Lead Pastor: Andy Wood , Stacie & Caedmon
Andy and Filipe met in high school (in Michigan), but it wasn’t until they were roommates in college at Charleston Southern University that they became better friends. Andy’s primary spiritual gifts are leadership, teaching, and evangelism.
Stacie and I met and became friends while attending Charleston Southern too. She is a gifted writer and has successfully taught and discipled young women.
Andy and Stacie have been married for five years. They have been approved by the North American Mission Board to plant a church, and have successfully started Breakthrough Church on UT Arlington’s campus while going to seminary. Throughout the last five years we maintained a close relationship with them while they were living in Texas. We’ve always dreamed of a day to be in ministry together and are excited that the time has come.
Worship Pastor: Archie Jackson & RebekahOur relationship with Archie and Bekah goes back to college as well. We served with them at Genesis for a few years until Archie had the opportunity to serve at Crosstowne Church as the worship pastor. Archie is a truly gifted musician and worship leader. (I wish I could play just one instrument- I think he can play just about every one there is!!
Ministry Pastor: Filipe Santos
From the business side to the people side, Filipe will use his gifts of leadership, administration, and mercy to create what is necessary for the unchurched to engage in community with believers. He is a passionate teacher, enjoys a “team” approach to ministry and raising up leaders in the church. I am excited to step into this role with him to serve in whatever area is needed for the moment.
If you’ve been on my site the past 4 days you may have noticed that it shows up different EVERY day! Well, over the weekend I’ve been updating & editing some things- so I apologize for the empty pages & the bad designs. I’m currently in the middle of changing my hosting site (I think!) so it will probably show up different again tomorrow. If you recall my previous post, Change, I thrive on keeping things new and updated. So, keep checking back- it will probably look different & better tomorrow.
Here is something that’s been spinning around in my head this last week:
Ever since I’ve entered motherhood I seem to be on a quest “to discover” myself. Maybe it is because being a stay at home mom there seems to be more time for thinking and reflection- in between the deep and stimulating conversations that 2 years old can carry!!! (that was sarcastic in case you didn’t pick up on that!) Thinking can be dangerous because when you’re mind wanders…they can go to scary places!!! I am constantly analyzing myself and trying to be better at whatever is in front of me at the moment. It is so easy to focus on the weaknesses and what we need to work on instead of our strengths and what we’re good at- which is why I love the “strengths” mentality. Ever since I heard Marcus Buckingham speak about it at Catalyst 06 (& the Leadership Summit in 07), I’ve really tried to focus on this. Of course it’s a little difficult if you don’t know what your strengths are…I guess that’s a first step.-
Relator- “People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.”
- Learner- “People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.”
- Input- “People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.”
- Belief- “People who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.”
- Responsibility- “People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.”
I want to give an update on some big and exciting changes happening in our family! Filipe and I have been serving at Northwood Assembly Church since we met during college. It is where I grew up, where we were married, and where our children were dedicated. Filipe worked as the assistant pastor for the college ministry for about 5 years, and currently as the youth pastor since December.
Last summer, we were approached by some close college friends, Andy and Stacie Wood. They asked us to consider joining them in a vision to start a church in one of the country’s largest, metropolitan areas, the San Francisco Bay Area–more specifically, the Silicon Valley.
Being in such a great season of our lives–ministry was going great and we were expecting our second daughter, we were pretty close-minded and hesitant to the idea of moving. But as they shared the vision, we felt a tremendous stirring by the Holy Spirit that this vision was for us too.
Some of the facts caught our attention:
- 95% unreached with the Gospel (about 2.5 million people in this area)
- Known for liberal and anti-God values that are influential throughout the rest of the nation.
- A technological hub of the world- the home of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Apple, EBay, HP, and dozens of other multinational companies.
Our hearts were captivated by the magnitude of the vision and the tremendous potential in this area. It is one of the most diverse, affluent, and influential metropolitan areas in the world. It is a mission field that has been ignored by many. Can you imagine the impact an evangelical church could have if it reaches the people who already have influence in the world?
After months of prayer and fasting, we believe God is calling us into this journey and are joining the staff of South Bay Church. We are in the process of transitioning out of our current roles at Northwood and will be moving to California in August/September 2008. We are so excited for this new opportunity and anticipating great things to come!
