As many of you know, Gabe graduated from seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and was accepted into the Fellowship program at Christ Community Church. This two year program is an intensive mentorship, hands-on ministry opportunity (much like a doctor's residency) that allows you to determine where you see yourself in full time ministry while gaining practical wisdom and guidance from seasoned pastors. Christ Community consisted of three campuses: Leawood, Olathe and Downtown.
We moved to Kansas City last May and knew we wanted to help out at the downtown campus, since urban ministry is where we saw ourselves long term. We knew that by being a part of that community, we'd get a good idea of what urban ministry was like, as well as seeing the ins and outs of starting a new campus. We even moved to the outskirts of downtown, even though the main campus, where Gabe would spend most of his time, was about a half hour away from our apartment. We both love the city, and we really fell in love with Kansas City almost immediately.Since May, we enjoyed getting to know people at Christ Community and began feeling that it was our church home. We also loved experiencing downtown KC and found it's really a very vibrant city! Knowing that our time would be up in two years was something we knew would be hard since we felt that everything about being here just clicked.
As you know, the Christmas season was heartbreaking for us with losing Judah, but we felt our family, friends, church family and neighbors come around us in such an amazing way. We had a memorial for Judah at the beginning of January, which Christ Community beautifully coordinated for us, and it was a great way to bring a sense of closure to everything that happened. We still are saddened when we think of Judah, and there are days we truly miss him, but God has given us such tremendous peace and hope.
In the middle of January, Gabe came home and told me that Bill, the downtown campus pastor, felt God moving him to be a part of the newest church campus of Christ Community which is located in an area called Brookside. I was excited for Bill and Rachel in this new opportunity for them, but asked Gabe what would happen with the downtown campus. He then told me that he had been offered the position of the downtown campus pastor, and I broke into tears. We were both so excited because we loved being a part of the downtown campus for the past eight months and knew that, ultimately, we felt God calling us to be a part of urban ministry; this seemed to be a perfect fit!
We prayed about this decision over the weekend to be sure we weren't going off our emotions, and that we also had time to think through all that being a part of a church plant entailed. We knew it would be a lot of work, but we also saw how God had worked in our hearts and mapped our steps to be a part of the downtown campus long before we knew what would happen.
As we started realizing what this meant, we were thrilled to know that we wouldn't be moving after two years and will be in Kansas City indefinitely... as long as God has us here! It meant we could continue to build relationships with everyone at the downtown campus and really focus in on that community... which we love. It also meant I wouldn't have to change doctors, which was a huge relief since these doctors know us and my situation, and the hospital specializes in high risk pregnancies. We continue to see the amazing ways God has planned out even the smallest details in this change in our lives, and we feel so humbled at His love and how He wants to use us here.
In February, we attended a church planting pastors retreat and also a church planters assessment weekend. These were great tools in helping us understand more about church planting and getting to know our strengths and areas of growth. We know we have a lot to learn, but we are excited to see what God has in store for the downtown campus!
Currently, we're in search for a building for the campus since we've been meeting in an apartment building community room. There are some really awesome options available in downtown's Crossroads District, which is also considered the art district. We're excited to see how God works in the space's location and how we can have a positive impact in that community.
Well, this is a long post but we just wanted to let you know what's been going on and about Gabe's new position as downtown campus pastor. We'd love your continued prayers for our future and ask that you join us in praying for the downtown campus, a space where we can meet, and for downtown KC.
The verse that keeps coming to mind is Psalm 126:3 "The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!"
Love,
The Coyles
