Dear Church Family,  

Cathy and I are so grateful for God’s grace in our lives, and one of the ways he has shown us that grace over and over has been you all. We’ve been able to be as open as we can be about my desires to be a lead pastor and the transition those desires have led to, and you have consistently responded with love, kindness, prayer, and understanding. We’ve come to another step in that process, which is that I think that it is wisest for me to step away from my staff and elder roles here at GCV by the end of October. It has been a challenge for me to juggle both the practical side of pursuing other ministries as well as dealing with the desires to be in a different role while also working hard to do my pastoral and staff work here. You all and the elders have been wonderfully supportive, and as we considered what was best for Grace Church as well as for us we concluded that now was a good time to step away. We’ve handed off many ministry responsibilities already, and will be able to finish those handoffs throughout October. 

God has also provided multiple ministry potentials for us to pursue right now, and we think he might provide clear direction for our next ministry in the coming months. We would welcome the chance to refocus, recharge, and really be able to devote ourselves to considering these ministry opportunities he has in front of us. Once he does make our next steps clear, we would love to be primed and ready to jump into that role full speed. 

Would you join us in praying for God’s clear direction? We are eager to find out what God has for us next, even though we are sad at the same time at the thought of no longer being here at GCV. We love you and thank God for you, and fail to have the words to express how much you all mean to us. This is not a goodbye at this point, just another step that direction, and we’ll happily be members of GCV until God moves us to our next ministry. We’re still here and still eager to hang out with you, answer any questions you have, and serve together until God moves us. We love you all and bless God for you.

In Christ,

Pastor David