10 years

well, I did it.
I made it 10 years as the middle school pastor at my church.
I've been looking forward to this milestone for a long time. when I first got to the church in 2001, I had heard a stat that most youth pastors only last about 18 months- so for me, a decade is pretty cool.

the day came and went without any big deal, which was fine for me. we had saturday night service that night, and most of the students were focused on the fact that it was my birthday (and that I had brought a pinata full of candy).

I don't think I would ever draw attention to this milestone in public; but for you, my gracious blog readers, I'll share what I might say if I was asked to talk about this in some sort of public setting-
it would go something like this:

"first I want to thank this church for believing in me and for trusting me with their students. thank you for hiring me, for investing in me, and for having hope that I could make a difference. thank you for giving me my dream job- I absolutely love working here.

thank you to every parent who trusted their student with me and my team over the last 10 years. thank you for your wisdom, your support and your grace. being a voice in the life of your student has been an incredible honor and a privilege for me.

thank you to every volunteer that has ever served with me on the middle school team. thank you for using what God gave you to invest in the life of a young person. thank you for the countless hours that you have given to these students. thank you for your wisdom, your attitude, your joy and your patience. thank you for all that you have taught me.
thank you especially to niki sterling, who has faithfully served with me on this team, all 10 years that I have been here. she is a gift from God to this ministry.

thank you to judie christensen, my admin and partner in ministry for the entire 10 years that I've been here. your steadiness, organization, and care and concern for families has shaped the culture of the middle school ministry and the entire student ministry department. thank you for your friendship, your wisdom, your endurance and your enthusiasm. I'm so proud to be on a team with you.

thank you to my amazing wife deanna, for your love, support and wisdom all of these years. I love you and am so grateful for our life together.

most importantly, I thank God for the amazing privilege it is to serve Him vocationally and to represent Him to others. I thank Him for His grace in allowing a quiet farm kid from Modesto to be a leader in anything, let alone His Church.

finally, thank you to every student who has walked through the doors of the middle school ministry. you have brought so much joy into my life. working with you has been a dream and an adventure. I want to remind you that I love you, and that I'm so proud of you, and that I'm so excited about who you are and who you're becoming!"

its been a great run; and I feel like i'm just getting started. my passion for doing this work is greater than its ever been.

God is love.
-rev-rob