More About Tennessee

the activities building that has tons of potential for outreach

the sanctuary end

The front of the church with the sactuary on the left and fellowship hall on right

the children's church stage area with storage behind

the huge fellowship hall and kitchen

the hall of classrooms and offices

a nursery room

a nursery room

a nursery room

the foyer

the church welcome desk

I promised some pictures and more info so here ya go. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of Pastor Tommy and Deana but if you really want to see them, you can go to the church web site and there is a picture gallery.

We flew into Chicago from Kansas City and then into Nashville. Wow, that Chicago airport is nuts! I have always thought Iowa was super friendly but the minute you step foot in Tennessee you understand the phrase "Southern Hospitality!" NO ONE in the KC airport even smiled but the personnel at the Nashville airport were great. With my bionic knees I have to be "patted down" and the Nashville folks made it light hearted and were teasing me about it. Flying was a great experience.

Pastor Tommy and Deana picked us up and the three hour drive to Union City flew by with incredible conversations about the church, our families, the community, his vision, and all kinds of stuff. We have tons in common. We both have a son and a daughter, who are about the same ages and their son is also a pastor. Pastor Tommy and I both have a relational style of ministry. We both think outside the box and have big dreams. So many common threads plus purple is Deana's fav color. Come on...that's a smart woman. :) We had a great dinner together at the best Famous Dave's we had ever been to.

We stayed in a beautiful room and they got us a rental SUV so we could explore the town and have some time to ourselves. Saturday morning we stopped by the church for a mini tour and were greeted by a crowd who were there for a work day. They were painting the fellowship hall and bathrooms and one of the offices. They felt like family right away! Randy had his job interview at Jiffy Steamers and it went very well. It's a CFO position and the company is very successful internationally. It's a family owned business in like it's fourth generation. Everyone said the owner is the best guy to work for. We hope to hear something later this week about a second interview.

Saturday night, we had dinner at Pastor Tommy and Deana's with the board members and their wives. What an incredible group of spirit filled men who love their pastor and serve with huge hearts. We spent more than an hour answering their questions and getting to know what they were looking for in a children's pastor. They asked great questions of both of us and I think it went very well.

Sunday services were awesome. Pastor Tommy preached a message about "Going for the gold" and many people responded to his challenge. Their worship team was very talented but more importantly led us into the presence of God. Randy thought he had a prophetic message for the church but it turned out to be a personal message for Pastor Tommy that he shared at dinner Sunday night.

They had a pot luck dinner for us after service. You can only imagine the food...I bet we gained five pounds this past weekend! We got to meet all the kids and chat with people. Everyone is so thrilled to be taking the step of faith and hiring their first full time children's pastor. Precious families with a love for Union City and the lost. It was neat to watch Pastor Tommy and Deana with the congregation and see the obvious love and respect they all have for each other.

We met for dinner later on to talk business. Pastor had one final meeting with the board to make sure were all in agreement about us and decide an offer. We left the restaurant not feeling pressured at all to make a decision that minute and went back to our room to talk and pray. We both knew we were supposed to come to Union City almost from the second we shook hands with Pastor Tommy. We called the kids and they whole heartily gave their blessing and "go for it" encouragement.

When they picked us up Monday morning for the drive back to Nashville and we told them the good news! There were lots of whoops! Pastor Tommy said, "I knew the minute I opened your e-mail that you were the one and when I saw your picture I felt like I had known you forever." How cool is that?

We are praying Randy has a job in a miraculously quick fashion and we can hit the road within three or four weeks. We are hoping to have a going away get together so we can see everyone and book what weekend you are coming to Tennessee to visit! God is so good.