Westside Church

August 05, 2010 by Pastor Jeremiah

In the past few weeks we’ve had some great friends who attend Westside relocate to different cities.  It’s been tough as we’ve had to say goodbye to Matt and Rachel and their family and Romen and Emily and their family. They've become apart of our church family and it’s difficult to say goodbye.  I wanted to appreciate them in my post this week as a way of saying thanks.

Romen and Emily have only been here for a few years.  They recently moved from California, but they made a big investment relationally as they jumped right into community groups and made some great friends.  Romen faithfully showed up to pray every Thursday morning for men’s prayer.  Emily participated in the MOPS group and helped out with women’s events at Westside.  They both took the time to serve working downstairs in our Kingdom Kids children’s ministry as well.  Thank you both for offering us your friendship.  You will be missed!

Also, Matt, Rachel and family have moved back East to be closer to family.  They’ve been with us for the last 8 years and it’s difficult to mention all the ways they’ve contributed because they did so much, so I’ll sum it up.  Matt designed the look of Westside church.  He created our logo, designed our website and all of our printed materials.  Rachel was a constant source of energy and inspiration.  Many people who now attend Westside are here because they received an invitation from Rachel.  She is bold in her witness of Jesus and she will be greatly missed.

Though it is hard to see good friends go, I can say with confidence that God has used us as a church to help them grow and mature as Christians.  In times of transition like this I’m reminded that the church should function like a river.  As people jump into the stream of what God is doing here at Westside, they should find themselves further along when it’s time to move on.  The other option is to be like a lake, or worse yet a swamp that people jump into, float around, but never really go anywhere.  I’m happy to see Westside functioning like a rushing river rather than a stagnate marsh.  Thanks to Matt, Rachel, Romen, Emily.  We’ll miss you and your families!