On the evening of July 27, 2004, Pastor Dave Long preached the convocation sermon at the RP International Conference. He challenged us to consider ways God may be calling us to serve Him. One way he suggested was to move somewhere specifically to help a church. In the time of reflection that followed the service, I wrote the following: “I know I have been called, but I know not for what. Lord, reveal your will when you will. I will follow it.” Little did I know that today, 11 years later, my wife, Charity, and I would be members of a recently organized RP congregation in Manhattan, Kan.

There were four things that God had to give us for us to move to Manhattan: 1) commitment to follow Him wherever He wanted us to go, 2) a heart for a place, 3) vision and skill to labor for Him, and 4) a job. God worked these four things in our lives and brought us to Manhattan. Perhaps He will work these things in your life, too.

Garrett

Commitment to Follow

God used several significant events in my life to help me fully commit to follow Him. I grew up in a pastor’s family and was taught the gospel from when I was young. Early on, I embraced it and began walking with God. As I grew up, my commitment to Christ as Lord also grew. Then, after Pastor Long’s sermon at RP International Conference 2004, I realized I could trust God enough to give up my life in His service. A second pivotal event was a sermon I heard on 1 Peter 1 while in college. The topic was Christian joy—reminding us that, given the inheritance stored up for us in heaven and the benefits from union with Christ, we have “an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Pet. 1:8-9). That night, my life dream—getting a job, getting married, having children, and going on fun family vacations—was worth sacrificing to serve Christ. During graduate school, God helped me to wrestle with Luke 14:22-36, which is about counting the cost of following Jesus. This deepened my sense of Christ’s call on me. Through these things, I obtained a real and maturing commitment to sacrifice my dreams to follow Him.

Heart for a Place

In 2005, my father was appointed to a presbytery commission overseeing a church-planting effort in Manhattan, Kan. He preached there occasionally, and sometimes I rode along. In 2006, I started college at Kansas State University, entering the small group of students and families known as Manhattan RP Fellowship (MRPF). There was an intense, contagious desire for this church to be established that was reflected by both the commission and by churches within the presbytery. Many churches—especially Clay Center, Topeka, Winchester, and Denison—visited us, contributed financially, and sent food for our evening meetings. Additionally, the students and families of MRPF had a challenging vision to see the kingdom advance in this town, on this campus. Finally, when I was living in Indiana in 2010, I received a letter from Bob Lyon, moderator of the commission, asking me to move back and settle down there. Through these things, God drew my heart to love and care for this place, and I began to pray that God would send me there.

Vision and Skill

In 2009, I graduated from K-State and began a master’s degree at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Even as I left Manhattan, I hoped that God would bring me back. Mike Stewart, now an elder at Manhattan RPC, said to me, “Perhaps God wants you to go away to learn how they do [ministry in that congregation], and perhaps He will bring you back.” He was exactly right. While I had a true faith and desire to serve God, my faith was not accessible enough to give away. I needed to learn how to work for God. The Lord taught me this through church members at Lafayette RPC, fellow students passionate about evangelism, opportunity to be part of a jail ministry, and personal discipleship and mentoring by Pastor Dave Long.

A Job

Throughout my time in Lafayette, I continued to pray that God would send me back to Manhattan, though I had little hope that my degree—aeronautical engineering—would fit a job in this small college community. After interviewing for a company in Natick, Mass., I was fairly sure I would get an offer and was seriously considering accepting it. However, although I made it to the final round of candidates, I received call informing me that I did not get the job. The morning I received that call, I started praying. I asked God again where He wanted me to go, and my thoughts and prayers turned to Manhattan. That morning I again searched for engineering jobs in Manhattan. Much to my surprise, I found a job in a research lab at K-State for which I was qualified. Several weeks later, I received a job offer for this position, which I gladly accepted.

Charity

Commitment to Follow

I also grew up in a pastor’s family and knew Christ as my Savior from a young age. My dad church planted in Evansville, Ind., for 9 years; and when that church closed, we moved to Indianapolis, Ind. After going to a Christian school in junior high, I began to see the difference between those who claimed to be Christians and those who followed Christ consistently through life. While I continued growing in small ways, God brought a major change into my life that would transform my perspective of Him and His church.

Heart for a Place

In 2005, my dad received a call to pastor a church plant in Frankston, Australia. I was devastated to leave my friends and comfortable life in Indiana to go to the other side of the world. My dad challenged me to talk to God about how I was feeling. During the next two years, God slowly softened my heart towards my family, the church, and ultimately towards Him. He gave me a desire to serve in the church, not simply because it was required as a member of the pastor’s family but as a joyful part of belonging to Christ. God used couples in the church there to challenge and encourage me in my faith, as they invited me into their homes and sought to know who I was and where I was in life. God also opened my eyes to the needs of the church in Australia and helped me to see that I could participate in meeting those needs. When it came time to decide where to go to college, I realized that my heart had dramatically changed from dreading moving to Australia to wanting to stay there and learn to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33). However, I still had the desire to return to the States and go to Purdue University, where my two older brothers were. As I agonized over that decision, God used Dave Long to encourage me to not only think about where I could serve God right then but where I could be equipped for serving God for the rest of my life. I decided to go to Purdue for one year to learn from the ministry of the Lafayette RPC and then return to Australia to continue serving the church there that I had come to love.

Vision and Skill

Similarly to Garrett’s experience, God used my time at Purdue to equip me for ministry through Dave and Jenny Long’s example and instruction, learning how to disciple new believers, sharing the gospel on campus and in the jail ministry, and spending time with peers who were living for Christ. Even though I didn’t know exactly where God would later bring me, I knew the kinds of things I wanted to do the rest of my life—investing in and discipling young women, befriending and witnessing to unbelievers, and serving Christ’s church any way I could.

A Job

For various reasons, I decided to stay at Purdue for all four years of college. Toward the end of that time, God brought Garrett into my life and led us towards marriage. Garrett moved to Manhattan a year before we were married; and, as I grew in my love for Garrett, God gave me a heart for a new place. I was gladly willing to share in Garrett’s love for Manhattan and was delighted when he asked me to come serve God with him there. Although I still love the Australian RP church and often feel part of my heart pulled to that needy place, we see that God is calling us to live in Manhattan, and He is specifically using our experiences and training to serve His Church here.

God provided these four things for us because He wanted us to labor in Manhattan. While we may have expected to give up more to serve Him, He has provided surprising benefits, including a good job, a lovely location, and proximity to some family. In addition, participating in a church plant means that service opportunities abound, and we are motivated to be actively engaged in the work.

However, there are sacrifices. For the past year and a half, Garrett has been serving as a ruling elder in the congregation, putting pressure on our family life. Being active in ministry means that there are fewer people leading and ministering to us. Despite the difficulties, because of how God has worked in us, we are committed to being used by Him here and are eagerly expecting His kingdom to advance in this part of the world.

Perhaps God is in the process providing you with commitment, a heart, vision and skill, and a job to bring you to a particular place to serve Him. Perhaps our story can encourage you to pray for God to show you a special place to minister. And if you are looking for a place to have a heart for—consider Manhattan.

Garrett and Charity have three children, Grace, Elanor, and Cara. They live in Manhattan, Kan., and attend Manhattan RPC. Garrett is a research engineer at Kansas State University, and Charity enjoys taking care of their children and home.