Hey, my darling Siestas! I hope your weekend was full of Jesus and that you found refreshment with family and friends. I also hope you were blessed by a lively, Christ-loving body of believers in your local church and that you freely worshiped with them and sought God together with them through the Scriptures. You guys know how strongly we feel about the local church around here. These are days on the Kingdom calendar when we need one another more than ever. (Hebrews 10:24-25) We can’t afford to rationalize that we can link up with other believers on line as a replacement for investing our lives and our spiritual gifts in the local church of God’s leading. I love what we get to do here and believe that it’s real and that it has an important place but it’s not a replacement for a local body of believers. I’m so happy to say that I don’t see many people in this community confused about that. I often hear you refer to your churches with much love and commitment. You bless me so.
That said, God has brought about a huge transition in our lives over the last months. Let me say that in all caps: HUGE. I think the best way I can explain it to you is to post the letter that was inserted in the church bulletin at my home church yesterday and is up on their website. I will pick back up with you briefly at the end of the letter.
Dear HFBC, my beloved church family of so many years,
It is with indescribable gratitude and deep emotion that I say farewell to this body of believers as a fellow member. I asked Pastor Gregg if I could write you a letter rather than speak to you from the platform, not because I mind shedding tears in public but because I wish to spare you my lapse into an ugly cry.
These are exciting days in my family. Nine years ago, Keith walked our oldest daughter, Amanda, down an aisle of this very sanctuary and gave her in marriage to Curtis Jones, a young man with only one life plan: to serve Jesus anywhere, any time. We knew from the start that anything was game. Over the last several years, we’ve watched God prepare Curtis and Amanda to plant a church in another part of Houston. Keith and I will unwaveringly go with them with joy, approval, and glad anticipation.
Not one of us goes without cost, however. For once, I’ll let the others speak for themselves and I’ll stick to what I place on this altar today. I met my life-long mentor here and came to my first realization that human flesh and blood could fall madly in love with Jesus. At her insistence, I taught my first Sunday School class here and didn’t sit down for 23 years. I signed up for a Bible doctrine class taught on the second floor of this church on Sunday nights 26 years ago and was ruined for life for anything other than the pursuit of Christ through Scripture. You dared to take a Christian aerobics teacher with a side ponytail seriously when she pitched her leg warmers for commentaries. You gave me a safe place to keep learning amid a thousand mistakes.
Meanwhile, our marriage has endured for 32 years and, in such large part, over the support we received among godly couples here in this church. Our daughters, Amanda and Melissa, each walked one of these aisles, gave their lives to Jesus and were baptized in those very same waters above the choir loft.
As ministry life took us places – both good and hard – that we could not possibly have foreseen, you were my safe harbor. As far as I can recall, Dr. Jimmy Draper is the only one who has ever called me “normal” but the context was something I’ll treasure forever: “Beth, you know the only reason you’ve stayed normal?” No, Sir. I don’t. “You stayed in church.”
And now the tears well up in my eyes and spill over from my heart. How do you thank people for nearly 30 years of love and acceptance and patience and forgiveness and guidance? My best shot at it is this: I may be absent from you on Sunday mornings but you will never be absent from me. You are woven into my soul. I take you with me everywhere I go.
I have the glorious privilege of placing my membership here at HFBC on the altar at the best possible time: when I have never loved this church more. There is not one hint of conflict. Not one iota of friction between my beloved Pastor and me. We have pledged our support and friendship to one another and to one another’s families. He has also graciously invited us to continue to hold our Tuesday night women’s Bible studies here. I’m Pastor Gregg’s fan forever and a staunch supporter of this fine church. Please hear these words, all of you, from the truest and most tender place in my heart:
Thank you for all that you’ve been to me. The gift of you is inestimable. I love you deeply and will press you close to my heart all my days. Pray for us as we pray for you “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.” (Ephesians 4:13)
Beth
Pastor Gregg and me:
I didn’t know until today that Melissa had snapped this picture of Keith and me up on the platform with Pastor Gregg yesterday during the service. When she walked into my office a few minutes ago and caught me inserting pictures into this article, she said, “Mom! I took one you’ve got to post!” I wish so much that this picture also had Kelly, Pastor Gregg’s wife, in it. I love her dearly and respect her to no end.
These next two pictures represent some of my very biggest losses at HFBC. Make no mistake. We will always be friends because our hearts are tied together forever but I won’t worship right in among them on a myriad of Sundays like I have for years. The first one is the Tate girls. A few of you may remember that I dedicated Get Out of That Pit to Kendall Tate and her family and told their story in the book. I, then, dedicated the GOOTP journal to all four of these wonderful girls.
This is Abigail Davis. I’ve known her (as well as each of the Tate girls) all her life. I told a story about Abigail and her golf lessons toward the very end of the Esther Bible study. I’m nuts about her. The best pictures I have of Abigail and me are in frames on shelves at home but I do have this one in my office. You can see that she is a well-rounded woman-child. A golfer and a dancer. Grin.
Well, you can see that these are days of change around here. I cried many tears yesterday as I said goodbye to a body of believers I have cherished with my whole heart and so much of my life. But, as I met with our church plant core-group of 50 on our knees last night, seeking God desperately to come and do His will in this infant church, I felt His power and pleasure. It is the Lord’s will. I welcome it and embrace it. Bayou City Fellowship will swing open its doors to the public in the Fall but you will not waste a prayer on us now. We have much work to do in the spiritual realm before that day comes.
I praise God that this fellowship of believers will be right here in Houston. When your kids are in ministry, you well know that God could “plant” them anywhere in the world. We are ecstatic that God led Curtis to plant this church right here in this big, fat, wonderful, hot city. Our whole family will be engaged in this crazy adventure, including Colin and Melissa. If you’re wondering about the name, Houston’s nickname is “Bayou City.” We couldn’t believe it hadn’t been snagged as a name for a church in this city yet. Over the coming years we want Houston to be so glad we are here as we stretch out our arms to its aid. Our first outside action as a church has been to gather various articles to give to families that lost all they had in a local apartment fire. As I folded up clothes this morning and put them in a bag and made a plan to run by Walmart, I thought to myself, “Well, old girl, there’s not a lot of time to sit around and mourn. Hop up and get on this love train. There’s a city to serve.”
And it felt right.
One last thing. Last night I looked at all the children of our core group couples and thought, “You are going to get to watch some of these children grow up. Open your heart wide and receive with joy!” I knelt down by about 7 children, one by one, last night and said, “Hi there! I’m Miss Beth and I’m new to this church, too. Would you be my friend?” Most of them said yes. A few of them stared at my big hair.
Jesus, be exalted in this city. Bless HFBC. Bless Bayou City Fellowship. Bless every body of believers with knees to the floor and faces to the sky in Your holy Name. We are wholly dependent upon Your presence.
PS. Amanda is my pastor’s wife. I have to throw my head back and laugh with joy. HOW ABOUT THAT????
Dearest Beth,
June 2010 my pastor-husband and I left our Oregon church (with their blessing) and headed across the country to Virginia, to be a help to our son and his college buddy in their church plant. What an amazing gift of grace to watch your son preach and teach, to watch your daughter-in-law minister to people. Our youngest daughter and son-in-law moved to VA a few months after we did, and they are working in the nursery. We may be in our 50s but we are not “used up” yet!
Where in Virginia are you located? 🙂
Midlothian, VA, just outside Richmond. We meet at Tomahawk Creek Middle School, 10 a.m. You will see the signs from the road.
Bless you, Beth! What a bittersweet but exciting time. I know it’s got to be incredibly hard to leave a church you love so much, but oh, what the Lord must have in store for Bayou City Fellowship. And yes, it’s a hoot that Amanda is now your pastor’s wife! How blessed she’ll be to have at least one member who is always in her corner, right? God bless you all and both of these churches!
what an exciting adventure!! May the Lord bless your (all of your) obedience to follow Him wherever He leads – and praise His name that He led you to this. Thank you for sharing His praises with us for all He is doing in your family.
with much love for you all,
rebecca
I read your tweets from yesterday and all I can say is WOW!! When you say HUGE you mean HUGE. After serving in ministry for several years and being a member at the church I serve in, I can understand the sacrifice that you and Keith are making. I know that you wouldn’t have it any other way. I know that Amanda & Curtis are so blessed that God has called you all to this endeavor as well.
I have followed Amanda’s blog and tweets and know how blessed you are going to be, serving in a church with such godly leaders. I also know that the city of Houston is close to your heart. That when you serve the homeless and hurting in the inner city, when you see their faces, you will see the face of your sister who has been set free from her bondage.
I remember something that our youth pastor said to me after our senior pastor resigned to seek God’s will for him and his family, “when you follow God you have to love with your hands open”. Those word meant so much to me because I dearly loved our pastor and his family. God has taken them from Tennessee to Southern California to serve at a wonderful church.
Change hurts our hearts sometimes but what a Mighty God we serve!!!
Oh Beth – I know your heart is so FULL. I simply cannot imagine your trek down memory lane as you pondered your years at HFBC. What a gracious letter you wrote, and I love that it was in the bulletin…us Baptists and our bulletins. 🙂
I remember the first time someone introduced me as “the Pastor’s mother,” when I visited Jeremy’s church http://www.discovercrosspoint.net/ At first I thought it sounded old, then I was blessed to say, “I sure am.”
As Melissa says, our parallel family lives continue. I am also thankful to serve in the same community as our son and his wife. I CAN SEE MY GRANDBABIES! The church my husband and I serve is in the same county. And my youngest son and his wife attend our church where we’ve been 23 years…where both my boys grew up, were saved and baptized by their daddy, where Jeremy gave his life to full-time ministry, and where they both were married. Our church is our home. I know how you feel.
The name Bayou City Fellowship is great. I will partner with you in prayer. What a blessing they have in your family. I loved hearing Curtis at the Women’s Ministry Leadership training last fall at Ridgecrest. My team and I have referred back to his message often. Greater days are yet to come for BCF! Soli deo gloria!!!
Your friend,
G.J.
Hi Beth – Wow! What a huge day for you. I am thrilled that your family is involved in a Church plant. What a blessing that Amanda will be your Pastor’s wife! 🙂 I pray that God opens the flood gates and He is glorified in all. Man, I hate the ugly cry in public too. I had one of those in my SS class yesterday. For some reason, I thought I could withstand sitting in a room filled with married couples listening to a wonderful lesson on marriage…yet, I have been separated for 21 months. So many wounds were opened up that I made a quick exit and ran to the bathroom and bawled every ounce of make up off and then ran to the car trying not to be seen and then bawled all afternoon. I prayed that God would continue to teach me, that He will heal me and let me not be bitter or do anything that would not glorify Him. I have the puffiest eyes today but am blessed that my God is faithful.
Thanks for listening because I needed to get this off my chest without talking to someone face to face cause I don’t want those tears to start again…at least while I am trying to work!!!!!
Dana, I have been where you are and I left church in the middle of the service crying a very ugly cry! God is faithful and He will care for you, especially at the very hard time you are in right now. He has provided for me for over 16 years now. Blessings to you.
Lynn, thanks so much for the kind words. They are so encouraging. Thank you for reminding me that our God is faithful and always provides what we need. I have to say I was quite surprised at myself because I thought I was healed! God Bless You Too!
The ugly cry is often the best because it teaches us to stop trying to tie up our situation pretty…we get real. Bawl it out and let GOD hear every cry, catch every tear.
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry. ~Psalm 40:1
We ought not simply state our pain…CRY IT OUT! He runs like the FATHER HE IS!
Siesta OC – Thank you for the encouragement and the Bible verses. I tear up when I think of my Father running to me. Thank you for taking time to reply. One of the many reasons I L-O-V-E Siestaville! God Bless Your Day.
That is what fellowship is about.
In the words of Carolyn Ingalls, ‘Fellowship is not just for sundays.’
My Pastor taught on this – Psalm 40.
Waiting patiently in the verse is the same Hebrew word – Kava. So it reads I waited and waited for the LORD.
Our pastor was saying you wait quietly and cry out prayerfully.
Why?
A verses down…’Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.’
You are a picture of the Glory of GOD!
Mucho love in Jesus! I can tell you from personal experience…HE HEALS BROKEN HEARTS!
Beth, you inspire me. Your love for Jesus coats my heart in warm sweetness and always makes me smile. You are a great blessing to me and so many others and I pray that your new home church will be blessed. Thank you for sharing a tender tid-bit of your life with us. Thank you for the way you serve Jesus.
God bless you, Bayou city, your new pastor and his wife, and the rest of your family.
Christina
I couldn’t have said it any better. Ditto to that, sister! <3 Have a blessed day, Siestas!
Big ole massive tears in my eyes and then truly laughed at the end! Oh, our God is so good and precious to us! Melissa posted on twitter about risking everything this morning. I love a good risk with Christ and I know you do too. There is no place I’d rather be than riding under His wing! Hang on tight BCF! This is going to be a glorious ride!!!
Absolutely praying for y’all!
So much love and respect,
Fran
TN
Well said Fran!
Beth,
My prayers will be passionate for Bayou City Fellowship, it’s staff blessed and placed there by the Lord and all who walk through the doors seeking the face of God.
I won’t even try to tell you what role your ministry has played in the development of my faith, trust and understanding of my salvation and of the One who secures it for me, Jesus my Saviour. You had me a little panicked at the beginning of your letter but quite relieved at the end to know that you will still be in Houston and still bringing the saving word of God to our Siestas on Tuesday nights at HFBC.
God bless you, your family, your new Pastor — oh, I already included him 🙂 and the continuation of your ministry.
In faithful prayer,
Charlotte Skadal
Prayer Ministry
Second Baptist Church
Loving and Devoted Siesta!
My heart goes out in prayer to you and yours Beth. What an awesome testimony of family support. How easy it would be to stay put, especially since you will all be in the same city. But I commend you and look up to you as a wonderful Christian example…my mentor from afar!
I can so relate to having to leave a body of believers/family as we’ve done so many times with the military moves. God has used us as missionaries all over this great country of ours.
I pray the Lord with use “Bayou City Fellowship” in mighty ways in the days, months, and years to come!
Well….wonderful news!! It’s so exciting to hear what God is doing in your area of Texas. I pray God falls on this body of believers with His presence and power even this very moment as you prepare to serve hurting people. I lead our women’s ministry in our local body and our verse we try very hard to live by is Isaiah 58:10 ESV
” if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. ”
I have never been more full of joy than when God allows me to serve in the way you did this morning.
Love to you and yours!!
Royana
I think it’s very exciting that you’re embarking on a new ministry opportunity! I will be praying for BCF and look forward to reading your updates as this church is birthed. God is just so awesome! I’m always amazed when He bring me (and others) to a new experience, especially one we never imagined we would participate in.
Excitement and prayers over this wonderful news! Thanks for sharing!
Much love to you all–Tomi 🙂
Oh, how wonderful that God has led Curtis and Amanda to serve this new church, and your whole family as well! I will be praying for you all.
Three years ago, God led our family to leave our large church of 29 years, for a small body of believers closer to our home. As painful as the separation was, we knew it was God’s will. And He has blessed us beyond our imagination!
It’s easy to see that you didn’t enter this without much prayer, and God is in this. He will be glorified in and through Bayou City Fellowship!
So thrilled for what the LORD is planning ahead to do in your city! As a member of a small inner city church that meets and serves in Covington, Kentucky get ready to get your socks blown off…He’s about to rock your world! He has changed my life through this ministry… I have met some of the most amazing people thru our doors and the things He does here with our limited resources consistently blow our minds. Praying for Bayou…and all who will serve the LORD there. Many blessings to your full to overflowing heart today Beth. Christina – KY
I’ll be praying for you in this new and exciting chapter in your lives. And congrats on having your daughter as your pastor’s wife…what a rare blessing already!
leaving is hard, eh?
i have great respect for church-planters; it’s tough work. praying for you all!
Beth,
I know your leaving your “home” church bittersweet. But, what a wonderful adventure God has your family embarking.
I work at the Baptist Association office in Cobb County in GA. I work closely with the church plants of our association and they are so much fun and it is so exciting to see what God is doing in each of their congregations.
I will keep Bayou City Fellowship in my prayers as you see God’s will for that sweet church plant.
Sheryl
My heart is tender for you as you uproot and reroot. It’s an exciting time of anticipation and effort, but also an emotional time of transition. May the Lord hold each of you tenderly by the hand as you follow Him in this new journey. (((HUGS)))
I am crying like a crazy and I don’t know why. I am feeling burning sensation in my heart and I don’t know why. I live in KY and I know there is no future plant that my family will move to Houston TX but I am feeling so much love for Bayou City Fellowship that I feel like I am there and folding clothes with you all. I became Amanda’s blog stocker for a while. I am 50 but I am learning so much from her. She is so real to everything. 🙂 konglish (Korean/English) mumbling.
Oh, I so want to stand up and SHOUT and LAUGH at the top of my lungs!!! I feel your grief of leaving friends and loved ones behind. But how AWESOME a new thing God is doing!! I’m SOOOOO excited about the lost souls God will draw to this new house, and the plan He has to save them and set them free!! Makes me want to SHOUT!! Oh God, give us a FIREY passion for the lost!! God has another JOY RIDE in mind for you and your family!! I’m so excited!! May God richly bless you and your precious family in this new beginning!! We love you!
And think how GOD will use this wonderful woman – Beth, the lost at church will have you as their fellow church-goer. As it was meant to be, we are meant to encourage one another.
What an exciting time of adventure!
What part of Houston will it be in? On our recent visit there we saw plenty of fertile soil.
My BIL/SIL started a church in Brazil over 20 years ago and they have brought many to the Lord. I pray you all have the same success!
Oh my, crying with sadness and joy with you! My daughter prayed about moving from California to there to be a part of BCF but chose to serve in her city instead. So proud of our grown daughters! I feel YAHWEH stirring my heart towards change and am so excited at what is ahead. Maybe joining my girl and saying a bittersweet goodbye also!
I LOVE that you can say, “My pastor’s wife is my daughter”!!! And how awesome that Colin & Melissa will be part of it all, too. I was so excited for you when they moved back here not too long ago, and I guess this was one of the reasons. Yay Jesus!!!
I am so praying God’s blessings on your new adventure with Him! Excited for our city for sure! My teenage daughter got to hear Curtis speak at Tallowood’s Spark weekend in February and I knew then God had some big plans for him.
Oh Beth! What an example you set for us as a believer and as a mom – to walk with Jesus and Amanda in this way – I wish I could reach through this screen and hug you both! You are wonderful and lovely and your heart never ceases to amaze.
Oh, my heart just welled up for and with you over this post. God is So GOOD! It is amazing to see how he is working in your lives — I’m praying for you all as you step into this new adventure!
What a message to my heart this morning! My husband and I recently left the church at the center of our lives for over 30 years for one reason and one reason only: God has called us to join a new fellowship of believers. Through circumstances only He could have worked out, we know without a doubt this is the divine appointment God has laid out for us. How I wish I could explain our journey as eloquently as you have here, Beth. Such sweet memories i too have of the church that mentored my faith, the altar where I knelt with my daughter as she gave her heart to Jesus, and the aisle she walked down to marry the man of her dreams. But where God wants me is where I want to be.
What a blessed woman you are to be able to say, “My pastor’s wife is my daughter”! I love it!!! I pray God will bless this new church as you all move forward in faith. Our God is truly an AWESOME God!
Beth, thanks so much for sharing. I know it’s going to be a wonderful new adventure for you and your family. Can I just say how encouraged I am right now? I, too, read on Amanda’s blog a bit ago about how they were wanting to plant a church in the Houston area. And now here we are, however many months later, and it is coming to fruition. Sometimes I let my own fear get in the way of doing a lot of things. It is such a blessing to hear of someone stepping out in faith. I will keep all of you in my prayers!
Prayers will be lifted up for each and every one of you!! And here’s a virtual hug sent to each of you, too. May His name be praised and glorified and may every move be to His good pleasure!
Dearest Beth,
Will I ever not have a comment to a blog entry???I hope so! Let me say this. About twenty years ago now, we left our little rural church to join with David’s bro who started a ministry in a larger community about 35 miles away. It was thriiling being a part of htis. We saw the church membership triple in no time and it was great to be a pasrt of this. Eventually, though, we ended up right back in our little congregation. David’s bro ended up in another church nearby some years ago and it would have been tempting to join him again but we stayed where we are now. Why? This little church is dying out as older people die off and younger people leave the state a state of affairs in small rural ND. There are little ones who need a SS teacher again so I dusted off my old role and put it back on! Right now we are needed here. What am I trying to say here? Darned if I know??!!! I guess it is that our Lord always has plans for us and it is never exactly where we thought it might be. Best wishes as you strike out with great courage and don’t be surprised if you are not called another place! LIFE=CHANGE!!!! Love, ya
I can almost feel your emotion inside of me as I read your post. I can only imagine how bittersweet it is for you to leave a church body that is so dear to your heart with so many memories – yet how exciting and proud of where you are stepping in the future. The support that Amanda and Curtis have from your whole family is inspiring and fueling.
God is going to show you all so many marvelous things and I can’t wait to hear about it.
Beth, We will be praying for y’all.
Words cannot express the joy and happiness that is in my heart for you, Amanda, the whole family your new church fellowship and for God and what He’s doing!!! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE GOD!!!!
Love from Grandmamitz in So. Calif.
how wonderful and bittersweet at the same time!! i am so excited for you, keith , amanda,curtis, melissa,colin and the children as you begin this new adventure with the LORD! Eph 3:20 comes to mind:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever ! Amen
love you,
julie
Thank you for the reminder of EPH 3:20
Oh Beth! That is beautiful news! I will be praying for Curtis, Amanda, and all of you as you begin this new endeavor for Jesus. I’m sure it will be a place of healing, teaching, and love. Holding you all in my prayers!
Jen 🙂
You made me cry! 6 years ago my family left a church we loved deeply to plant a church. It’s been an exhilarating walk of faith like nothing I’ve experienced before. Praying God will use BCF to change the city of Houston!
What a blessing to your daughter and son-in-law! You inspire me as a woman of God and student of His Word, but I think you inspire me more as a mom than anything! Thanks for that! My kids think they want to be church-planters when they grow up, so maybe the Lord will give me opportunity to bless them as you are blessing Curtis and Amanda.
To God be the glory!
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Oh Miss Beth, I did both! Your letter made me cry! Your joy made me laugh. All in one post!?!
GREAT DAYS are ahead for you and yours! Bless God!
Siesta Mama – I’ll be your friend!
I was so thoroughly touched by your words of farewell and indepth love. One thing GOD shows me thru you is it is not wrong to love full out. I am thankful.
I am so thrilled and wishing I lived in Houston!
I love JESUS so much, HE makes my heart happy.
I had prayed the other day for a breakthru of HIS presence, that I would have a stirring, a desire. Well let me tell you, HE poured out HIS Spirit and gave me such a strong desire for HIS WORD. I love Jesus, but I would read what I had to read in studies. Now, I read it in the mornings, chapters at a time. Take it to work, I miss it. More importantly, HE gave me a desire for HIS PRESENCE. Beth, its ruined me!
I’ve just fallen in love with HIM. I wanted you to know.
Siesta OC, I love your comment, “its ruined me!” I know the feeling! When we fall in love with Him it really does ruin us…What a way to go!
I know, right! I am falling and praying for falling deeper still!
Dear Beth,
This post reminded me of a book I read recently call” The Tree Spirited Woman” by Colleen Baldrica. It is a very short book about letting go and trusting God. I felt your sadness in leaving your beloved Church but felt the excitement more for your new adventure God has planned for you! I will be praying for you! At least you will still be in the same city! You could pop in and surprise them anytime!! But how exciting to be the “Pastor’s wife’s Mama!” And the Pastor’s Mother in law!!!! Wow! God has something big planned for Bayou City Fellowship! 🙂
hey colette,
just wanted to let you know that i’ve been thinking about you and praying for anthony.
have an awesome week!
love,
julie
Hi Julie!
I was trying to leave you a message on your new blog this morning but I don’t know what I am doing! But thanks for praying for Anthony! I have been thinking about you too and praying for your son! Loved seeing your pics and now I know who I am praying for! 🙂
I will try again soon to leave a comment! I have to tell you that things are going much better with my son! So thankful to God for that! How about your son?
Thanks again for praying but please don’t stop just yet! You have a great week too!
Love,
Colette
hey colette,
you were successful.:) your comment came through on my blog. thank you so much for visiting.
it is such wonderful news to hear that things are going well with anthony! how awesome is our God!!!
my son continues to struggle with extreme defiance. but the LORD is lighting our path one step at a time with a plan. so i am encouraged. i so appreciate your continued prayer!
love,
julie
Godspeed, my friend. To Him be the glory.
I’ll be praying!!
THIS brought tears to my eyes. Praying for the new fledgling church and your transition.
WOW!! I so wish that I lived in Houston…to be a part of such a wonderful endeavor – a new church!!!! What a blessing God has given to all of you. I will be praying for all of you.
I thought you might join Amanda and Curtis. I am excited to pray for this!
Please let us know if there is online giving for the new church.
I don’t know how BCF is set up yet for donations, but here is the website: http://bayoucityfellowship.com/
Oh sweet Moore’s/Jones’/Fitzpatrick’s,
Isn’t it great how God gives us such moments of blessing, and dare I say clarity, that are streaked with so much bittersweetness? I marvel at how much He truly loves, He blesses us with just enough sorrow at leaving behind to be TRULY GRATEFUL for every moment that has shaped us, but He blesses us with an equal part of excitement and joy to move forward, lest we miss His calling. So overjoyed for this next chapter for all of you…praying for God’s hand upon Bayou City Fellowship and for each of you to find true love and fellowship amongst this new community! I love it!
In Him,
Andrea
Beth,
I was anticipating a post like this. Almost 16 years ago my husband and I planted a church and I know we could not have done it without the love and support of my parents. (Well, yes, of course we could have if the Lord was in it but I want to emphasize their involvement!) I know you all will be blessed beyond measure and I can’t wait to hear testimonies of God’s provision. Yes, being a pastor and pastor’s wife to one’s own kin is hard at times but the benefits are wonderful. Through the years we have had quite a bit of family come through our church (some have moved away and they are sorely missed) so I understand your situation. Lots of prayer and lots of laughter to come, I’m sure! The Lord is faithful as you well know and I pray He continues to knit the hearts of your fellow church members together in Him. Exciting times!!!
Much love and prayers,
Kristen in TN
Oh Beth,
Following you on twitter, so I knew a HUGH new change was taking place. This am on my way into work I was praying verbally in the car for this new thing the Lord has put into your hands. Cried my way through your letter and then had a great LOL belly laugh at the last line. I love you sister and treasure what you have done in my life through your teaching, and the many LPL events I have been blessed to attend. I am so excited about where the Moores, Jones and Fitz’s are headed. No better place to serve HIM. May the Lord bless and anoint the hands and feet of his servants and bless the doorway of Bayou City Fellowship.
Until HE shouts,
Celeste
How wonderfully, sweetly …. wonderful! Your daughter is your pastor’s wife! I will keep this short, but as I was reading the early part of your letter it hit me that YOU are that person that you talk about; to me and I am sure to thousands of other women. I was a pretty new Christian when I started participating in your studies and I wanted what you have….true, uncompromising love for God. God has used you mightily to change my life, to rock my world and bring me closer to Him. Thank you for being so obedient! I look forward to all the wonderful things you will be sharing on this next journey. I pray special protection over your family and your new church. God bless you, each and every one.
Wow Beth! To watch the seed planted, watered, prayed over, and watched over come to fruition in your daughter must be so delightful! No wonder you throw your head back and laugh!
How difficult it must have been to say farewell to the place you have called your church home for so many years. I wonder how your vehicle will respond on Sunday when you go to pull out of your driveway and head a different direction. My hubby’s vehicle is in the shop. I have had to take him to work. His work is the same direction that my daughter’s school is. Do you know how many times he has almost ended up going to my daughter’s school? We tend to be creatures of habit! Just sayin’.
I’ll be praying Beth during this transition time for all of you. God Bless BCF. God Bless HFBC for letting you go with Grace and Blessings.
Kels