My Resignation Letter from FBC Beaumont

Dear Church family,

About a month ago, I received an e-mail from a group of Christians in Eastern North Carolina. They wrote to tell me of their desire to plant a church in an area where many churches have gone the way of the world. They had listened to several of my sermons and resonated with my passion to glorify the name of Christ. They humbly asked if I would consider coming to be their pastor.

It is no secret that God has called me to pastor. I knew that eventually God was going to give me a church to shepherd and care for. I never expected that it would be a new church plant. However, God’s ways are higher than ours and His plan is perfect.

So, I am standing here today to tell you that Jeanna and I have accepted the call to pastor Christ Baptist Church of Wilson, North Carolina. Wilson is about 40 miles east of Raleigh and is a growing area. Christ Baptist Church will be mentored by a large church in Raleigh and will (God Willing) begin services in an Elementary school on September 17.

We want to make clear that we believe God has called us to this ministry. There is nothing about First Beaumont that is causing us to leave. Our 2+ years here have been nothing but amazing. We love this church and want the best for it. This was my first full-time ministry position. This is the church that Karis was born in. This is the church I was ordained in. We are grieved that we will be moving so far away from so many of our family and friends. We are excited about the future of First Beaumont and will continue to pray for you as you search for a pastor. We do not desire to cut ties with this church. We desire to keep in touch and continue to support First Beaumont. We would rather you view this as sending us out to complete the Great Commission, rather than our simply moving to another job.

Thank you for how you have encouraged us, challenged us, and made us part of your family.

Our plan is to be here for another few weeks and then transition to Wilson toward the end of August. We would very much like these final weeks to be a sweet time of fellowship with you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you in these last weeks.

My desire has not wavered from that first sermon I preached here in 2004. I may be the only one who remembers it. It was called “Faithfulness to Jesus is better than life.” Doing what He has called me to do is and will continue to be my primary passion. In Acts 20:24, Paul says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s Grace.”