I believe transformation happens within and beyond the walls of the church as its members develop strong relationships with God and neighbors.
This is a sampling of projects I have led throughout my time in ministry that further demonstrate my experience, skills, and interests.
Southern Elementary Partnership
2019-PREsent- Faith Baptist Church
With a strong presence of former and current educators, Faith’s partnership with Southern Elementary starts with our congregation’s general support of education. Our strategy is to say yes as much as possible. It started by agreeing to house a furniture closet and has blossomed into Southern Elementary being an integral part of the way our church shares God’s love with the community.
We host a year-round reading camp for a dozen students, facilitate biweekly free laundry days and holiday food assistance for families, celebrate and support teachers, and volunteer at field days and reading initiatives. These efforts have allowed us to build relationships with families that have led to their larger involvement in worship and discipleship classes! Most importantly these relationships have allowed congregants to encounter God as they engage with others.
LGBTQ Discernment Process
Fall 2021 - Faith baptist church
As I arrived at Faith, the church was asking questions about how welcoming we would be to people in the LGBTQ community. COVID disrupted the conversation, but in the Fall of 2021, we re-engaged our discernment process. Over several months we held listening sessions, participated in personal and communal study, prayed, and ultimately adopted a statement of welcome with a 98% affirmative vote.
Instead of being divisive, this process strengthened our congregation’s bond. God’s presence was tangibly felt throughout the process as people earnestly considered their beliefs and several experienced transformation and rejuvenation. The discernment process and resulting statement have led to limited communal backlash but also strengthened several of our community partnerships and started new relationships with people who are going through their own discernment processes. A potentially anxious discussion became an ebenezer that represents our church’s legacy as a thoughtful, loving, and diverse group.
Surving COVID
2020-22 - faith baptist church
During most of 2020 churches across the world grappled with how to best serve their congregations and community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in early March our church quickly shifted to operate virtually through Facebook Live worship and Bible study, Zoom small groups, and increased social media engagement. We also created several virtual fellowship events like a baking competition and a talent show. This helped us maintain connection to our faith and community while being physically apart. During the Summer, as physical distancing guidelines relaxed we created an alternative outdoor evening service that allowed us to continue our strong virtual presence while gathering safely in person.
We continued this creativity and flexibility over the next few years to continue growing closer to God and each other while staying safe. We held virtual Winter Olympics, hybrid classes, summer fun days, and creative worship services while producing comprehensive COVID response plans.
Energy Stewardship
Fall 2022 - Present- Faith baptist church
It started when a member asked if our church should get solar panels to reduce our utility bills and be more environmentally responsible. Two years later we don’t have solar panels, but we have reduced our energy consumption by 27%, reduced how much we spend on utilities by 18%, and reduced our emissions by 15 metric tons of CO2 (24%).
In response to the solar question, we formed a group to consider energy efficiency and ways we might reduce our utility costs. They enlisted the help of a local with world-renowned expertise, Don Colliver, and started exploring what we could do. To this point, we have only engaged in low-cost efforts such as adjusting thermostats and installing motion sensor light switches and we’ve been able to achieve substantial financial and environmental savings. We are currently exploring financial resources for bigger projects like HVAC upgrades and those solar panels that started it all.
Additionally, we are in conversation with some regional and national groups on how we can share what we’ve learned with other churches so that congregations across the country can achieve easy energy savings.
Calyx Service Project
June 2014 - st paul Abilene
This project took the place of the annual youth summer mission trip. It involved staying in Abilene and spending a week partnering with a low income family to rehabilitate their house. The "trip" included 10 adult, 6 high school, and 11 junior high volunteers, along with support from several church members and groups. Throughout the week we also had small group lessons, worship experiences, and community bonding activities.
The experience was an incredible success. Materially, we were able to add insulation and replace the siding on the entire house, repair and paint the porch, fix several doors and light fixtures, paint several interior rooms, and do basic landscaping. Our work also helped demonstrate the power of community. In the last day we did a house blessing and several of the family's neighbors came. Not only did they build relationships and increase community on the block, but several neighbors said they had been inspired to do work on their own house as well. A year later, several properties showed improvement and the entire street had a greater sense of pride and care for their neighborhood. Several students reflected in hindsight that it was one of their most impactful faith experiences. This project allowed me to explore asset based community development and grow in my understanding of nontoxic missions.
Crossroads/Vision Camp
July 2015 - NWTX Annual conference
In 2014 and 2015 I directed a conference wide youth summer camp for 250+ students. Crossroads (Jr. High) and Vision (High School) were week long camps that shared worship times and themes, but had different schedules, lessons, and activities. My fellow director and I set the schedules, managed volunteers (25+), planned and implemented activities, planned worship, edited curriculum (based on Orange), assigned housing, managed the budget, and organized logistics.
2015 was particularly memorable because during our week of camp the canyon flooded. We had to change several activities and plans, and at one point even faced a possible evacuation. Despite these circumstances we had an incredible camp. Students had a blast and several proclaimed having their faith dramatically impacted. This experience helped me grow in leadership and adaptability while reminding me of the centering power of God in the midst of a crisis.
Other Samples
Notable projects not featured above include: redesigning entire church communications and branding, assisting in the launch of a new worship service, and organizing numerous multi-church retreats and events. Below are a few more examples of various aspects of my ministry experience. If you have any questions or would like more information on any projects or experiences feel free to hit the “Let's Connect” button at the bottom of the page.
Classes
I believe that we truly grow our faith when we have an opportunity to discuss and hear a variety of perspectives. Therefore, I love leading discussion-based classes on a variety of topics. Here’s a list of weekly multi-week classes I’ve led or helped lead in the last few years. They ranged anywhere from 4 weeks to semester-long and had participation from a wide variety of ages.
Bible - I’ve done chapter-by-chapter explorations on Genesis, Exodus, Malachi, Luke, Philippians, Ephesians, and James.
God, Evil, and Suffering - exploring many aspects of Theodicy, the nature of God, and prayer
What Even Is the Bible? - explored where the Bible came from (and continues to come from) and what people have done with it over time
What Goes In…. - considers how the people and media we consume might affect our lives and what sort of guidelines we should develop for our spiritual health
Caring For Aging Parents - explores practical resources and theological considerations on how to help our loved ones age with dignity while maintaining our own health
Back To Eden - Uses permaculture principles and holistic gardening techniques as metaphors for our spiritual life
Spiritual Practices Small Group - a group that gathers once a month for several months to share about how their soul is and learn about a new spiritual practice that they will engage in the coming month.
