A lot can change in four years. Two weeks ago, my youngest child turned four.
She was the child that the doctors said would not make it. God had other plans. After a near miscarriage and hard pregnancy, She was born a month early with no complications and excellent health.
Four years has brought me to a new position two states away, in a different timezone. Four years has also placed me in a entirely different church environment, after a rough end to the previous situation. It has brought blessings and challenges I never saw possible.
In four years, I have went from an area with many full-time youth workers in my denomination (SBC), to where I am the only full-time youth worker in my denomination in at least five counties (this area even includes a city of 80,000).
In four years, I have met people and formed relationships that I greatly value. Fellow youth workers that encourage and challenge me to make great gains for the Kingdom of Christ, not the kingdom of me…
Four years ago, my wife and I were talking about whether to homeschool our children. We decided yes, and while there have been challenges, It has been an awesome experience.
Four years ago, if you said I was about to take on writing a book on Rural Youth Ministry, I would have thought you were crazy. But, I did, and it was a great experience that God continues to use. If you told me four years ago, all I was about to experience, I would not believe you. It has been a wild ride. I am trusting God for what the next four years holds.