campus.
As the partnership between InterVarsity and this local church grew stronger, several of my students began attending and even became members. At this point, about 20 SLU IV students attend there with some sort of regularity. I began praying about what the next steps in partnership would look like and started to ask God if he was calling me to join my students there and further lock arms with those who were actively ministering in these city neighborhoods. Over the past six months, I've gathered lots of people around me to pray. Matt and I met together and prayed. My bosses and I met together and prayed. I eventually met with the elders and prayed. As much as I could never have imagined leaving Rooftop, it felt like God kept confirming that this was the right decision. It felt like he was (and is) calling me deeper into his mission in the City, to begin building this greater bridge between the Campus and the Peabody Projects.
So I find myself in the middle of a gigantic transition that can only be described as "being sent." I'm moving from the east side of the Loop into Peabody. My intern for next year (currently a senior) is coming with me and 4 other leaders are praying and actively looking into moving into the projects with me. I have dreams of tithing 25% of our leadership team every year to God's mission in this neighborhood. How amazing would it be if this generation of student leaders not only gave up part of their time in college to living and working in the inner city but also decided to stay after graduating? God is filling me with vision and passion for this next step and I can't wait to see how it all happens.
With the Elders' blessing, I'm also "being sent" from Rooftop to that local church, August Gate, in South City where about 1/2 of my current leadership team and 20+ SLU students already attend. I told God at the very beginning that the evidence of His direction would have to be overwhelming before I would ever stop actively attending Rooftop and, over the past six months, he has confirmed this decision. This is obviously a bittersweet transition as my heart also feels joy and anticipation in praying for Rooftop's future, elders, leaders, and people. Please know that I'm still around as one of Rooftop's missionaries and would love to sit down and share more about what's coming for the ministry at SLU or just catch up on life over coffee. Thank you for your continued support as I follow our missionary God into whatever he has for me in this season - I need your prayers now more than ever and it's such a joy to have people to walk with when things get crazy!
Ever since I came to Saint Louis for school back in the fall of 2005, being involved in a local church has been absolutely critical for me. God blessed me very early on by leading me to work in the Housing Department at SLU where I met a guy who was interning at this place called Rooftop Community Church. He invited me to go with him when I was making the rounds as a scared 18-year-old in a new place trying to find a home. I immediately fell in love, stopped my church-search, and planted myself in that community.
For the past 6 1/2 years, Rooftop has been my home. When most of my personal life fell apart during my freshman year of college, it was the place where Jesus called me into community. When I first felt called to be a missionary, it was Rooftop that came alongside me equipping and encouraging me to follow Jesus into the mission field. For me, Rooftop is not just my "church" or my "friends" (though both of those are true); Rooftop is family.
With this family behind me, I started my missionary journey at SLU. About a year ago, my students and I were invited by a church in Soulard to partner with them in tutoring 3rd graders at Peabody Elementary in the Peabody Projects between Soulard and Lafayette Square. Peabody is one of the lowest performing elementary schools in the city and is located in the heart of this project neighborhood. About 15 of my students and I started volunteering there on a regular basis and fell in love with the school and the students. I started dreaming more and more about what it would look like to build greater bridges between the City and the Campus.
As the partnership between InterVarsity and this local church grew stronger, several of my students began attending and even became members. At this point, about 20 SLU IV students attend there with some sort of regularity. I began praying about what the next steps in partnership would look like and started to ask God if he was calling me to join my students there and further lock arms with those who were actively ministering in these city neighborhoods. Over the past six months, I've gathered lots of people around me to pray. Matt and I met together and prayed. My bosses and I met together and prayed. I eventually met with the elders and prayed. As much as I could never have imagined leaving Rooftop, it felt like God kept confirming that this was the right decision. It felt like he was (and is) calling me deeper into his mission in the City, to begin building this greater bridge between the Campus and the Peabody Projects.
So I find myself in the middle of a gigantic transition that can only be described as "being sent." I'm moving from the east side of the Loop into Peabody. My intern for next year (currently a senior) is coming with me and 4 other leaders are praying and actively looking into moving into the projects with me. I have dreams of tithing 25% of our leadership team every year to God's mission in this neighborhood. How amazing would it be if this generation of student leaders not only gave up part of their time in college to living and working in the inner city but also decided to stay after graduating? God is filling me with vision and passion for this next step and I can't wait to see how it all happens.
With the Elders' blessing, I'm also "being sent" from Rooftop to that local church, August Gate, in South City where about 1/2 of my current leadership team and 20+ SLU students already attend. I told God at the very beginning that the evidence of His direction would have to be overwhelming before I would ever stop actively attending Rooftop and, over the past six months, he has confirmed this decision. This is obviously a bittersweet transition as my heart also feels joy and anticipation in praying for Rooftop's future, elders, leaders, and people. Please know that I'm still around as one of Rooftop's missionaries and would love to sit down and share more about what's coming for the ministry at SLU or just catch up on life over coffee. Thank you for your continued support as I follow our missionary God into whatever he has for me in this season - I need your prayers now more than ever and it's such a joy to have people to walk with when things get crazy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)