You're probably wondering why this blog hasn't been updated in almost a year and I apologize for the delay. In all honesty, nothing really had happened for several months and so I had nothing to update you on in regards to our journey in church planting, until NOW!
God has been doing some incredible things in our lives in the past two months and I'm here to share it with you. At the end of June, Josh ran into one of his friends/mentors, Matt Wilmington. Matt is an executive pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church, the church that started Liberty University. The two talked and Matt asked Josh if he wanted to interview to be the new campus pastor with TRBC as they start a new campus in Roanoke, VA. Since God had stopped us from going to PA to plant a church, we decided to pursue this option and see where it would go. Well in about 3 weeks time, Josh was offered the position and he accepted! So as of August 1st, we became church planters with TRBC! This campus is a result of a former church, Airlee Court Baptist, turning over its property to TRBC for them to revitalize the church and bring in a younger crowd. The church currently has about 30 attendees whose average age range is 75-80. We have our work cut out for us but the surrounding community is in desperate need for a vibrant church that reaches the lost and hurting. For more information on this church re-launch, you can read this article published in the Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/283879. The name of the church will be changing and the sanctuary will be getting a face-lift among other things. We are excited to start getting in to the community and reaching the people of Roanoke!
This new position also means that we will be moving to Roanoke, VA as soon as we can find a place to live! We are both excited to move to a more diverse culture with a bigger city feel. Roanoke, VA is a beautiful and diverse city with lots of art, culture, and community events. Roanoke is known as the Star City and it really does shine like a star!!
Here's a picture of the new Taubam Museum of Art.
When we received the call to go to Roanoke and start this new campus, I had every intention of continuing to work at Liberty University. I loved working with international students and enjoyed what I did. The hour commute everyday would have been tough but I told myself I would be fine. But God had other plans! I have always wanted to teach. I have a Bachelor's degree in Elementary education and a Master of Education, but I wasn't having much success landing a teaching job. The bad economy, teachers not retiring and budget issues have decreased the number of teaching positions available making it challenging for me. I have lots of education and no practical experience. I began to think all hope had been lost until last week. I received a call from Roanoke City Public Schools offering me a 5th grade teaching position at Roundhill Elementary School for the 11-12 school year! I couldn't believe it! I was completely in awe of how God had provided for us! The school is in the same community as the church and Josh and I will now work 5 minutes from each other! The school district had 300 applications and only 20 positions to fill!! God truly opened up the doors and allowed me an opportunity to finally teach!
I put in my two weeks at work and my last day at Liberty will be Aug. 17th. I start new teacher orientation the next day! Life is going to kick up a few notches over the next few months but we're ready! We've been asking God to show us where He wants us to be for a year now and God has finally revealed it to us! The peace we have experienced through this process is unbelievable which helps us know that we are exactly where God wants us to be. Please keep us in your prayers as we begin this next journey! This blog will be our way of documenting all that God is doing, so I'll hopefully do a better job of updating it. I look forward to sharing with you in this incredible adventure!
~Nicole~
