A Fresh Commissioning

 I am so grateful to God and to Southlands for the gift of a sabbatical once every 7 years. This is our second sabbatical, and it is a chance to visit family in South Africa, reconnect as a family and lean in to slower rhythms of grace for God's refreshing and fortifying before the next season of life and ministry. 

The start of this sabbatical brings with it a convergence of change for us as a church and for us as a couple. I would describe this convergence of change as a season of fresh commissioning. 

How so?

First, this month we moved from One Church Multiple Congregations, to A Family of Churches. For ten years we have been planting Southlands congregations with Brea carrying a central burden of finance and administration. This has enabled congregations to get up and running without being weighed down by too many administrative details.  Now, both Southlands Chino and Southlands Santa Ana have experienced sufficient growth and strength to be able to carry their own administrative and financial responsibilities. So, from here on, we will be able to maintain meaningful rhythms of togetherness such as prayer, fasting, worship, leadership training and church planting, while giving full autonomy to these Southlands churches. It is like the training wheels are coming off each bicycle, and I believe we will all ride faster because of it, while continuing to ride together.  So, we celebrate a fresh commissioning for our Southlands family of churches. 

Personally, Rynelle and I have also experienced a fresh commissioning, having been asked to lead the Advance Global team. We have led as part of this remarkably gifted team for around 8 years, and it is an honor to provide a catalytic, collaborative leadership role to men and women of such great capacity and integrity.  To be clear, we have not been asked to lead the movement, but rather to lead the team that leads the movement. Advance is a family of around 150 churches on a mission to plant and strengthen churches into over 20 nations around the world currently. Our team has experienced God's enlargement, peace and joy in this leadership transition, and we are so grateful to have been helped by our broader partnership with New Frontiers. We are beginning to witness real momentum and gospel opportunity as we emerge into a season of greater clarity as a movement. 

I will continue to provide visionary leadership to Southlands and will continue to lead the team of elders,  but this is also a moment of fresh commissioning for our Southlands leaders to step into greater roles of responsibility and authority. I want to ask you to give them your full support as we all follow Jesus, our Chief Shepherd. We are in a season of God's life and growth and I am confident that Jesus does not want that to slow down because of our new role in Advance. I believe it is a moment of fresh commissioning for all of us in the Southlands family as we embrace God's call on us to be a resourcing church for a global movement.

Ryan TermosHuizen had this word for us that frames our season well, I believe.

"The name Southlands is about a people, but not about the boundaries of your mission. You will be enlarged to reach the highlands and the lowlands, the inlands and the coastlands. North, South, East and West freshly impacted. There will be an increase of people coming in for seasons of healing and learning. There will be fresh growth and generosity for the nations to be well served. I think of swimmers whose lungs are freshly filled with capacity for fresh air for a new race. God wants to fill you with fresh capacity for fresh wind for a fresh race." 

Southlands, let's inhale the life of God's Spirit deeply, so that Jesus enlarges our capacity as a people commissioned to see the gospel take root and bear fruit all over the world.