Sherri and I met yesterday with Pastor Ed Shirrell and his lovely wife. This wonderful couple have been pastoring Faith Community Church in House Springs, MO, for the past 27 years.
We enjoyed lunch together at Tower Taco on Cherokee Street. I invited them to lunch because I wanted to ask Pastor Shirrell a few questions and pick his brain.
To summerize the counsel that they gave us, I will use the word, “plodding.” “Stick close to your core values and stay true to who you are, and just keep going,” Pastor Shirrell told us. He also commented that it takes time, lots of time, to establish a foundation. The more time and care invested in the foundation, the more potential for the overall building.
This council was very refreshing for us. We see planting a church like raising a crop. We are only at the “preparing the soil” time of the process at this point. Knowing that couples whose ministry has shown much fruit are not only behind us, but available to us as friends and mentors gives us the encouragement and confidence that is so very important.