Dear Pathway Family,
I don't know about you, but I've had a hard time getting the last few weeks out of my head.
Fifty-eight baptisms at the end of June. Two more just last weekend. That's 60 people standing in front of their church family and saying, "I'm following Jesus." Sixty. I've been doing this a long time, and I want you to know, it never, ever gets old. Every single time I watch someone come up out of that water, I get the same lump in my throat I got the very first time I saw it happen, all those years ago.
Those aren't just baptism numbers. Those are 60 stories. Sixty people who used to be far from God and aren't anymore. And I don't take credit for a single one of them. That's God. He's moving through ordinary people who have prayed, invited, served, and loved well enough to point somebody toward Jesus. We get the incredible privilege of watching it happen. So all glory to God.
I also want to say something about this season we're in together. Cris and I have been overwhelmed, genuinely overwhelmed, by the kindness and prayers you've poured out on us since we shared the news about the Lead Pastor transition. I've told you before, I've never wanted to stay too long, because the mission matters too much for that. And I can tell you with everything in me, I have complete confidence God has been preparing Rodney for this for a long time. He loves Jesus, he loves people, and he's earned every bit of trust our Elders placed in him. As for me, I'm looking forward to stepping into my new role focused on campus development, helping us plant those 100 churches we've been dreaming about. I couldn't be more excited about what's ahead, for Rodney and for all of us.
Now, our Unlikely series has been good for my own heart. Walking through David's story again, I keep landing on the same truth: God was never looking for somebody perfect. He was looking for somebody whose heart was fully His. If you've ever felt like you're the unlikely one, the one God couldn't possibly use, I hope these last few weeks have wrecked that idea for you a little bit. Because He can. He has. He will.
And we're not slowing down. In just a couple weeks we kick off a brand-new series called Made for More. I believe this one is going to shake something loose in a lot of us, the idea that God didn't just save you, He made you on purpose, for a purpose, for a life bigger than the one you've settled for. I want you there for it. And bring somebody with you who needs to hear it.
Pathway Family, I mean this every time I say it: our best days are still ahead of us. Thank you for being the kind of church that keeps saying yes to God.
Love you all!
Pastor Todd Carter