Walking With the Lord

As we walk with the Lord we never know where the path will lead, but if we are faithful to listen and obey He will fulfill our hearts’ desires.  Throughout my walk with the Lord, I have learned that I do not need to know where God leads, I just need to be obedient.  When God called me to Spokane First it was the biggest step out of my comfort zone that I have ever taken, and it has been one of the most cherished blessings of my life.

As many of you heard the announcement last week, I have turned in my resignation and will be moving to Nashville, Tennessee.  This decision was made after lots of prayer and waiting on God’s direction.  Chris and I are completely confident in God’s leading into this next phase of our lives and are finding God’s hand along the way.  When I was called to ministry 16 years ago I was working in the educational leadership field. I set that career path aside as God was pointing me in a different direction. When God called me to ministry I had dreams of someday working at a Christian university, but God made it clear that He was calling me to serve at the church level at that time.  During this phase of life, I have been in prayer for God’s directions and laid out a fleece for him to take the lead.  As he always does, God made it very clear where I should go into this next phase since I was asked to apply for a position at Belmont University.  I will be the Curriculum Manager for the medical school at Belmont. I will be working with year 1 and year 2 students as well as the medical school leadership team incorporating spiritual characteristics into the programs and aligning curriculum to the medical board standards. My family and I are so grateful for the years walking beside each of you, as well as for you walking alongside us.

Know that we are in prayer for the church during this transition and know God has great things in store for Spokane First. With that, I ask you to be in prayer as to where God is leading you to stand in the gap during this time. There are times in our lives when we must step out of our comfort zone in order to find God’s blessings on the other side. I challenge you all to step out of your comfort zones and see how God can use you to help bring about what He has in store.  I will be setting up curriculum plans and mapping all the dates with teachers through December for middle school, high school, and adult ministries.  In order for this to be an area of continued ministry, we need everyone to come together.  I will be sending out emails asking for support in these areas and Jordan Roth will be sending out emails for support of our children’s ministry. Please pray about where you can help and stand in the gap. God has a mission and revival planned for this community with each of you as His vessels to make that happen.

Today I leave you with these verses to meditate and pray on as you discover where God is calling you in this time of the church.

“Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” 1 Corinthians 12:18

Blessings,

Pastor Hope Terhaar