The past 9 years have been both a joy and a blessing for Shauna and I to partner together to do something we both love dearly, share Christ's love with teens! We came into this position following in the footsteps of our dear mentors Dorothy and Virg Dysktra and their 20+ year run in youth ministry at Meredith Drive! We were scared and unseasoned then! Since then, our family has grown by leaps and bounds and we have added three wonderfully amazing children into the Vis Family mix!
We can honestly say that the past 9 years at Meredith Drive have been some of the most amazing years of our lives. We have had the privilege of working with some of the most amazing people both on staff as well as the family of believers that call Meredith Drive their home. We love you church! You have been so good to us! Thank you!
To all of you Youth and Young Adults that we have had over the years:
You have been a blessing to us. The Joy (and yes, even the pain) that you have all brought to us has been seared into our hearts forever. We will continue to be praying for you and championing you on to be the young person of God that you were created to be. We can't wait to continue watching you grow in your faith with Christ and into bearer's of Christ in this world! You have all been blessed with the gift of Christ and will do amazing things wherever you go! "You Belong To Jesus! He will never let you down and He will NEVER let you go!" Please stay connected!
"What time is it?" As Christ followers, we ought to all be asking this question on a daily basis. It has been one that has lingered on my mind a lot in the past 6-9months. God, what are you doing in my life? When I entered full time youth ministry, it has been a long time goal of mine to "last". Something that sadly just doesn't happen with Youth Pastors. My goal has always been to outlast Virg and Dorothy Dykstra someday! "Most" Youth Ministers are underpaid and under appreciated. Something I can NOT say of my experience at Meredith Drive. They have treated us very well over the years. We have been blessed.
Over the past year, something in my heart has intensified. I'm not sure I can fully put my finger on it. Maybe it is the turning 30 blue's. Questions of future began to come to life for me. Will I be a full time youth pastor forever? Should I go to seminary and become an ordained pastor? Should I consider working in the secular workforce and commit to being a die hard volunteer? God, what are you doing in my life?
After strongly considering the possibility of both moving to complete seminary or completing seminary through distance learning (something we already have some experience with), two things became apparent to us. First, we are committed to this area. Packing up and going to seminary leaves the possibility of not being able to return to the Des Moines area, where all our family is. And FAMILY is something we cherish deeply. Secondly, trying to complete seminary by distance learning while trying to maintain a full time position would put a heavy strain on our lives and take me away from family in a substantial way. These are some of the best years of my kids lives, and I want to commit to being there to walk through life with them!
So... Seminary for now... out.
The unsettled musings in me continued. While I love ministry with youth, something I will likely do the rest of my life in some capacity, I continued to feel that God was calling me to something different. This was something I struggled with to the deepest part of my bones.
I struggled with questions like:
- If I am not willing to pack my family up and move away to complete seminary, am I not being obedient to God's call on my life? Or, am I "disobeying" God?
- I enjoy ministry, and think I'm good at what I do, so why do I struggle with my calling to do youth ministry?
- If I leave, what will happen to all my relationships with the youth and families of Meredith Drive. Will I leave them in a bind? Will I let them down?
Trust me, there were plenty more. After meeting with my counselor, I became increasingly aware of the fact that "God IS, and I am NOT"... God that is. Placing these feelings on myself has been unfair to me, and unfair to my family as well. Bottom line, God is in control of my life, your life, OUR LIVES, and everything about them all as we live this life together. While I will miss being in a lead role with youth at MD, I know that there are others in place that will continue in leading the charge for years to come. Why? Because God is at work. He is putting the puzzle in place as we speak. He's working from the master picture, and all we see are the pieces. Sometimes we see them fit and sometimes all we see is the mess.
Over the past 4-5 months, an opportunity to work with my brother-in-law Troy Hansen has surfaced. At first, based on my feelings above, I was very reluctant to even think about the possibility of doing something different. As time has passed however, I have felt that God has been guiding me towards another path. This would be a path very different from my 9 amazing years at Meredith Drive, but one that has slowly ignited a fire inside of me once again. About three weeks ago, I made a final decision to leave full time ministry to go work with Troy and the Hansen Company (Hansen Real Estate) in order to pursue property management and commercial real estate.
Our hope is that our family can continue to be engaged in ministry at Meredith Drive for the long haul. We have offered to continue on a part time basis with the church to help see us through this year of transition. Our hope and prayer is that we can continue serving through leading LOH for the foreseeable future. Our continued passion is to see the Youth of our community know and love the Jesus that we have come to be deeply indebted to through His awesome sacrifice for us. We would love to see every youth connected to many loving and caring adults within our community. After all, they ARE the the church of today, and the ambassadors of Christ onward.
Thanks for your many prayers, words of encouragement, and support over the many years of ministry together!
Lead On Christ Eternal!
Andy Vis
To all of you Youth and Young Adults that we have had over the years:
You have been a blessing to us. The Joy (and yes, even the pain) that you have all brought to us has been seared into our hearts forever. We will continue to be praying for you and championing you on to be the young person of God that you were created to be. We can't wait to continue watching you grow in your faith with Christ and into bearer's of Christ in this world! You have all been blessed with the gift of Christ and will do amazing things wherever you go! "You Belong To Jesus! He will never let you down and He will NEVER let you go!" Please stay connected!
"What time is it?" As Christ followers, we ought to all be asking this question on a daily basis. It has been one that has lingered on my mind a lot in the past 6-9months. God, what are you doing in my life? When I entered full time youth ministry, it has been a long time goal of mine to "last". Something that sadly just doesn't happen with Youth Pastors. My goal has always been to outlast Virg and Dorothy Dykstra someday! "Most" Youth Ministers are underpaid and under appreciated. Something I can NOT say of my experience at Meredith Drive. They have treated us very well over the years. We have been blessed.
Over the past year, something in my heart has intensified. I'm not sure I can fully put my finger on it. Maybe it is the turning 30 blue's. Questions of future began to come to life for me. Will I be a full time youth pastor forever? Should I go to seminary and become an ordained pastor? Should I consider working in the secular workforce and commit to being a die hard volunteer? God, what are you doing in my life?
After strongly considering the possibility of both moving to complete seminary or completing seminary through distance learning (something we already have some experience with), two things became apparent to us. First, we are committed to this area. Packing up and going to seminary leaves the possibility of not being able to return to the Des Moines area, where all our family is. And FAMILY is something we cherish deeply. Secondly, trying to complete seminary by distance learning while trying to maintain a full time position would put a heavy strain on our lives and take me away from family in a substantial way. These are some of the best years of my kids lives, and I want to commit to being there to walk through life with them!
So... Seminary for now... out.
The unsettled musings in me continued. While I love ministry with youth, something I will likely do the rest of my life in some capacity, I continued to feel that God was calling me to something different. This was something I struggled with to the deepest part of my bones.
I struggled with questions like:
- If I am not willing to pack my family up and move away to complete seminary, am I not being obedient to God's call on my life? Or, am I "disobeying" God?
- I enjoy ministry, and think I'm good at what I do, so why do I struggle with my calling to do youth ministry?
- If I leave, what will happen to all my relationships with the youth and families of Meredith Drive. Will I leave them in a bind? Will I let them down?
Trust me, there were plenty more. After meeting with my counselor, I became increasingly aware of the fact that "God IS, and I am NOT"... God that is. Placing these feelings on myself has been unfair to me, and unfair to my family as well. Bottom line, God is in control of my life, your life, OUR LIVES, and everything about them all as we live this life together. While I will miss being in a lead role with youth at MD, I know that there are others in place that will continue in leading the charge for years to come. Why? Because God is at work. He is putting the puzzle in place as we speak. He's working from the master picture, and all we see are the pieces. Sometimes we see them fit and sometimes all we see is the mess.
Over the past 4-5 months, an opportunity to work with my brother-in-law Troy Hansen has surfaced. At first, based on my feelings above, I was very reluctant to even think about the possibility of doing something different. As time has passed however, I have felt that God has been guiding me towards another path. This would be a path very different from my 9 amazing years at Meredith Drive, but one that has slowly ignited a fire inside of me once again. About three weeks ago, I made a final decision to leave full time ministry to go work with Troy and the Hansen Company (Hansen Real Estate) in order to pursue property management and commercial real estate.
Our hope is that our family can continue to be engaged in ministry at Meredith Drive for the long haul. We have offered to continue on a part time basis with the church to help see us through this year of transition. Our hope and prayer is that we can continue serving through leading LOH for the foreseeable future. Our continued passion is to see the Youth of our community know and love the Jesus that we have come to be deeply indebted to through His awesome sacrifice for us. We would love to see every youth connected to many loving and caring adults within our community. After all, they ARE the the church of today, and the ambassadors of Christ onward.
Thanks for your many prayers, words of encouragement, and support over the many years of ministry together!
Lead On Christ Eternal!
Andy Vis
