Our Ministry Decision
We’d love to sit and share our story and how God very intentionally directed us to this point in our lives and continues to equip us as we work for Him. Please email or call us if you’d like to sit and talk. We love seeing what He is up to and connecting with His people.
Starting so young and experiencing the redemptive power of Jesus in our family and marriage developed in us a passion for marriage and family as a whole. Through the beginning of our adult years, God really lit our passion for community. We know that God can do amazing things in the lives of his people if we are willing to let him work.
We didn’t plan on going into ministry. Rick was busy with his business and I, Leah, at home with the kids. We were conscious of the struggles that many couples were battling and intentional about protecting our own marriage against divorce. In October of 2009 we decided to attend our third Weekend to Remember marriage getaway put on by FamilyLife. While at the conference they had a meeting for anyone who would like to know more about staff opportunities. When I, Leah, heard this, my heart leapt at the possibility of working with a team of people so committed to strengthening the family. Little did I know that Rick too had heard and was excited by the possibility. So we attended the meeting and began a five month process of applications, interviews and lots of prayer to see if this was God’s will for our lives. It was confirmed that this was what we were called to do and the best choice for our family. It meant that Rick would have to continue to work full time and we’d have to work on nights and weekends to raise a support team, but we believed that if God called us to it, He would provide for us.
In May of 2010 we were trained by Campus Crusade for Christ and commissioned as fulltime missionaries. Throughout 2010 and 2011 we worked to develop our financial support team. In the winter of 2011 and 2012, Rick was able to stop working full time and God begain to open our eyes to a new opportunity in Colorado. In the spring of 2012, we received a series of confirmations, and decided to withdrawl from the support raising process with FamilyLife and start a local ministry called Experience Community. It was a scary proposition, but again, God made it clear that this was what He wanted from us and we have to trust that He is our provider. With this ministry we will work to develop communities that meet the real needs of people in a tangible way, strengthening families who experience and reflect the love of Jesus Christ.
As missionaries, we have taken on a financial position of allowing God’s people to fund our salaries and ministry expenses. This means that we are constantly praying that as we interact with His people that He will move in the hearts of those that will join us financially as we do His work. God is the one that directed the steps of our journey and we have now begun serving in the Colorado Springs area with Experience Community.