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| Calvary Church Nampa |
There are many things that are hard to capture: a feisty, picky trout on a pressured Colorado mountain stream; the perfect thought in the perfect words; and perhaps most of all - time. Perhaps Solomon would say it's like trying to capture a handful of the breeze as it speeds on its way.
So, although time has eluded us in many ways, including narrating every step of the course we run, today we return to this medium (our blog) as a means of communicating what God is up to and drawing attention to Jesus - Lord, Messiah, Savior and King.
Why now? Because once again we find ourselves in a season of change.
Let me start with the punchline: The Snyder family is moving in August to Nampa, Idaho to lock arms with and serve alongside some humble, hungry saints as the pastor/shepherd for a church that is being replanted with the Calvary Family of Churches!
Now let me connect the dots to briefly trace how we got here.
We moved to Texas in 2011, fully convinced from our time overseas that we were going to live for what matters and what lasts. During that season, the Lord helped establish us as a family. The Snyder-Four became the Snyder-Six. We learned to serve in our local church, be a part of a community, connect with neighbors, and make efforts to be a light. For those who walked with us in that season, it was probably also clear that we experienced a crescendo, a growing spiritual stirring that often rose to fever pitch. We knew God had more in mind for us but we experienced much angst (and sometimes less sleep!) trying to figure out what niche in the kingdom specifically had our names on it. It seemed that among all the ideas we came up with, we could not get an answer from the Lord which to pursue. Indeed, it became evident that He was not going to give an answer at that time. Instead, we perceived the Lord's guidance for us was simply to "get ready." Rough translation: start seminary.
So I (Anders) began my first semester as an online student with Gateway Seminary in the fall of 2016. Then in December of 2016 we moved to Denver to continue studies at Gateway's Rocky Mountain Campus.
Why Denver? Divine storylines always have interesting twists. Our home church while in Denver prior to leaving for the mission field was Calvary Baptist Church of Englewood. The church was in decline and had the wind taken out of their sails with a couple of changes of pastors. However, God was not done with this church. Instead of closing the doors, which was a very real possibility, God stirred a new work in a mighty way and they began to grow. Beyond growing, they began to multiply; to be a church that planted churches so that Jesus would be made non-ignorable in Denver and to the ends of the earth. What's more, they made a priority of training leaders to plant and replant churches. Speaking of non-ignorable, it seemed too crazy to be coincidence that all of this was happening not just any-old-where, but at OUR old church! So along with seminary training, we came to get around what God was up to and learn from the newly-dubbed Calvary Family of Churches.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8,9-
This is the reminder we received from the Lord as we sought to understand whether He truly had in mind for us to help replant Nampa First Southern Baptist Church as a new work - Calvary Church Nampa. It seemed out of left field. It seemed further and faster than we had anticipated. However, we had become convinced that God's purpose for us was to preach the word and make disciples. We had become convinced that the church is God's primary vehicle for working out the purposes of His heart in the gospel. We prayed very specifically that God would make clear his will, not through emotion and circumstances, but through His word and His Holy Spirit. And He has done just that.
So, it is with great trepidation and trust that we are taking this next step of faith in the race he has marked out for us.
Are we there yet? No, but we want to run with perseverance, eyes fixed on Jesus.
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 3:12-14-
Here's a brief video that tells the story of our old home church, now sending church, Calvary Englewood: https://vimeo.com/184690667
This video also showcases Calvary Englewood, but speaks more at length about the concept of revitalization/replanting: https://youtu.be/tTSRy3kJgKg
