Greetings from Colorado!
Abe and I are in Colorado Springs, and I’m preaching for the Lighthouse Baptist Church, a thriving church with many connections. Pastor Nate Scholz and I were in Bible college together, and Garrett McNew is the youth pastor that I have known since he was in high school. Bro. Garrett’s wife Jamie visited here with the Assurance Trio about a decade ago, and Bro. Garrett’s dad, Donovan, worked at the great Silverstate Baptist Youth Camp along with my sister, way back in the 1900s. We took a family trip to see the camp one summer, and met many wonderful people who are still faithfully serving today.
On top of those connections, Tucker and Chelsea Braun, who are from here, moved to Colorado Springs several years ago to become owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A that opened up there. Thinking it might be a temporary stay, they love it so much, they are planting their roots and hope to stay.
I am always thankful for the opportunity to preach in other places, but I miss being home. I recently asked several pastors how they balance invitations to preach out, and their responses followed a few themes:
1. Limits. Most limit to 4–6 Sundays per year, not counting vacation or church trips (e.g. Israel).
2. Give-and-take. If we expect to have pastors come speak for us, we should be willing to do the same for others.
3. Development. Every pastor is an “interim” pastor. Like a missionary, he should not be building a ministry around his presence, but his absence.
4. Varied voices. I love that you can hear from many different voices in the pulpit. That variety is healthy, and trains us to be tied to the Word, not the preacher.
So, please pray for the extension of our ministry as I am in Colorado. Pray that God will help the teens of Colorado to have pure marriages one day as they remember the truths from the Saturday youth rally. Pray for the church in Colorado as we open God’s Holy Bible and I share some of the powerful truths we’ve been learning here from 1 Samuel. Please pray.
I love you and miss you, church. If the Lord wills, we’ll see you on Wednesday!
-Pastor Ryan