At last, the long awaited news

For the past couple of months, many of you have been praying with us as we decide what the future holds for us. We are so grateful for all of you and the prayers offered up on our behalf. Things have just recently fallen into place and so I'd like to share a little bit about what our future looks like.

But first a quick recap of what has brought us to where we are:

In 2002, Tina and I began feeling the call to go into full-time ministry and the opportunity to serve as missionaries with the North American Mission Board came up. We went through the interview process that Fall and were appointed to serve as US/C-2 Missionaries in Tacoma, WA. Our primary role would be to minister to the collegiate community in the Tacoma area.

In May 2003, we packed up our belongings and headed West (we celebrated our first anniversary en route). We arrived June 1 and for the next 3 years we served as collegiate ministers in Tacoma.

During this time, we were also actively involved with our church, Discovery Community Church. Both Tina and I served on the worship team as well as leading a small group. Discovery became our family away from home. We also saw our family grow by one during this time. On November 11, 2004, Elizabeth Ann Gray (Ellie) joined the ranks of the Gray clan. (We were just a little bit excited...) Michael also began attending Seminary at Golden Gate BTS as well during this time.

The time flew by and before we knew it, we were looking at the end of our three years of service. We spent a great deal of time praying and seeking God's will. The opportunity came up to join the staff of Discovery in helping launch a new service in the western part of Tacoma (Discovery West). In June 2006, I joined the staff of Discovery alongside some really great people. Through this time we connected with some really close friends and enjoyed the time launching this new service.


In May 2007, we began sensing God leading us to another change, so in June of this year I stepped down from my role on staff with Discovery. We weren't sure exactly what God was leading us to, but we knew we had to be faithful in this.

We've spent the summer in a great deal of prayer and in the meantime I also picked up a paper route. It's been a challenging time for us, but it's also been full of really great memories for our family.

SayWA! (updated)
Originally uploaded by www.DaveWard.net

And this brings us to our latest news. After several months of praying, we've decided to stick around a bit longer in the great Northwest. Starting in August, we'll be helping launch a new church plant in the community of Bonney Lake. The new church (Church on the Hill) will begin holding monthly services this Fall with weekly services beginning in January. My primary role will be leading worship and helping coordinate the weekend service, and working alongside the lead pastor (Russ Peters). This will also give me the opportunity to finish up with my seminary degree.

We're looking forward to what the next few years will bring and we're excited to serve a great God (one who is infinitely bigger than any of our problems - yet He still takes time to step down into our world and show us his steps).

Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy day. Make sure to check back here frequently for future updates, pics, and random reflections.

God bless!