5 Things I Am Thankful For This Year

As we enter the final weeks of the year (and the decade), its the time of the year when we spend time reflecting on what has happened. So in honor of Thanksgiving, here are four things that I am thankful for this year.

1. God's grace on New City Church

Since we began, God has been unbelievably gracious to our church. In just a few months, New City Church will turn three years old. The reality is, many church plants never quite get off the ground. Not only has New City made it this far, but God is doing some really neat things.

We are in the process of getting ready to move into a bigger space in March of 2020. We have continued to grow, see people get baptized, see more people serve, give, and take steps in their faith.

We have a diversity of ages and experiences that make up our church. We have many college students and young adults, but we also have many empty nesters and those with more life experience.

New City has been blessed by having such a great staff team who loves and serves our church so well. Our church has been blessed by so many of our people who give so generously to make it possible for us to do what we do (and are giving even more so we can move).

I often am in awe that God has lead New City to where it is. I'll never forget in the fall of 2016 thinking New City would never begin, let alone experience the life and excitement it now has.

2. My family

On top of being good to our church, God has been good to my family. God has given me an amazing wife who is always gracious and supportive of me. He has given us two healthy children, both a boy and a girl, who make life tiring but special.

Even our cat got out and was gone for a month recently and still managed to come back :).

As many of us know, life can change in an instant. Severe illness or even death can occur when no one expects it. Circumstances can change that cause hurt and pain. And so I am grateful that God has been good to me and my family. He has given us a place to live, jobs for Christina and I to afford the things we need, and a community we enjoy.

3. The people who make New City what it is

At the end of the day, it is the people of our church that are the reason we are growing and that people are meeting Jesus and growing in a relationship with him.

They are the ones who create such a warm and welcoming environment on Sundays. They are the ones who pray for and support one another in times of need. They are the ones who give generously to support our church and make it possible to move into a larger space.

Above everything else, followers of Christ are to be known for how they love. None of us get it right all the time, but as we follow Jesus he changes our hearts to care for others. The people at our church do this so well.

I am grateful and humbled by how everyone is always willing and onboard when we change and try new things. Even when people have questions or don't understand why something is happening, it is almost always asked in a "help me understand" and not "I can't believe we are doing this" tone.

As I talk with other pastors and future church planters, I do have practical thoughts and experiences to share. But at the end of the day, New City is what it is because of God's grace and God's people. Those two things are completely out of my control.

4. Doing what I enjoy

As followers of Jesus, everything we are called to do can be summed up by two commands: love God and love others. Because of this, there is a lot of freedom in following Christ.

I think it throws people off sometimes when I tell them that I am a pastor because I want to be one. Yes, I do think God has lead me in this direction, but part of the reason he did so is because he gave me the passion for it.

I really enjoy preaching and teaching people the Bible. I enjoy seeing people develop in their faith, in their leadership, and in their personal giftings and passions. While there are certainly some hard and difficult things about what I do, at the end of the day, I get to do what I want to do.

For many people that isn't the case. Even for those fortunate enough to be able to pursue passions they enjoy, statistically speaking, very few people in the world actually get paid to do what they like.

I get to do things that I would still do if I had to do it for free. For whatever reason, God has been especially kind to me in this way. It is something I think about often and am so thankful for.

5. Helping church planters

Now that New City has been around for a few years, I am able to share and encourage other planters who have begun their own journeys of planting a church.

It's also been really neat to see the Practical Church Planting podcast grow and reach planters and pastors all over the country.

Even in New City's short existence, I've learned a lot and would even do many things differently if I were to start all over again (but believe me, I won't be doing that!). So it's a real joy to help others on their journey of connecting people to Jesus through the local church.

Honorable mentions

• Duke Basketball
• Jersey Mike's
• Good books with practical life application
• Podcasts
• When utility bills are unexpectedly lower one month
• Cats
• Christmas music/lights