A Leap of Faith

After I was fired from my college town church, I was deeply depressed and well…lost. I began questioning many things including if I wanted to work in a church again. That being said I immediately started trying to get back into the world of youth ministry. I called a friend who helped churches and perspective youth directors find each other…he had me complete an interview with them to put me in their database and recommended a few churches for me to apply to. At the time, I was doubting everything about myself, but I chose to have faith in the calling I felt God had created me for. I started filling out applications and sending my resume out…again.

I wanted to be careful this time. I didn’t just want to go to a church that showed interest in me, I wanted to go to a church that I felt confident in. I wanted to go to a church that believed in me and would show that they wanted me to succeed.

Every time I ever started a job search in youth ministry, I sent applications to churches all over the country…I just always ended up accepting jobs in my home state. This time was no different. I sent applications to every church my friend recommended. Some were in my home state, but some were elsewhere too…including a midwestern state that I otherwise never would have thought to move to. Low and behold…they reached out and asked for a phone interview.

This was common…if you have a pulse and say you’re willing to be a youth director a lot of churches will at least talk to you. This midwestern church was one of quite a few phone interviews I did during that time. I would try to be a mixture of authentically myself…while also doing what I could to put myself in the best light possible. It’s a hard balance to hit…no different than a lot of interviews in other careers I’m sure…but church’s have a way of making things feel more…personal. This is both good and bad but it comes with the territory.

I thought the interview went well…but lots of my phone interviews had gone well in my mind but didn’t result in anything further. This one did. While I was at a sports bar watching an FSU bowl game…I got a call from the pastor of that midwestern church. He was inviting me to come out for an in person visit and interview at their church…thousands of miles from where I was currently living.

At this point, I had to take the consideration of this job seriously. Was I willing to move that far away from home for a youth ministry job? The honest answer was a quick yes. I had decided when I committed to this career that I’d be willing to do something like this. After experiencing what I most recently had in church ministry…I was also happy to consider a far-off adventure. I had only been invited to visit a church in person like this twice before...and both times I ended up getting offered the position. I was confident that if things went to plan this would be no different…so I went out there with an open heart and mind, but also with a determination to truly find out if this church was a good fit.

I went out there and it was cold with lots of snow. A welcomed change after 30 years of the opposite. The staff all seemed friendly and eager to welcome a new perspective to the team. The search committee that would interview me had an adult leader of the youth ministry, a couple church members, 2 youth who were about to graduate, and the senior pastor. I was asked to give the message for their Wednesday night service in front of many youth and I thought that went well. Immediately after the service my interview started. It was, for lack of a better word…intense. The pastor specifically would ask open ended questions but would clearly be looking for a specific answer…and he wouldn’t stop prying until he heard it. It was a little off-putting but not overly jarring. I ended up being thankful for that approach because I eventually decided to put all facades aside and be as authentically myself as possible. I found myself connecting well with nearly everyone in the room...especially the church members and the youth.

The next day we were supposed to fly out in the afternoon, but that flight got canceled due to weather. The church staff dropped literally everything to help me get out that day. They found a flight that would still get me home that night…but it departed an airport that was 3 hours away…and to make it in time I would have to leave immediately. The worship leader of the church dropped all his plans for the rest of the day and drove me to that airport. It led to some great conversation that made me feel at ease about the prospect of moving out there. When he dropped me off, he said, “Well I’m pretty sure we’ll see you again soon!” He was right. About a week after I returned home the senior pastor called to offer me the position. I would be paid better than I had before. I would also be given the chance to get additional youth ministry training that the church would pay for. He understood how big a decision this was and gave me time to make that decision. He talked to me multiple times in between…answered my questions…it made the decision easier. After talking it over with my family…I accepted the position and got ready to make the biggest move of my life.

That move would be made easier by a huge gesture. My family and I packed all our stuff into a big moving truck…then the senior pastor and the head of the hiring committee flew out to us to drive said truck back to my new home...a nearly 24 hour drive that they pulled off with zero stops!! It was incredibly humbling. More so than that…it was incredibly reassuring. This church seemed poised to not just believe in me, but to embrace me. I felt I had shown them more of myself than any church before…and this was how far they were willing to go to bring me into their community. It was not a perfect situation…but I was far from perfect myself. I was more confident than ever that I would not get hurt by this church like I had been before. I still don’t understand how it went from that point to where it ended. I SO wish I had been right.