An Open Farewell to Sojourn Montrose Church, Houston, TX
Reflecting on Eleven Years
Yesterday, we spent our final Sunday as members of Sojourn Montrose, and I preached my last sermon as a pastor there. Following the Sunday Gathering, we were blessed with a commissioning service, receiving words of honor and gratitude and, most importantly, the prayers of the saints. At that service, I had an opportunity to bid farewell to the church I’ve served and called home for the past eleven-plus years. Here is what I said.
In the fall of 2013, I made a providential trip to Montrose from Austin, where I was in my last semester at UT. My best friend, Nick Lispcomb, was being ordained as a deacon at a brand-new church plant called Sojourn Montrose, and he invited me to come. After two nights on the couch of the planting pastor’s apartment where Nick was renting a room, I headed back to Austin sure that I would return.
I moved to Houston on January 7, 2014. I was twenty-one, unemployed, and unsure of what lay ahead. But I had a deepening sense of calling to pastoral ministry and a strong desire to learn what church planting was really about. I met my roommate, a man named Reid Squires, as I moved into the dining room of his one-bedroom apartment. I had no idea what the future held for me, but I was sure that God was at work in this little neighborhood through this little church in this massive global city.
Eleven years later, Sojourn Montrose is the only church I’ve been a part of as an adult. I have served here as a layman, a deacon, a church-planting resident, an elder, and on staff as the Pastor of Teaching and Equipping. This has been the soil where I’ve made lifelong friends, met my wife, and become a father. I baptized my wife and my son here. I have seen people come to faith, and the Gospel bear fruit in astonishing ways—restored marriages, healing from sickness, barren wombs opened, and addicts walking in freedom for the first time.
At Sojourn Montrose, I have learned the immense power of the church as the family of God. I have witnessed brothers and sisters care for one another in financial need, celebrate births, and take the humble seat next to their brethren on the mourning bench. I’ve seen the Good Shepherd lead many of us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death with the church serving as an extension of his rod and his staff; truly the Body of Christ on earth. My family and I have been the recipients of this kind of love. We have had diapers, clothes, bottles, and warm food dropped on our doorstep as we arrived home with Nathaniel. We have been comforted through the loss of grandparents and my mother.
We have had the honor of many of you coming to our home for evenings of board games, good wine, home-cooked meals, and, of course, Parish Gatherings. We survived the pandemic in our neighbors’ garage and living room—shout out to the Simpson family, who are dear friends and fellow Sojourners. Coincidentally, we also survived Hurricane Harvey in their home.
Ministry here has matured me more than I could’ve imagined. Faithful brothers and sisters have sharpened me, challenged my blind spots, and modeled godliness. I’ve preached over 170 sermons and led a parish for a decade. I’ve learned by watching others lead, especially in my time under Marshall Dallas and Reid.
And for all of this, I am supremely grateful. I thank the Lord for his providence and Fatherly care—even when I didn’t recognize it for what it was. I thank Nick Lipscomb for being such a great friend and partner in ministry, especially for inviting me to Montrose for his deacon ordination, which led to my moving here. I wish to express gratitude to Marshall Dallas, who was a faithful mentor for me in those early years, and who expressed confidence in me and the gifts God had given me before I had the same confidence.
I want to thank Reid Squires for so many things. I’ve heard it said that, “the only ship bound to sink is a partnership,” and I believe, by God’s grace, Reid and I have proved that wrong these past 11 years. Almost from the first moment we met in that apartment on Richmond Avenue on January 7, 2014, we have been friends, brothers, and partners. We have contemplated the direction of the Church, Sojourn Houston, and our personal lives together. We’ve stood in each other’s weddings. We’ve prayed, cried, and laughed together more than I can say. We have read and critiqued dozens of each other’s sermons, and I think we’ve grown as preachers because of it. In my humble estimation, we’ve been a great team. Reid has led me so well. In moments where he could have easily made a decision as the leader on his own, he has included me and our session of elders. When I had areas in clear need of growth, he had the courage to tell me. His support has been clearest in his encouragement for me to take this next step. I like to think I’ve made Reid’s ministry easier, and he had every reason to ask me to stay. But good leaders send. Reid, thank you for your love, humility, and service to me, these people, and the kingdom of God.
Sojourn Montrose, you are in very good hands.
I must express deep gratitude for my loving wife, Anna. Every step of the way, Anna has been faithful, honest, and full of grace. Her commitment to walking in a manner worthy of the calling has challenged and strengthened me. She is godly, wise, prayerful, and a remarkable mother. I could not do this without her.
Payton Simpson has taught me more about discernment and pursuing holiness than any man I’ve met. Tim Woolsey has taught me about generosity and steadfastness through long seasons of waiting and suffering. Thank you, brothers.
And of course, the wives of our elder session have been a tremendous blessing. I’m honored to know these women, call them friends, and observe their love for Christ, his Church, and their families. Thanks Micah, Tate, Caitlin, and Caitlyn for all you do.
There are a number of supremely faithful women to whom I owe gratitude. I am especially thankful for my late mother. When I told her at age eighteen that I felt called to be a pastor, she smiled and said it would be a hard life, but that she would support me. And she did, every step of the way. Her prayers, her wisdom, and her delight in me reminded me of God’s love. Even in her death, her stewardship continues to bless our ministry.
I am thankful to Katie Ochoa, Rachael Costanzo, Maggie Roberts, and Liz Torti, all of whom I’ve led a parish with. Thank you for your grace, your godliness, and your faithfulness to the Church.
I’m thankful to the pastors of Sojourn Houston—Taylor Ince, Chase Woodhouse, Raph Peters, Demeko Bivens, Tony Villatoro, Brandon Barker, Drew Knowles, and Dods Pengra. You’ve challenged and shaped me. I’m grateful.
I’m thankful for our parish leaders and deacons, who have been the backbone of ministry here and who have also just been great friends, teammates, and sometimes teachers to me.
I’m also so thankful for the children of Sojourn Montrose, who have brought me, my family, and our whole fellowship so much joy and laughter. What a treat it is to have all these covenant children running around, making our lives more blessed and a lot funnier.
And to all the members of Sojourn Montrose, past and present: Serving you has been one of the greatest honors of my life. You have been our community, our support, our family. I’ve learned more from you than I could ever teach. You’ve shaped our home and filled our years with meaning. Thank you for trusting me to walk with you toward Christ. Now, by His grace, we walk toward new fields, bearing the marks of His love and the lessons you’ve taught us.
As we go, we go with the hope of making disciples in San Antonio. We go with the vision of a little outpost of heaven somewhere in Bexar County that glows with radiant light. We go with the knowledge of what that looks like because of the Scriptures—and because of you.
Our hope is to spend about two years preparing: finishing seminary, completing a church planting residency, building partnerships, and walking toward ordination in the PCA so we can establish a mission church in the mission city. We will need your help. (For more detailed info, check out this info sheet.)
As I conclude, I would like to point you toward the following three links:
The first is a code to sign up for my newsletter, which will keep you in the loop about what is going on in our world and in our ministry. You might get a bonus essay, poem, or manuscript from time to time.
The second is a code to sign up to support us financially. This is a link to give to a specific fund that Sojourn Montrose has set up for us. The fund will be used to reimburse my seminary costs this year (not a salary), and ultimately to support my salary and ministry expenses beginning next year and for about 4 years following. We need about 60 households supporting us at an average of $125 per month to meet our needs between salary, healthcare, and a humble expense account. If you can’t commit to a regular monthly contribution, one-time gifts are obviously welcome. But, we would be really blessed if you would choose to support us for the next few years while we seek to do this work.
The final QR code is a contact form, so we can stay in touch, keep track of our supporters, and you can get more information. Please, especially, fill that out. It will allow me to set up a time to touch base with you if you are interested in learning more about how to support us!
We love you. Thank you. Please pray for us. We will surely be praying for you.
To close, I’d like to share the words of the Apostle Paul to the Church in Philippi, as they are my words to you:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace. - Philippians 1:3–7 (ESV)