Last June, I took a week-long ministry class in Tennessee. It was a really good week, where we talked about current trends in ministry (who wouldn’t be excited by that?). But it was a good week even beyond the class. For that week, I roomed with a friend of mine. It gave us an opportunity to talk, commiserate, encourage each other, and laugh together.

At some point during the week, as my friend and I talked, out of the blue I asked him: Would you ever consider coming on staff at Fern Creek Christian? It was a “what-if” question for a position that didn’t exist.

Or so I thought. The next month, I found out that our staff was changing, and the month after that, my role changed. All of this opened up a position on staff for someone to join us in the area of discipleship. Cue: the friend I talked with last June. His name is Rich Teske, and he will be with us at Fern Creek on Wednesday, January 22. He will be here to speak for our 6:30 midweek study, and to talk further with our elders about the role of discipleship minister.

I hope you’ll join us January 22. Even if you are not a regular Wednesday night person — that’s ok; join us anyway. It will give you a chance to hear from Rich, and meet him, his wife Connie, and their son Isaac. For over 20 years, Rich has served as the director of Reach Out on Campus — a ministry at Ohio University in Athens.

I am excited about what Rich would bring to our church, and to our ability to help people grow to become more like Jesus. It’s why I first talked with him last June; it’s why we are talking with him now.