Dear All,
My final sermon at Union will be based on the same Scripture as my first, Philippians 1:6; “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ.” In 2019, you will celebrate the 175th anniversary of Union Church. As you look back on your history, thank God for his faithfulness. As you look forward, with the hope we have that God has still got some amazing things in store for this old church.
My almost twelve years at Union have been the most exhilarating and exasperating years of my ministry. I was called to help you move forward with a stalled building project. That project is now moving full speed ahead and the new facility will be glorious. I was called to help you grow numerically and financially so that we would be ready for this new church. But my greatest joys have been to watch people stalled or stunted spiritually grow in Christ. The glory of Union is a place where people who don’t know Jesus can meet him and then grow in grace as they follow him.
Thank you for your many encouraging words—even some of you who slept through my sermons are telling me how much you will miss my preaching. Please remember me as a pastor who loved you and the opportunity to preach to this most eclectic and amazing congregation. Someone told me Sunday, “You don’t realise what you have until you lose it.” I will steal those words to thank you one last time for the way we were able to partner together to know Christ and to make him known. I am thankful for the staff and leaders of Union. Many who have moved have been transforming churches elsewhere and that might be one of Union’s greatest legacies. For those of you who struggled with me, I ask for your forgiveness. You have mine. I leave here with great gratitude for the lessons I have learned from my critics as well as my fans. I leave with my identity mor e focused on Christ than ever before.
We will be praying and cheering for you as Holly and I end our ministry on 31 December. Please pray for us as we prepare for our next ministry adventure. A bunch of you have asked for our new contact details. We will spend time in London and then with my father in Minnesota. By the summer we will be settled in the Chicago area. Our permanent address is 506 N. West St. Wheaton, IL 60187 USA. My church email will be deactivated but I can be reached at
.
Gratefully,
Greg
