Dear HR Family,
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am profoundly thrilled and privileged to begin serving you as the Campus Pastor of Hanley Road!
Several months ago, the elders asked me to consider transitioning from Worship Director at The Journey to HR Campus Pastor. As my beautiful wife Megan and I considered this opportunity, we talked, prayed, and sought wise counsel from trusted friends/advisors. The more we did so, the more excited we became about this opportunity to serve you and our King Jesus. So, we have accepted the offer!
In the last four years at The Journey, God has richly blessed us. When we arrived, we experienced some much-needed Gospel healing. Honestly, we were both disillusioned by the church and angry at God. The Gospel-centered teaching of Pastor Darrin was life-changing for us. God’s grace began to sink down deeper into our hearts. “For God demonstrated His love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Amen! Our love for Jesus began to grow and we deeply resonated with the core values of the church – truth, worship, beauty, community, and mission.
As a result, we quickly began to lead a community group and I started leading worship, first at West County, then at Tower Grove. After graduating from Covenant Theological Seminary in May ’09, I came on staff as the Worship Director and have been gladly fulfilling that role since then.
During that time, God continued to impress upon my heart a desire to expand my leadership by becoming a Campus Pastor. I knew that God had given me the ability to lead, shepherd, and teach. And I wanted to honor him by pursuing that calling - “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12). Yet I needed further development so that I could better, “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). Again, God was gracious and has given me great mentors. I am grateful to my brothers and sisters on staff at The Journey, as well as all the volunteers and people with whom I have interacted. They have played an integral role in shaping me as a disciple of Christ and as a leader of God’s people.
So now, I am entering a new season of service to King Jesus. I am very excited and yet soberingly aware of the high stakes and my own shortcomings. I will do my best and when I fail, I will, Lord willing, repent quickly and thoroughly. Like you, my hope is in Christ – that He will build His church, that He will lead and guide me and you as we lead and guide others to Him. May the Lord grant us great faith and teachable spirits.
Please pray for my wife and me. And come introduce yourselves to us! We want to get to know you quickly. I am here to serve you and equip you for the work of Gospel ministry, as Jesus Christ empowers me, so that we can live out the mission to which God has called us - “to make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).
Hanley Road, I am exceedingly glad to be here with you. May the Lord continue to work in us and through us, often despite us, to reach St. Louis with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Blessings, Jeremy Irwin
