pulse-feat

Dear TBC Family,

Every quarter we gather as a family to discuss the pulse of the church—we look at where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going spiritually, numerically, and financially. If you missed it, this Pulse just might have been the most significant yet.

For so many reasons, 2018 proved to be one of the most trial-laden of memorable history for numerous reasons. Yet, as the elders have paused and looked back in the wake of the storm, we’ve been forced to look upon the startling reality that it was also one of the most fruitful years we’ve seen yet. Just as Sam Storms said recently at Trinity while speaking on revival, "When God is on the move, Satan tries to keep pace." God is on the move at Trinity. Out of the embers of our brokenness, God is building something beautiful and new.

If you’ve been here for the last ten years or more, you can hardly miss the other-worldly kind of humility, love, and Christ-exalting unity that has increasingly marked our lives together. Satan struck. Love grew stronger. That’s an evident mark of the Holy Spirit’s presence. The lost are being converted, disciples are being made, and the love of our body is increasing. Visitors feel hunted (or, uh, pursued :). Gospel-warmth is growing in increasingly compelling ways.

You may have also noticed that we’ve grown by around 100 people over the last couple of years. Also, new members of our body reflect a healthy diversity. People are coming from Christian and non-Christian backgrounds as well as various ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, ages, etc.

Our financial growth has more than kept pace as well. We’ve transitioned from building with duck tape to building with brick and mortar planning in longer-term ways. We surpassed our budget by 16% two years ago. So, we budgeted aggressively for this past year by increasing our budget by 10% more. Our current giving is at 16% above anticipated giving. You may also remember that we hired three new positions last year—a Business Administrator, Pastoral Assistant of College and Career and Small Groups, and Children’s Ministry Director. We believe God has blessed us in each of these hires and believe that Mike Darus, Stephen Anderson, and Brittany Fields have helped us support our growth and positioned us to continue to grow if the Lord so chooses to bless us in this way.

Of course, not all changes are easy when God is on the move. He often brings about changes we would not choose left to our own desires.

Mark Sherid will be stepping off staff on May 3rd. Thankfully, he will still be a member at Trinity for the foreseeable future. Mark and Paige came to Trinity 8 years ago with the hopes of helping bring health to the church. He anticipated serving for five years and re-evaluating whether he might have the opportunity to go overseas to pastor a church or to find a lead pastor position. Mark and Paige have served tirelessly, regularly taking on jobs no one else wanted, relentless inviting others into their home for hospitality, and bringing fiscal and spiritual health to the body. They have been fruitful trees amongst us. Three years ago, Mark began to say that he felt worn out and struggled to recuperate. This year Mark told us he sensed the time had come to transition out for the health of his family. He needs a year for refreshment and prayer over where the Lord might lead his family. In addition, Mark and Paige want to make the most of these young years with their sons Ian and David. So May 3rd will be his last Sunday on staff, and they plan on traveling all summer before Mark settles into a teaching job in August. Trinity will provide for them until then.

Simultaneously, Malachi and Melissa have committed to coming on staff full-time and moving closer to the church. The elders have been asking Malachi to come on full-time for three years. Malachi’s skills and gifts make him more useful than a Swiss Army Knife. He’s wise, trustworthy, steadfast, pastoral, musical, church-loving, Christ-exalting, Spirit-led, and handles the Word in grace and truth. Then again, marrying Melissa might be the second-best decision he made next to faith in Christ. We will soon be unfolding the process through which you will be able to take part in the process and voting to call him officially.

Due to your generosity and the continued numerical growth, we sense that we need more pastoral support and have the finances to do so. It’s an exciting day. As we build, we want you to help us by filling out the survey we recently announced in the service and distributed through our email list. Your shepherds long to care for you well. We hope this survey provides an additional layer of communication to help us understand the ways in which we can grow in our caring for Christ’s church.

Finally, we voted unanimously to affirm Stephanie Franklin as the new Deacon of Women’s Ministry. Stephanie completed our ministry internship four years ago, earned an MA from Phoenix Seminary, and has taught for years in our Women’s Ministry. None of these were requirements, but all speak to her intentionality in preparing to be used by God. She has big shoes to fill as she takes over for Paige Sherid who took the lead four years ago and has faithfully loved and discipled women. We will publicly recognize Paige in the near future and are so grateful for her faithfulness.