All Good Things...

All good things must come to an end...
Who said that? How did they know? I wonder if they experienced the same amount of sadness and disappointment we have as our “good thing” has come to an end.

After a year and a half of leading The Mission, we (Brian and Carrie) have decided to accept a position in youth ministry at a church in south Florida. This is truly a bittersweet time for us as we continue our journey of loving God and His people.

We have experienced so much during our time in Dayton. We’ve been amazed at the generosity of our friends and family as they sacrificially supported us. Even if just for a short time, we truly experienced an intimate community that longed to serve Jesus and love others. The Mission delivered Thanksgiving meals, and provided Christmas gifts and meals for a few families that couldn’t afford to purchase their own. Some of us volunteered at the local free health clinic. We shared our burdens with one another. We prayed for each other. Some of us found a place of healing where we could ask tough questions and openly share our doubts without fear of being judged. We learned about God and His Word together. Sometimes we got frustrated with each other, but our love for one another always prevailed. We were a small church, but hopefully we were an example of what the Body of Christ should be like.

Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement once wrote, “What we do is very little. But it is like the little boy with a few loaves and fishes. Christ took that little and increased it. He will do the rest. What we do is so little that we may seem to be constantly failing. But so did he fail. He met with apparent failure on the cross. But unless the seeds fall into the earth and die there is no harvest.” While The Mission will no longer exist, in no way do we consider our efforts a failure. We hope that the small seeds of the prayers, conversations, and actions of the Mission will reap a harvest beyond the borders of our group.

It’s no secret that I thrive on relationships. That is what has always been the “bread and butter” of how God has used me in ministry. Often, I felt like a “fish out of water” as I took on this role as church planter and Lead Pastor. While working elsewhere 40 hours a week to supplement the needs of our family, I simply did not have enough time to effectively balance all the different responsibilities. The Mission’s Sunday night gatherings were such a blessing to us and to others, but our family was struggling to make it throughout each week. So, after much consideration and prayer, Carrie and I decided that it was time to make some tough decisions. Thankfully, it seems that the Lord has once again found a great place for Him to use our gifts and talents to continue to serve Him and love His people.

We’re so grateful; to the people within our group who sacrificed furniture, finances, labor and time; to those outside of our church, but still part of our body, as they supported us with prayers and finances; to people within our community who loved our children well, provided work for us, and backed us with much encouragement. We thank God for old relationships and new during our time here in Dayton, and for the trials and growth that He has led us through.

If you were financially supporting The Mission, we would respectfully ask you to discontinue and prayerfully seek out other organizations that might need assistance at this time. Your sacrificial support has left a permanent imprint on our lives. Words could simply never convey our gratitude. Pray for us as our family makes another significant transition. And, pray that the folks that were a part of The Mission would find a place to connect to God and other Christ followers in the near future. Many blessings as you seek to love and serve Jesus through your words and deeds.

Grace and Peace,
Brian and Carrie Ward

“Give us patience and humility with our feeble efforts at faithfulness. Bless the minute things we do in your name so that our small acts of faith may find witness among many, and thereby glorify you.” Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals