The Beginning of a New Adventure

To my friends and family,

I now finally am able to make public something that has been at the heart of my thoughts for quite some time now. Many of you know this story already or portions of it. Some of you have been a significant part of it; for that I’m deeply grateful.

I now want to share with everyone I know what’s been going on in my life for the past six months, and that which, in fact, has roots dating back several years:

The first important connection that holds import for this story came in my second year of high school when my church, Mendham Hills Chapel (now Mendham Hills Community Church) hired a new youth pastor, a man (only 23 at the time) named Tim Meier. I could share many stories about Tim, but suffice it to say Tim and his wife Rachel have been close friends and mentors ever since.

The year after I completed high school, Tim and Rachel would leave Mendham, following God’s call on their lives to minister to the people of France.

A second important connection was made within that same period of time when, in 2005, I had the privilege of travelling on a mission trip to Taipei, Taiwan with 13 others from my church youth group. That trip was significant in many ways for me, but the one that’s important to this story comes in the form of a man named Matt Peace. Matt is the Director of the Short-Term Missions Office of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (the CMA is an evangelical church denomination and the denomination of the church I grew up in). Matt worked with our group closely to make the Taiwan trip happen, and he even spent several days with us while we were there. I got to know Matt some that week, and we have remained in contact in the years since.

My connection to Matt was further strengthened several years later when my sister, Rebecca, got a job working for him.

A third important connection came in college when I got involved in a young-adult ministry at Princeton Alliance Church. That ministry was headed up, at the time, by a guy named Kyle Whitlow, who I got to know a little bit during my time in college. Kyle would also take up the call of God in his life by moving, with his wife Michele, to Colorado Springs to work with non-other than Matt Peace.

The trips to Taiwan (I say “trips” because I went back for a month the following summer) as well as many other experiences in my life have led me often to consider life in full-time ministry, as a pastor, missionary or perhaps something else. With that consideration in mind, I emailed Matt around the time I was finishing up college (in 2009). My purpose was simple: I wanted to let Matt know that I was interested in somehow working with him again. I didn’t have a clear picture of what that meant, maybe another short-term trip to Taiwan or another country or maybe even something more significant.

In June of this year, I received a phone call from Matt and Kyle. They told me that, in response to my own expressed desire of being involved in ministry, they had a significant opportunity they wanted to offer me. The exact words escape me, but it was something to the effect of “We’ve been thinking and praying about you, and we’ve come up with a plan for the next five years of your life, and so we wanted to run it by you.”

I remember feeling the excitement build in my chest as they went on to describe the opportunity. First, I would spend a year with them in Colorado, working (basically as an intern) in a local church and in the Envision office. Envision is the new name of the short-term missions office. This time would be an opportunity for them to get to know and invest in me as well as a chance for me to network with some important people in the national office of the CMA, to spend significant time seeking out God’s call on my life, and to stand on my own two feet in ministry.

The next step after Colorado would be an even bigger one. The tentative plan would be for me to continue to serve as an Envision staff member, but in Paris, France, where, it just so happens, Tim and Rachel Meier live. Paris is being developed as a sort of international hub for the Envision program. During my time in Colorado, I would specifically seek God’s will as it relates to me and France, to see if indeed that is where He’s calling me, while remaining open to the possibility that He’s calling me to something or somewhere else. Paris would be a commitment of at least two years, with the possibility of it becoming even longer-term.

Matt and Kyle were incredibly gracious in making this offer and allowing me some months to think and pray about it. I spent a lot of the last six months praying about it, talking with friends and family about it, as well as reigning questions and hypothetical scenarios (in an effort to be thorough) on the heads of Matt and Kyle.

In short, after all that, I’ve resolved to go for it. In September, I called up Kyle to let him and Matt know that I was coming. My departure date is now set for the end of this coming January.

I won’t say this has been an easy decision. I’m certainly leaving a lot behind here in New Jersey. I am incredibly grateful to my friends and family who have spent many hours talking with and encouraging me. I know I couldn’t do this without your support. I’m also going to be trusting God a lot on this one. My position in Colorado will not be a paid one (though I will have a free place to live), so God’s provision, through a job or otherwise, will be a necessity. For France, if that is indeed where God leads me, I will need to raise my own support.

Please pray for me in those areas if you feel so called as to pray for me.

I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity. I’m excited to see what God has in store. It’s already been amazing to see all of the connections that were built over the years that are making this possible. God is truly a master storyteller.

I’m also grateful for the technology we have available today. For one, it makes leaving slightly easier, knowing that I’ll be able to keep in contact, even face-to-face, with my friends and family. I’m also thrilled about the ability it gives me to share this experience with all of you.

Solus Christus (through Christ alone)

-Sean

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