“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9. It is a message from God to His people of courage and assurance during times of change and uncertainty.
In 2017, Valorie and I were in North Africa and were burdened by the number of global outreach workers who were leaving the field because they were burnt out, suffering severe marital and/or family problems, or hurt by conflict with other GO workers. God planted a seed there that since then has allowed us to do ministry in Iraq, Kurdistan, Tunisia, Bahrain, Dubai, Ukraine, Turkey, and Hungary. Eventually that seed grew to the point where we asked the elders to actively start looking for my replacement as Lead Pastor of Valley Church so that we could pursue this ministry on a part time basis, while staying actively involved as a pastor at Valley Church.
A lot has happened since then (including COVID), but for the past 10 months, the elders of Valley Church have been actively looking – 110 applicants from all over the world, hundreds of hours of sermons and resume reading, interviews, along with fasting and prayer for God’s direction. The result is that this Sunday Dr. Craig Shigyo will preach at Valley Church in our 10:45 service. Craig and Amanda, along with their two boys, have already visited Valley Church “incognito” on a Sunday and attended a weekend small group.
Please pray for discernment and wisdom for the elders as we actively seek to know His will on the decision to call them to serve to Valley Church. We’re trusting Him to guide both Valley Church and the Shigyo family in this decision.
I hope you’ll welcome the Shigyo family warmly, as you do every guest. Craig will be preaching from Luke 15:1-10 on the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. Ask God to speak to you about what brings joy to His heart – “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” May that always be the joy of our hearts as well.
Certainly, 100% of our trust during the Lead Pastor transition at Valley Church is in the Lord.
Joshua and the people of Israel needed to know that God was with them and would sustain them even though leadership of the nation was changing from Moses to Joshua. Jesus Christ has always been, and will continue to be, the Chief Shepherd of Valley Church and His church globally.
Warmly,
Kurt