A New Season for Immersion

Last night was a huge night in the history of Immersion. It was bittersweet for me personally, but at the same time it was wonderfully exciting. I announced, on behalf of Immersion’s leadership team (Sarah Lubach and Matt McNeece), Pastor Mike and Pastor Richard, that this season of Immersion will be ending June 10, 2010.

For most of 2010, Immersion leadership has been in a discernment process. We’ve been asking God a lot of questions during this process and carefully listening for the leading of his Spirit. We’ve been asking …

• God, are we being as effective as we could be in reaching our mission field?
• Is this what you have in mind for Immersion?
• Where would you have us go? Do? Change?

As staff, we started to get the sense that God wanted to do something new. Something different to reach this new emerging generation of spiritual seeker here in Des Moines. But you can’t move into a new season unless the old season ends. You can’t have the warmth of Spring unless Winter releases it’s grip. In light of that, we made the decision to end this season of Thursday night ministry at Hope.

What does that mean?

It means that Thursday night ministry will take a summer break from programming (with perhaps one or two monthly gatherings thrown in) and re-start in the Fall during Hope’s Rally Weekend. June 10 will serve as a capstone celebration for all the amazing things that have been done through this ministry called Immersion. There will be stories, worship, testimonies and, most importantly … CAKE! If you have ever been a part of Immersion in any way, you will not want to miss what we have cooked up for the 10th.

Who will be leading Thursday night ministry in September?

I’m glad you asked. In light of the new direction for Thursday nights at Hope, June 10 will be my last night at Immersion. Now, I’m not going very far. I’ll be staying here at Hope to develop our online campus and online communication strategy. So I’ll be around, working hard, letting God lead, sitting in the mystery of who he is and where he’s leading. This is a good thing and I’m confident this is where God is leading.

Come September, Thursday nights will be lead by Jeremy Johnson. Jeremy is our current intern pastor, but don’t let the title fool you. This is a person who has passion, wisdom and insight. Someone who gets the culture, which is so vitally important for anyone who will be reaching out the 18-30 year-olds of Des Moines. Jeremy is a faithful guy who will lead the new season of Thursday night ministry at Hope. You’ll get to hear more from Jeremy on June 10th, and some of you may be familiar with his previous messages at Immersion. In the conversations Jeremy and I have had, I know he’s thinking big and I couldn’t be happier to pass the baton to him in this next, new season.

Final Thoughts

No doubt, these are some significant changes. To be truthful, we don’t have all the answers yet. There is mystery in this transition. But we do know that God is moving here in Des Moines. More specifically, he’s moving amongst the 30,000 (!!!) young adults that aren’t connected to Christ.

It’s been a joy to watch what God has done in and through you, the people of Immersion. Over the last several years, I’ve watched…

• Lives change.
• People exchange their self-centered reality for the reality of Christ.
• Watched people meet, fall in love and get married.
• Watch as Immersionites go on to make a life for themselves in God.

It’s been a joy, a pleasure, and an honor to serve alongside so many of you.

So spread the word, near and far. Let people who you know used to be a part of the Immersion community that we would love to see them on June 10. Send tweets, texts, update your status … Tell people! As always, you can check for the latest news here on BeImmersed.com and on Facebook.

Peace to you. See you on the 10th!

Justin