Christ Community Fellowship

These first couple of weeks have been intense, busy, exciting, and at points overwhelming. Upon arriving at Christ Community, I spent the first week in nearly non-stop meetings as I met with all the ministry leaders at the church and learned about policies, procedures, philosophies of ministry, etc. Following this week of orientation, I launched into a week of VBS here at the Leawood Campus. After completing VBS, the following week was spent in preparation to preach at the Leawood campus. So that is what the first three weeks have looked like so far. Let me give some highlights from those times.

The greatest highlight from the first week is a tie between a conversation with Tom Nelson, the senior pastor, about his vision for pastoral ministry and the time we as staff spent praying for the people in the congregation. Both of these times were extremely significant as glimpses into the heart of what being a pastor is really all about. Another highlight that first week was serving communion.

Highlights during the second week, the week of VBS at Leawood included sing and playing games with kids. However, it was teaching the Bible and sharing the gospel with my small group of 4th grade boys each day that week that brought me the most joy.

The highlight the third week was certainly having the opportunity to preach in both services at the Leawood Campus. My message prep was long and at times very difficult. I felt a lot of pressure to do really well since this was my first impression with most of the congregation. I spent a lot time in prayer and in study and in practicing the message too. Sunday went very well, and I have receive much affirmation and encouragement from the elders, staff, and congregants.

The biggest challenge so far has been learning to rest and manage my time. I'm growing in this but I'm still trying find a good rhythm here at Christ Community. Thankfully, the staff and other fellows have been very helpful in helping determine was is reasonable and expected in terms of hours and effort.

That's all for now. More soon.