Dear Church Board and CLCN Family,
Greetings in Christ Jesus!
It is with great joy that we celebrate the goodness of God who has redeemed us through Christ Jesus. In redemption we are called to holiness and compelled in mission to others. Always knowing that it is Christ in us – the hope of glory (Colossians 2) – that brings salvation, renews our spirit, cleanses our heart and sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. This truth has been handed down to us through the ages and we affirm it again especially during this Eastertide season. Our life and mission is about glorifying God in Christ as signs of His new creation and coming kingdom.
Walking in faith has been at the heart of my ministry for the past 16 years of full time service in the Church of the Nazarene. Faith has allowed me to serve great people and see God do great things. In the past 8+ years at Clear Lake we have seen babies born, disciples made, flood waters rise, missionaries sent, the hurting helped, buildings rebuilt, prayers answered and many other details of God’s working in and through us. Anything we say or do in or about Christ is in faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11).
It is in faith that Jamie and I enter into a new place of ministry. God has opened a door for me to serve as the executive leader of Church Ministries for Arrow Family Ministries in Spring, TX. It is a Christian agency with the mission to help children and strengthen the family. These have long been goals of mine and an area that I have creative interests. My job will be to develop and deliver a national strategy for Christian foster care, adoption, family education and mentoring for Arrow. In addition, I will oversee international orphanage work and rescue shelters for teenage girls who have been neglected and abused in sexual trafficking. The vision of Arrow is to be a partner of the church wherever the church is interested in working to care for the orphan around them while being an asset to the nuclear family through education and encouragement.
I will resign to the congregation on May 20th with July 1st being our last Sunday. In between we have Faith Promise, Sunday School Promotion and a Children’s musical as well as a Patriotic theme presentation from the church choir on June 24th. We also have a regional bible quiz with our church kids and two camps to prepare and send kids off to. It is important to me that we celebrate these events together before beginning a new journey for both the Ballard and CLCN families.
Dr. Duane Srader would like to meet with the board in a special meeting on Sunday evening June 3rd at 6 PM to consider transition details and begin planning for the pastoral search. Pastor True, Pastor Bearinger, Helen Reddicks and the other pastors will be more than adequate leaders during the transition to keep the church moving in ministry. Our church has been blessed with gifted and graced leaders willing to serve and capable of excellent ministry. CLCN is a strong body of believers and will continue to be a witness in this community and beyond.
Thanks for your friendship over the years. Thanks for your love and patience and acceptance of us over the years. We love and celebrate our years together. We are grateful for the way you have provided for us. We are indebted to the way you have nurtured our children. We thank God for our partnership and will continue to pray for you as a new pastoral leader is sought.
In Christ Alone,
Don Ballard