Journey Church

On earth as it is in heaven

Finishing Well

Farewell Celebration

On March 18, 2023, we held our Farewell Celebration. You can watch it here:

Finishing Well

In over thirteen years of church planting and pastoring in Cambridge, MA, my wife Gina and I have given our lives to minister to those God has sent us to. But for the past two years, we’ve been sensing a transition coming.

I (Kent) will be transitioning from my role as lead pastor in early 2023. 

In addition to transitioning from our role as lead pastors, we – along with our leaders and elders, have decided that what’s best for the church is to help our congregants transition to other thriving church communities in the area and formally close the doors of Resting Place.

We want to assure you, nothing wrong happened, we are not burned out, we are not quitting, we did not have a moral failure, and it’s not primarily due to finances. To the best of our ability, we are discerning and following the Lord’s will, and we feel this is the next step in our journey with Jesus.

The Backstory 

For the last couple of years, we’ve been discerning that God’s grace has been moving. As one of my mentors said, When God’s grace moves, it’s always moving somewhere. When God releases us from one thing, He leads us toward another.

As often happens with us, we don’t yet know what is next. It happened the same way in 2008 when I resigned as the Executive Director of BASIC College Ministries. The Lord gave us Genesis 12:1-2 and impressed upon us that like Abraham, we were to “leave what we know and go to the land I will show you.” As was the case in 2008, the same holds true now.

This became crystal clear during my recent sabbatical and is best illustrated with a story. When I was young, my friends and I would try to catch crayfish in the stream behind my house. Sometimes we would even cook them on a rock and eat them, though I can’t say there was much meat! If you lifted the rocks in the stream too fast, mud would kick up in the water, and you had to wait 10 or 15 minutes for it to settle so you could see clearly again. We already had a sense that transition was coming, but when I slowed down enough for the dust of life to settle during my sabbatical, it became clear that it was time to transition.

Because we wanted to honor God’s call on our lives and the people we are leading, it was also important not to make this decision in a vacuum. That’s why we sought the counsel of our leadership team, our Board of Directors/elders, and our mentors.

We announced this to our congregation on October 16, 2022. Though there was sadness and tears, there was also rejoicing over the many things God has done over the years and an agreement that as a congregation, we wanted to finish well.

Finishing Well

You have been with us every step of the way. Now we want to ask you, will you help us finish well? 

It’s often easier to start strong than it is to finish well. Over the next 5-6 months, we are committed to finishing well. We will grieve, celebrate 13 years of God’s faithfulness, help our congregation understand how to find a new church, meet with people individually, communicate with our network, give away equipment, and close down the legal entity of the church.

Would you give financially to help us finish well?

It’s sure to be an emotional time with much effort involved, and we are going to need all the help we can get, including financially.

Your continued financial giving through the end of March, whether monthly support or a special transition gift will go a long way toward helping us finish well.

Where Will the Money Go?

Toward any outstanding bills. Though we don’t have any debt as a church, we do have outstanding bills for some things that were in process.

To the missionaries we support. We want to continue to financially support our missionary partners both here and abroad. We would also like to bless them with a final gift to say thank you.

Salary and transition expenses. As I’ve previously mentioned, our missionary support decreased over the last two years during the coronavirus pandemic We’ve already cut our salary by one-third in this season. Though God is and always has been faithful, it would be helpful to keep our salary as steady as possible during this season of transition.

How to Give:

There are several ways to give:

The Timeline

The timeline for this transition will happen in four phases:

Phase 1: October to December – principles for transition, finding a new church, thriving in the body of Christ

Phase 2: Jan to Mid-March – visit churches, meet every other Sunday or Tuesday to talk, process, worship (if in this process you find a church where you are ready to connect, we will bless you and you can move on!

Phase 3: Mid to end March – farewell celebration on March 18 and everyone transitioning to a new church

Phase 4: April – Dispersion of assets and legal dissolution

From the Bottom of Our Hearts, Thank You!

We couldn’t have done any of this without you. Over the last 12+ years (and some of you longer), you’ve stuck with us through thick and thin. Because of your giving, sacrificing, and service, dozens have come to Christ, people all over the world have been impacted, leaders have been raised up and released, a unity movement of pastors in Cambridge was started and continues (without my leadership), and so much more. None of this would have happened without your support.

We are forever grateful.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

Kent & Gina Murawski,

Lead Pastors, Journey Church

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