Please bear with me as I share my heart. Believe me, I have tried to make it as brief as possible.
Let me first begin by telling you how much I appreciate all that you do to serve the Lord at South Hill Calvary Chapel. As I walked into the worship meeting last night, with some 20 to 25 people worshipping the Lord in preparation for the meeting, I couldn’t help but think of our humble beginnings when the worship team was me and then John Lane and Kathryn Stutz and me. As I looked around the room, I thought to myself, *“Lord, you are so good!”*
As we all know the Lord has been doing some pretty amazing things in our church of late; Saturday ‘Veritas’ service, ministry on Sundays and Wednesdays growing, people getting ministered to, leader’s being raised up…and I could go on and on. In short, the Lord has given us a most wonderful opportunity, drawing us together from all walks of life, to participate in a work that He is doing here at SHCC. By His mercy and grace, we have managed to stay out of His way, take steps of faith, and trust Him…recognizing that it is His church. As a result, we have been
blessed with a greater understanding of who our God is and what He is capable of doing in the midst of people whose hearts are loyal to Him. To God be the glory! I don’t think we have even begun to see all that is to come. We can always expect to be blown away as we keep our eyes upon Jesus.
Having said all of that I want to share with you (before sharing with the church this Sunday) that effective Sunday, March 28th, Pastor Alan will be taking over his new role as Children’s Ministry Director and Pastor. He will continue to be involved with pastoral care ministry as well as some administrative duties within the office, but his primary responsibility and focus will be the Children’s Ministry. Four and a half years ago, we found ourselves in the position of desperately
needing a Children’s Ministry Director. Many volunteers came and served faithfully but there was never one particular person, with the time and sense of calling who felt they could dedicate the time it would take to build a solid Children’s Ministry. I prayed and cried out to the Lord for answers and suddenly, the Lord spoke to my heart and directed my thoughts towards Phil Spagnolo, who was heading up the Jr. High Ministry at the time. Needless to say, within a short period of time, Phil accepted the opportunity as God’s will, and we have the hallmark Children’s Ministry we have today.
Pastor Phil, has been with the church from the very beginning (October 2001). Shortly after the church started, he started our first Jr. High Ministry and served in that capacity for approximately three and a half years. During that time, he has served in various forms of leadership to include serving as an elder and since July of 2008 as an assistant pastor of the church. I must admit, I had no idea the talent and professional skills that he would bring to the table in a full time position. I knew that he loved Jesus with all his heart, mind, soul and strength (which is of utmost importance), but I underestimated the additional things he would bring when he came on staff full time.
Over the last two years, I have grown to depend on Phil in a number of ways which most of the church is not even aware of. You know that he is a mild mannered man, but behind the scenes, he can get more done than most people I know. Consequently, he has been able to work at directing teams of others to bring us technically along to where we are today (website, audio and now video sermons and capabilities, computer networking within the office…oh and we mustn’t forget…GOOGLE). He is an integral part of the daily management and operation of the church. He not only serves as a pastor, but as an invaluable member of the elder board as well, giving wise and Godly council beyond that of a man of his years.
As a result of the church growth, along with where I am convinced the Lord is taking us in the new year, the needs for the daily management and overall operations of the church have increased to the point that I am no longer able to handle it in the previous manner in which I have been. As I shared with you on Vision Sunday, I am sensing an urgency, more than ever, to dedicate 100% of my time to the teaching, discipling, and pastoral care of the flock and leadership of our church. As I have sought the Lord in this matter, He has made it clear, that He has placed many people in our church, who are more than capable of moving the church forward, with limited input from me. I must trust Him, in the lives of the people He has put under me.
This is very exciting! It is something I have been praying for, for many years. Clearly, God has raised up a cadre of people who are crazy about Jesus and can’t wait to be used effectively for the advancement of the kingdom. The growth and hunger for the Lord I am seeing in the lives of the people in our church is contagious, and I know God’s word to be true (2 Chronicles 16:9) so He is and is going to continue showing Himself strong. In one of our men’s bible studies, we recently studied 1 Corinthians 12, in which Paul describes the body of Christ and how it is to work together. We are the arms and legs and mouth and eyes, etc., of God and I have had the blessed opportunity to watch each of you, fall in love with Jesus, and declare to the Lord as did the prophet Isaiah, *“Here am I! Send me.”* The time has arrived for the sending!
On the Church Leadership retreat this year, we began to talk about needing a Children’s Ministry director, sooner rather than later, in light of the Phil’s growing responsibilities. We knew that we were not in a financial position to add another part time or full time staff member, and so we decided to simply pray and let the Lord direct accordingly.
Needless to say, the week following Vision Sunday, the Lord began to move, and as often is the case, much faster than any of us were prepared for. The Lord began to speak to my heart and this thought came to me, *“What if our Children’s Ministry director is right underneath our noses?”* Before I knew it, in a separate unrelated meeting in Pastor Phil’s office, I said, *“What about Alan?”* I don’t know who was more shocked by what I said, but before we knew it, within six days, we had talked with Pastor Alan, I met with Alan and Melissa, we talked to the rest of the staff, and we presented it to the elders on Tuesday night.
Last night, Pastor Phil, Pastor Alan, and I, met with the Children’s Ministry Team (Gerrit Foster, Tammy Wilson, Tracy Nones and Jillian Strayer). They were yet another confirmation that the Lord is in this. They, along with Pastor Alan are excited about all of the possibilities and the future of the Children’s Ministry as a result of the upcoming change in leadership. If any of you were at VBS this past year, you had the opportunity to listen to Pastor Alan teach, you saw the passion he has for the Lord, and his love and care for His precious little lambs. Just
watching his interaction with his own children, and the children of our church brings the assurance to me that he is more than capable of taking the Children’s Ministry to new heights.
So, there you have it! Don’t you love watching the Lord work? I am amazed at how we can worry about things and then when we bring them to Him, we find that He was *never* worried about them and in fact already had things in motion to alleviate all concerns. When we discover His moving, it is exhilarating. I never get tired of watching it and being a part of it.
Please pray for this transition. I am confident, that the stage is being set for Pastor Alan to take the Children’s Ministry…along with the faithful team of volunteers to the next level…that is until the Lord does something different.
In the excitement of things, we mustn’t forget that there is an enemy who hates all that is going on and will do everything he can to stink up God’s plan (Ephesians 6:12). Fortunately, we know where the victory lies. We know that attacks will come, we know from where they will come, and that they will be intense. However, we also know, that Satan has no new tricks and is no match for our Lord! If we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, the author and *finisher* of our faith, *“No hay problema!” *(not a problem).
Two weeks ago, none of us knew this was coming… BUT GOD…He knew, and He is in control of every step. Let us stay wholly submitted to Him in *every*area of our lives, and let us expect His mighty working to continue. Does it get any better than this? NO WAY…I am having the time of my life! I love serving alongside each of you and appreciate you all so very much! Don’t
hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
In His love,
Ron Sanchez
Pastor
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