Ordination

Late Saturday afternoon I was lovingly pressed into the floor of a church building in southern California as several men laid hands upon me and prayed for God's work in and through me for years ahead. A few moments later an "official" piece of paper landed in my lap. It reads, "Philip Glassmeyer having been examined for the ministry under the provisions of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America and having been ordained by the Presbytery, has been ordained, with prayer and the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, to the office of Teaching Elder (Minister of the Word) at Artesia, California by the Presbytery of Pacific on the 22nd day of September in the year of our Lord 2007."

In the hours to come Angie and I would sigh, laugh and cry. "Has this really happened? Can you believe it? I can't believe it! Wow, our Lord has called me to be a full time minister of his gospel!" These would be repeated phrases throughout the evening.

The moment of my ordination and the receiving of my definite call as an evangelist to North Las Vegas comes after years of anticipation and a sense of not being settled. While serving Grace Fellowship Church in Buckeye, AZ (2003-2004) we would have been so glad to stay, but felt in our hearts that God would be moving us on, and he eventually did. I studied for three years in St. Louis and have now spent the last four months preparing for ordination trials and continuing to raise funds for this work. After five years of constant transition through times of preparation and anxiety about the future we now find ourselves in a place where we hope to stay, and have a sense of long term calling. We finally feel as through the work is ready to begin.

Frankly, I don't really know what to do with myself. All I can say this evening is that with a healthy sense of fear and an awareness of the continuing spiritual warfare that accompanies us, I am filled with the joy at the prospect of spending years to come loving the people of Las Vegas and hopefully witnessing the work of God's Spirit in this place as he transforms individuals, families, communities and perhaps the entire city to reflect the redeeming work of Jesus.

Will you pray for us today? Will you pray that our Lord will continue to confirm his ordination and continue to grow us in the gospel?

I'll post pictures of Saturday's events soon.