It’s time to roll out of Vegas. But before we do, there are some people to thank…
To Duane. For suggesting something as audacious as church planting.
To Mike. For showing us our first step.
To Wayne. For asking if we ever thought about Las Vegas, for giving us our Jonah moment, and for being there when the fish spit us on shore.
To Jim. For finding us–and all our friends–a place to live.
To David, Ivonne and Sara. For trembling beside us on the front lines and giving us the courage to stand.
To the Advance Church Launch Team. For believing that if our God is for us, who could stand against us?
To Jordan, Kristen, Leah, Alayna, Shawn, Jon, Becky, Jackson and Claire. For being crazy enough to believe God could make the sun stand still, and for being there when he did.
To Shane and Lee. For giving us a place to belong at the beginning, and at the end.
To our supporters. For investing in something that will outlive and outshine us all.
To Phil. For telling Ryan what he needed to hear.
To Verve. For bringing us back to life. And to Vince, Jake, Jacob, & Amy for showing us why.
To Jim, Joe, Thandi, Leavell, Brookyln, Thandi and Caleb. For letting us in and making it so damn hard to leave.
To the Las Vegas youth baseball community. For knowing our names.
To Gabe and Bucks: For loving our boy.
To Mom and Dad. For pointing the station wagon West once, too, and showing me how to be brave.
To Marv and Carleen. For letting us go, for praying your faces off, and for buying the chairs.
To Kristy and Jeff. For visiting every year and helping us keep the lights on.
To Austin. For coming to Advance and deciding it was time to follow Jesus.
To Landon, Evan and Selah. For trusting us to do right by you, and for giving us a hand with the sail.
To Jesus. For leading us to the very edges of our lives and showing us what’s at center of them. We will never regret risking the ocean for all this grace.
“So you see…all is well. This is how it is for all of us: Life will send us across a bridge we did not want to cross, but when we finally open our eyes on the other side, we see that there had been nothing to fear after all.”
-Susan Meissner, A Bridge Across the Ocean