A New Open Door for the Stallings Family

 Sometimes I wish God would give m a little more insight into what he was doing. My wife Janice and I are walking through a new open door.  We are excited and a bit nervous, because we can’t see very far down the hall. But here we go.

Photo courtesy Aaron Knox Creative Commons

At the end of 2011 Janice and I closed our church plant.  It was clearly not an easy decision, and we still do not understand after all the dreams and visions we still believe were from God, why our path lead to that conclusion.  We quickly transitioned to Associate Pastors at Life Church, a Foursquare church in Conyers GA.  They had a young pastor who had just taken on the role as Lead Pastor. Janice and I were to be his “token old pastors” until God showed us the next step. We dove right into our new roles serving and loving the people. Four months later he resigned and a new Lead Pastor was brought in from North Carolina. Janice and I continued to serve in the role as Associate Pastors; however, beginning in October of 2012 I begin to feel that God was leading us to step down.  I wrestled with this thought without even telling Janice until February of this year.  

After prayer, fasting, and seeking the advice of wise counsel, Janice and turned in our resignation about three weeks ago.  Our plan was (make note of the word was) for April 7^th to be our last day at Life Church. We would then take an eight plus week sabbatical to rest. After that we were wide open for whatever God had for us.  This seemed like a great plan to me……….

Then God Stirred Everything Up

The week after we resigned the current Senior Pastor made the decision that he would also resign.  His wife’s parents back in North Carolina are both battling serious health issues. So they will be heading back to North Carolina to take care of their family.

Here is a beautiful church, that has gone through two Senior Pastor changes in just over two years.  A third could be tragic.  A couple of options were soon placed on the table, neither of which Janice and I felt would be healthy for the church.  But I was determined for Janice and me to move on. I had to stick to the plan.  The weekend of March 14^th I headed off to the Foursquare South East District Men’s Retreat in Myrtle Beach.  What I hoped to be a relaxing weekend in the Word and making new friends began a new battle in my mind. But God is faithful and he showed up. Friday night I clearly heard him speak, “Don’t be afraid to say yes.”  OK I got that, but what was the question? I got home Saturday afternoon and after a long discussion and prayer, Janice and I decided to submit a proposal where we would take on the role as Co-Pastors of Life Church.  We already had a strong relationship with the people, and we would be able to make it a smooth transition. I think that our resignation was still from God. I believe we had to be willing to lay the ministry down and walk away.

The Answer

 We received the call on Tuesday from our District leadership that they would be appointing us as Co-Pastors of Life Church and Janice will be serving as Lead.  We are still a team, but now is her time to lead. God has great things in store for Life Church. Conyers Georgia and the surrounding area will never be the same.

We will be taking the next two weeks off from ministry. We will return on the 21st for Pastor Frankie’s last Sunday. On April 28^th we will hit the ground running as we walk run through the open door. Now if I can just get God to turn the light on at the end of the hall.  Prayers are always appreciated.

Your voice is important; I would love to hear from you.

What doors have you walked through by faith?

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About the Author: Jon Stallings

I am enthusiastic about helping others discover their purpose and grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus. It is great to see their eyes light up at their “Ah Ha!” moment when they discover they were created for something more. My hope is that this blog will help encourage and inspire you along your way. Join the conversation and take the time to share with me your own story. I have been married to my beautiful wife Janice for over 30 years. We currently live in McDonough Georgia with our daughter. Our two boys have left the nest and we have two wonderful grand kids. Of course we cannot forget about our dog Bear.