I remember moving to Germany almost 9 years ago…. We were so excited! We knew that God had big plans for us and we ready to get going.
We left a great job with people we loved and trusted in order to follow God’s plan for our lives. We KNEW this was the right thing to do, although it seemed crazy. We felt as if we were jumping out of a perfectly good airplane without a parachute!
And we KNEW what God’s plan for us was (or so we thought). He had made it clear to us that we were to come to Germany to train European youth leaders and to minister to European teens. We also felt we were to help a church and Bible school in Bonn, which we did for 7 years.
Three years ago something in our hearts began to change. It was as if God was broadening the “call” on us to train leaders. All of a sudden we were doing as much training and mentoring for pastors and other church leaders as for youth leaders. And this new “call” has served us well for the past two years.
In retrospect we can see that God has been preparing us for the leap of faith we’re taking right now (again jumping out of an airplane without a parachute). In planting a church in Freiburg, we can see that THIS is the reason He called us to Germany.
The epiphany I’ve recently had is that, as we grow in our relationship with God and our spiritual maturity, God’s plan for us also grows. Every step of obedience creates new opportunities. That’s why the path to our destiny is never a straight line.
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After resigning from his Associate Pastor position in a mega-church in the north Dallas, TX area, Jon and Robin moved their family to Germany in October 2001. There they focused on empowering European church leaders through mentoring and coaching, as well as teaching in seminars, conferences, roundtables and Bible Schools. They also planted a number of churches and youth groups throughout central Europe.
After planting and pastoring a “church for those who don’t do church” in Freiburg, Germany, they returned to the Texas Hill Country in August 2014 to help U.S. churches prepare for the coming Post-Christian cultural shift. Jon’s book, The Coming Post-Christian Tsunami is available in print and Kindle formats from Amazon.com.
Although they reside in the Texas Hill Country, they continue to equip Christian leaders throughout Europe and North America.
Jon and Robin have been married since 1993 and have three children: Ryan, Ashton and Emma.