Long before ReCAST Church ever had a Sunday gathering in Mattawan, we had spent hours and hours praying for the community. I began to work from a coffee shop there and I began to get to know people and even invited people to join us. Our goal was to be a church in a community that needed one. We chose the Mattawan area because of a demographic study that showed that people within a 10 mile radius of Mattawan were much less likely to be in church in a Sunday morning than the national average.

As the church has grown, we have connected with people from a broader area. We have people from Mattawan, Kalamazoo, Portage, Lawton, Paw Paw, Gobles, Schoolcraft, Marcellus, and even further! And I am grateful for all who have gathered together in this local church.

I have to confess an ideal in my youth that has been softened by stronger values. 16 years ago I had an ideal of a local church serving a narrow local community, with people who all lived in close proximity. But that value has given way to love, unity, and strong faith. I love the people of ReCAST, not the ideal of a local church. I am called to serve a people. And they have names!

I have often said that I don’t think I am a pastor in the general sense that many people who hold the office might say. In some ways, I don’t think anyone can say they are a pastor outside of the context of a local church. My role and my love are defined by a people that God has collected for me to shepherd and lovingly lead. I don’t want to pastor another flock. I don’t want to leave for ‘greener’ pastures. And I am so glad that God has expanded our fellowship to include people from all around the Kalamazoo area.

God has made a patchwork of people, who are LOOSELY connected geographically, but are vitally connected spiritually. We all value His Word. We are all growing in faith, community, and service. And we are all seeking to honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have grown out of my narrow value of “local” as God has expanded my ministry to include His sheep from a broader area. I love Mattawan, but primarily because it is a geographical place for ReCAST Church to gather in community! We want to remain an influence in the place God has planted us. We have a core value of blessing our immediate community. And that can be true, while also being a people God has brought together from a broader geographical area. I love Mattawan, but I love ReCAST Church more.