Dear Crestwood Family,
I always find it difficult to put my feelings of gratitude for you into words. You have been such a blessing to me in the short time we have been allowed to walk this road of faith together. Some pastors may have reason to complain about the difficulty of their assignment, but you deserve no such criticism. Your love and respect for me is highly valued and deeply appreciated. I often stop and consider how fortunate I am to shepherd such a gracious group of people. I love each of you and am excited about the future God has planned for us.
When I first arrived in April of 2017 to assume my role as pastor, I began challenging the church–especially the leadership–to seek God for guidance regarding our future and His will. We asked God for direction and we believe He has answered. After many long hours of intentional prayer and intense preparation, we are ready to allow God to turn the page and begin writing the next chapter of Crestwood’s history. It is not our goal to forget the past but rather to build on it.
Our vision is not a three-step plan or an updated program for church growth. I am aware that seeing God’s dreams for this community come true will require time and effort, but I am sure it will be time and effort well spent. Our prayer is that we can be the church God intends us to be. We want to be known for making disciples and giving God the well-deserved glory to God in the process.
On January 27, we will meet at 11am in the main auditorium for a time of information and celebration as we reveal our new vision to you, our church family. We believe the mission and vision God has given us has the potential to create lasting change in our church, our community, and our city. By the grace of God, we want to be at the epicenter of a move that sweeps across our community and into eternity. Therefore, we are excited to introduce to you what God has shown to us. I hope that you will join us as we seek to prize our past while pressing into our future.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor Ben