I can look back now and say God was faithful, but in the moment, I was not always sure how things were going to turn out. I’m a pastor in Shelby, Ohio at Shelby Alliance Church. I love what I get to do. I believe God called me to it. But there is a difference between believing you’re called and feeling confident when things get hard. There was a season, especially through 2023 into 2024, where a lot felt uncertain. Attendance was slipping. Giving was down enough that real conversations had to happen about whether I might need to take work outside the church again to support my family. That kind of pressure does something to you. It gets in your head. You start replaying decisions. You start wondering what you’re missing.

I remember sitting with those thoughts late at night after everyone else was asleep. The house would be quiet, and my mind would be loud. “Lord, are we doing the right things?” “Did I misunderstand what You wanted?” “Am I failing my family?” “Am I failing the church?” “Are You still working here?” And that was the hard part. It wasn’t just the struggle. It was how normal everything still looked on the outside while I felt uncertain on the inside. Sunday would come, and I’d preach. People would shake hands. We’d pray. We’d do church. But privately, I wrestled with doubt more than I wanted to admit.

In that season, there was one verse that kept coming back to me. Not because I went looking for it, but because God kept putting it right in front of me, often through my wife. Galatians 6:9 is one of her favorite verses. She has quoted it to me more times than I can count. She will say it to me, and she will say it to other people too. It’s one of those verses she repeats like a steady reminder when life is heavy: “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” I can still hear her voice saying it when I was discouraged. Not in a cheesy way. Not like she was trying to slap a Bible verse on top of a problem. More like a gentle, stubborn faith that wouldn’t let me spiral. There were nights I wanted to believe everything would work out, but I wasn’t sure. I had doubts. I questioned things. I wondered if this season was a warning sign or just a difficult chapter we had to walk through. And slowly, that is what God began teaching me. Faithfulness is not the same thing as feeling confident. Sometimes faithfulness looks like waking up the next day and doing the next right thing when you do not feel strong. Sometimes it looks like praying again, even when you feel like you’ve prayed the same prayer a hundred times. Sometimes it looks like preaching the Word, serving people, loving your family, and staying rooted in Jesus while you are still wrestling inside.

Looking back, I can see God was working in ways I could not see at the time. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t instant. But it was real. A family would quietly start showing up and stay. A conversation would happen after service that reminded me God was moving. A person would take a small step toward Jesus that they had been afraid to take for years. A kid would start showing up and actually paying attention. A marriage would start rebuilding. In the moment, those things can feel small. But now I see what God was doing. He was building something deeper than momentum. He was growing roots. Over the past couple months, especially through December, I’ve been really encouraged by what God is doing among us. We’ve seen steady growth. Families are coming. Kids are filling the building. And I know that doesn’t happen by accident. I’m encouraged, but I also feel humbled, because I remember how unsure I felt not that long ago. The biggest thing God grew in that season was not our numbers. It was my trust. I’m learning that God often does His most important work underground first. Like roots spreading deep before anything visible grows up and out, God is often doing more than we can measure in real time. And “coming home” to God, for me, has looked like returning to simple obedience and trust. Not pretending I never doubt. Not acting like I always have it together. But choosing, again and again, to keep my eyes on Jesus and keep doing the good work He put in front of me.

If you are in a season where you’re trying to trust God, but you’re not sure how things will turn out, I want you to hear this. You’re not alone. God is not absent. He is not late. He is not confused about what He’s doing in your life. And you don’t have to have everything figured out to be faithful. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is keep showing up, keep praying, keep obeying, and keep trusting that “the proper time” is real, even when you can’t see it yet. “Let us not get tired of doing good… for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.”

At Welcome Home Fest, everything we do flows from one truth: Jesus is at the center. We don’t want to build events, programs, or gatherings that are about us, we want everything to reflect Him. If we aren’t living like Christ, meeting people where they are, and showing His love in practical ways, then we’ve missed the mark.

We believe that every person belongs. Every person is family. There is no one that God would turn away, and neither will we. We’re not a church, but we represent the Church, the body of Christ. Our desire is that people would know they are seen by God beyond their faults and that His love is big enough to cover every mistake. We aren’t better than anyone else; we’re just people who have experienced the hope of Jesus, and we long to share that hope so that others can step into the redemptive life and love ONLY found in Him.

Jesus is at the center of everything we do. Our goal is to reflect Him in the way we serve, love, and live.

We believe everyone belongs, and everyone is family. No one is too far gone, too broken, or too different for the love of God.

One of our greatest burdens is the division in the church and the lack of churches reaching beyond their own four walls. Welcome Home Fest exists as a space where ministries and churches can come together as one. This is not about one ministry or one church; it’s about Jesus and the Great Commission:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19)

We’ve been inspired by the vision of our partners at ReviveOH: one church, one message, one at a time. If even one person comes to Christ, all of heaven rejoices, and so do we.

Every meal served, every resource given, every act of kindness is done in love. If what we’re doing isn’t in love and isn’t in Christ, then it has no power to transform. True service leads people to encounter Jesus in ways that change not only their lives but their families, neighborhoods, and communities for generations to come.

We believe the love of Jesus has the power to change entire communities. Transformation doesn’t happen through programs alone, it happens when people encounter Him personally. That’s why we serve with open hands and open hearts, trusting God to do the work that only He can do.

Prayer and worship are the heartbeat of Welcome Home Fest. We want to create spaces where God’s presence moves freely, where people encounter Him right where they are. We believe the Holy Spirit is real, powerful, and able to change a life in a single moment. That’s why we encourage everyone to come, bring a friend, and expect God to move.

We have a heart for young people. Through gatherings like The Reunion, birthed out of Welcome Home Fest, we intentionally reach young adults, children, and youth. Many feel forgotten or lost, but just like the prodigal son, there is always room for them at the Father’s table. His arms are open wide, ready to welcome them home.

We believe God is glorified when we give our very best. Excellence doesn’t mean perfection, but it does mean stewardship, honesty, and integrity in all we do. We want to honor God with the way we serve, plan, and lead, trusting Him to do what only He can do when we surrender our own way.

If there’s ever a moment you have an encounter with Jesus, I encourage you to write it down. There are moments in my life where I know without a shadow of the doubt God was in the room and it was as if He was so intentional in caring for me. If you’re like me and others so I’m told, the weight of our shortcomings, our sins, our perceived lack, our suffering or even just the pain of our current situation can get in the way of life and interfere with how we see God, if we let it.

When we’re dealing with those things, I think it’s imperative that we are intentional about getting in and resting in His presence. You may wonder, how do I do that? I think it can look different for everyone. I love putting on worship music and drowning in the moment rather than my thoughts, to some people music can be a distraction. I spend most of my Sunday nights in the living room of a beautiful home in downtown Mansfield (known as the Lighthouse). It’s a night of prayer and worship. Praying, worshipping, sitting, soaking and releasing is how I describe it to those I invite. I serve a God who meets people right where they are. There’s something so beautiful about a touch from Heaven. I think the most beautiful part of this night is when I get to pray and intercede for others. In an act of surrendering all of my wants and needs, I get to seek Heaven for others. I truly believe God blesses that. Talk about living like Jesus, it is such a selfless act and it’s not done for any gain.

I'm here now, at Mansfield Worship House (aka the lighthouse), and as I’m writing I just experienced what I was sharing earlier. This is what was just prayed over me “we come against all lies of the enemy that they make be broken off and that Joy wells up from the belly”, the inner man, God met me. “There is no one like You” sang over and over again, there’s so much truth in that because no man or woman can do what Jesus can do for you. He loves you, I’m reminded of the scripture that talks about His yoke being easy and His burden being light. God said to lay it down at His feet, let Him carry it, and He will give you rest.

Before I was just prayed over as a leader I was going to talk about us praying and interceding and carrying each other’s burdens. In that, God gives you rest, as you’re caring for others He is caring for you. I’ve seen it and have experienced it time and time again. Some are called to carry more than others, I believe I’m one of them. I want to continue to die to myself, I want to encourage you to do the same. Even if you don’t feel called to do that, allow God to come into your world in a new kind of way. Give it a try. This is my encouragement to you. Pray for others, stand in the gap for others, this is one of the easiest ways to be like Jesus. It doesn’t require anything special, allow it to strengthen your relationship with Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you. There is someone who needs your prayers to go to the Father on their behalf, trust God is empowering someone to do the same for you.