We are in Pittsburgh!
I am writing to friends in California, Reno, Virginia, Atlanta. Some of you getting this know that we have moved to Pittsburgh, some of you getting this might be hearing this for the first time.
What happened?
As most of you know or were a part of, we went out to Reno in 2007 for the purposes of starting a church.
We had an exciting process leading up to the launch in the Fall of 2008. We launched with 117 people and in the course of 4 months saw 37 decisions for Christ. It was one of the most amazing experiences of our life.
That being said, we experienced some huge setbacks. There was this thing called the economy that took it’s toll on Reno. We were renting a movie theater downtown to reach into the area. It was a great location, but expensive. What we soon discovered was that the congregation we were attracting was very needy. In fact over 50% of the group was homeless, and that percentage grew week after week. We were torn. We were seeing great things happen in people’s lives, and yet we were seeing our funds disappear quickly.
Then tragedy struck on the personal side. While in Reno, I was working for my father-in-law. His business suffered an unexpected economic set back in November. We basically watched the business shut down in front of us. I soon found myself unemployed. Not a good place to be with our large family.
What followed was a series of crushing events that brought us to one of the darkest places in our life. Through November and December we searched for income solutions and employment to no avail. The economy affected every part of our life. Reno has struggled more than most cities. 20% of all commercial property in the city of Reno is vacant. Economists in Nevada think it will be 3 to 4 years before Reno will see true recovery. Needless to say there was no one hiring. We also saw our own denomination struggling financially, so while they were as helpful as they could possibly be, it was not sustainable.
January was a very hard time. In January, we decided to stop meeting at the theater. This was coupled by moving out of our house into a 3 bedroom apartment, selling much of our belongings in the process.
Words cannot express the pain and frustration that we experienced in February. Watching our dreams and vision go away coupled with personal financial hardship was extremely difficult.
February and March were some of the lowest points I have ever experienced. I have read much about people experiencing the “dark night of the soul” or the “desert season.” Feeling like God has completely disappeared. That is where we were. It affected our emotions, relationships, our marriage was stressed, the kids felt insecure. It was pretty bad.
I had no idea that he was preparing us for something new.
After we stopped meeting in the theater, I entered into a process where I began sending out resumes. Resumes went out to everything I could find in Reno and everything across the country. That was simply our prayer. “God if you want us to stay in Reno, open a door. We will stay here or go anywhere.” That is a crazy prayer to pray. We kept meeting with people downtown, tried to stay connected to other downtown works and opportunities. We looked for every possible scenario that would keep us in Reno.
I was soon contacted by a church in Pittsburgh. When I first heard Pittsburgh…I mean, Pittsburgh? I could have picked 100 cities before Pittsburgh. This church called Crossroads wanted me to help them move along their multi-site model. They had begun a work in urban Pittsburgh, but needed someone to bring it to the next level. They saw my resume, background, and asked if I could bring what I was doing in Reno to Pittsburgh.
After a series of conversations, where I gave them every reason to look elsewhere, they kept coming back to me. They invited us out in April for a week long interview assessment process. Making a long story short, we felt like this was the place for us.
The process of making the transition came very quickly. Much of May has been spent packing up and moving out. I came out the second week of May, and have gotten right to work. Shawna and the kids spent a few weeks visiting friends and family in California.
We are still in transition, but everything looks pretty good right now. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to what God has in store.
The last few weeks have been rejuvenating and refreshing, and I am feeling like my old self again. One of my goals is to spend time reconnecting.
Thank you for your continued prayers and love.
David
I am writing to friends in California, Reno, Virginia, Atlanta. Some of you getting this know that we have moved to Pittsburgh, some of you getting this might be hearing this for the first time.
What happened?
As most of you know or were a part of, we went out to Reno in 2007 for the purposes of starting a church.
We had an exciting process leading up to the launch in the Fall of 2008. We launched with 117 people and in the course of 4 months saw 37 decisions for Christ. It was one of the most amazing experiences of our life.
That being said, we experienced some huge setbacks. There was this thing called the economy that took it’s toll on Reno. We were renting a movie theater downtown to reach into the area. It was a great location, but expensive. What we soon discovered was that the congregation we were attracting was very needy. In fact over 50% of the group was homeless, and that percentage grew week after week. We were torn. We were seeing great things happen in people’s lives, and yet we were seeing our funds disappear quickly.
Then tragedy struck on the personal side. While in Reno, I was working for my father-in-law. His business suffered an unexpected economic set back in November. We basically watched the business shut down in front of us. I soon found myself unemployed. Not a good place to be with our large family.
What followed was a series of crushing events that brought us to one of the darkest places in our life. Through November and December we searched for income solutions and employment to no avail. The economy affected every part of our life. Reno has struggled more than most cities. 20% of all commercial property in the city of Reno is vacant. Economists in Nevada think it will be 3 to 4 years before Reno will see true recovery. Needless to say there was no one hiring. We also saw our own denomination struggling financially, so while they were as helpful as they could possibly be, it was not sustainable.
January was a very hard time. In January, we decided to stop meeting at the theater. This was coupled by moving out of our house into a 3 bedroom apartment, selling much of our belongings in the process.
Words cannot express the pain and frustration that we experienced in February. Watching our dreams and vision go away coupled with personal financial hardship was extremely difficult.
February and March were some of the lowest points I have ever experienced. I have read much about people experiencing the “dark night of the soul” or the “desert season.” Feeling like God has completely disappeared. That is where we were. It affected our emotions, relationships, our marriage was stressed, the kids felt insecure. It was pretty bad.
I had no idea that he was preparing us for something new.
After we stopped meeting in the theater, I entered into a process where I began sending out resumes. Resumes went out to everything I could find in Reno and everything across the country. That was simply our prayer. “God if you want us to stay in Reno, open a door. We will stay here or go anywhere.” That is a crazy prayer to pray. We kept meeting with people downtown, tried to stay connected to other downtown works and opportunities. We looked for every possible scenario that would keep us in Reno.
I was soon contacted by a church in Pittsburgh. When I first heard Pittsburgh…I mean, Pittsburgh? I could have picked 100 cities before Pittsburgh. This church called Crossroads wanted me to help them move along their multi-site model. They had begun a work in urban Pittsburgh, but needed someone to bring it to the next level. They saw my resume, background, and asked if I could bring what I was doing in Reno to Pittsburgh.
After a series of conversations, where I gave them every reason to look elsewhere, they kept coming back to me. They invited us out in April for a week long interview assessment process. Making a long story short, we felt like this was the place for us.
The process of making the transition came very quickly. Much of May has been spent packing up and moving out. I came out the second week of May, and have gotten right to work. Shawna and the kids spent a few weeks visiting friends and family in California.
We are still in transition, but everything looks pretty good right now. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to what God has in store.
The last few weeks have been rejuvenating and refreshing, and I am feeling like my old self again. One of my goals is to spend time reconnecting.
Thank you for your continued prayers and love.
David
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