A Word from Pastor Darren

Hello Village Church!

I want to begin by saying I’m very excited just to be part of the Village Church. About 3 ½ years ago, when my family first came here, we were searching for a church home that would be committed to and focused on Jesus and His Gospel, that would preach and teach directly from His Word, that takes training His disciples seriously all the while being welcoming, personal, and transparent. Oh the wish list… but here we are and we did indeed find such a place!

We are thankful for each of you, those who welcomed us in when we came and those we’ve met and been able to welcome in as well and for those Jesus will bring to our church!

The transition from attender to deacon to elder at the Village has been an awesome journey, but only because of the calling of Jesus. Initially, once we were here for a few months and got to know some of the elders and got involved in the community of the church, we felt seamlessly prompted by the Spirit to get involved. Lisa and I spent some time serving in the Kids Ministry (Lisa still does as well as Women’s Council) and I added involvement with the Worship Team. In time we got involved in a Community Group and I also enrolled in the Apprentice Academy. Through all of this I quickly found myself having the joy of faithfully serving Jesus by serving the local body once again at new church home. In time, being equipped and prompted by the Spirit, I found myself also leading & shepherding the members of the Worship Team and engaging more and more others at the Village. Not knowing I would be called to the office of elder, I did know I was called to engage some of the types of responsibility an elder might have. We live in a society that pushes achievement, but I certainly did not set out to achieve (as if I could), but rather be responsive and faithful to Him who called me. I believe He has prepared, prompted and placed me in this role for His purposes alone. I trust it’s encouraging to each of you that we’re all called to service as members of the body and for some of us we’re called to specific roles (Romans 12:4-8).

In late Spring, a few of the elders approached me to discuss my role in the church and that I might be praying specifically about if the Spirit might be leading me towards being an elder. After further conversations I was invited to participate in an elder training curriculum. I was honored and appreciated the opportunity to go through the training they proposed. Through this training, sitting in on elder meetings, my continued seeking of the Spirit’s guidance, as well as wisdom from other mature Christians in my life, it became internally and externally clear this was a role I am called to engage. Moving forward I’m extremely excited about what Jesus is doing at The Village Church! The growth we’ve been experiencing is obvious and exciting, but only to the extent those of us already here are growing in and towards Jesus. By His grace, both of those things are happening simultaneously, and I could not be more thrilled. I am eager to help shepherd the local flock, working to lead and equip all of you, by God’s grace. I have been and will continue to oversee the Worship Team, leading and caring for our worship leaders, singers, musicians and technical team. In addition, literally since my conversion Jesus has placed a particular burden on my (and Lisa’s) heart for young and/or newly married couples so we’ll continue to engage those in and around our church. This will include serving that demographic in Community Groups, in premarital counseling, and likely some formalized events and training in the days to come.

By God’s grace I’m looking forward to serving and leading you well in the days to come. We have much to be excited for at the Village Church, partnering together for God’s purposes.

By the Spirit's direction, faithfully yours,

Darren Youngman