Our Official Yes

To many of you, this may not come as a surprise—but over the past week, as Stephanie and I have started posting things for sale on Facebook (our home, beloved camper, my truck, and more), the questions have started rolling in:
“What in the world is going on?” and
“Why are you selling all your stuff?”

Some of you who’ve been closer to the details have already connected the dots, but now it’s time to make it official:
We’re headed to Korea!

On Sunday, June 8th, Songtan Central Baptist Church in Pyeongtaek, South Korea voted to call me (James) as their next Lead English Pastor. Stephanie and I are incredibly honored by this call, and we deeply covet your prayers as we step into this exciting new season of ministry and life.

We’ve begun the process of paring down our belongings to 40 medium-sized boxes, selling the treasures we’ve collected over the years, and savoring these last few weeks with our precious family and friends.

Many of you have asked about our timeline. We’re finishing the summer strong, spending meaningful time with our PB Youth students and experiencing a few final milestones—like one last trip to Snowbird for summer camp. Please pray for us as we strive to finish well and continue to love these students faithfully, even beyond our time here in Concord.

One of the most difficult parts of this transition is leaving behind the family we love so dearly. Our parents, siblings, and extended family have been a constant source of support, encouragement, and joy throughout our lives. We treasure every moment with them, and saying goodbye—even for a season—is not easy. And yet, as much as we love our family, we are confident that the Lord is calling us to step out in obedience. Our desire is to follow Him wherever He leads, trusting that He will care for our loved ones as He sends us to care for others. Obedience to Christ is not always comfortable, but it is always worth it.

Our trip to Korea in early June only deepened our sense of calling to SCBC. We met a church that loves the Word, cares deeply for one another, and has a genuine heart for the nations. We saw so many exciting opportunities for English ministry in Pyeongtaek and were encouraged by the unity and shared vision between the English and Korean congregations.

We truly can’t wait to see how God will use us at SCBC.

If you’d like to follow along as we step into this calling God has placed on our lives, we’ve launched a website and social media page called Just Our Yes. Our hope is to share updates, stories, and reflections from our time in Korea so our friends and family can walk this journey with us.

The name Just Our Yes comes from a simple but foundational desire we’ve always had: to give God our “yes” and trust Him to place us wherever He calls.

We’re excited for what’s ahead—and grateful to have you alongside us in prayer, encouragement, and support.

We’d love for you to follow along, pray with us, and stay connected through Just Our Yes.

Why Korea? The Story Behind Our Big Move

If you would have told us a couple years ago we’d be selling the majority of our belongings, packing up, and taking our family of four to Pyeongtaek, South Korea— we probably would have called you crazy. BUT it’s funny how life goes and ever so unique how God orchestrates our paths. There have been many moments along the way in James and I’s (Stephanie writing here) stories so far both independently before even meeting and collectively over the past almost 14 years together.

In early 2024, James attended a conference where he first learned a statistic that broke his heart for the nations and struck in him a desire to do more for the Gospel.

174,202 people die across the globe daily apart from Christ

James left that conference and said a prayer that he didn’t share with me. He asked that God would give me the same brokenness and the same feeling that we should go to the nations without ever telling me he was having those inclinations himself.

Fast forward several months, and wouldn’t you know, I started having those same whispers from the Holy Spirit. Through the teaching of our Pastor and a personal testimony from a missionary, I felt impressed that we needed to seriously consider what our faith was worth. Indeed, it is worth literally everything we can give.

With that, I turned to James after church one day and said with tears in my eyes, “I think God is telling us to go.”

At this point we had absolutely no idea where, when, or how we would go. But, we did feel we needed to relinquish our idea of what the future for our family looked like, and just give God our Yes. This was about July 2024 at this point.

Through a series of conversations missionaries, international pastors, our own mentors, research, and prayer- we begin the journey of seeking international missional opportunities over the next 6 months.

I received a lighthearted text from James one day, “how about South Korea"?”

….”sure” I replied hastily and mindlessly as I was in midst of a hectic work day.

Little did I know, we would soon be invited for an initial interview in early December with Songtan Central Baptist Church in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. That initial interview excited us in a way no other opportunity had yet. SCBC has strong ties with the Southern Baptist convention, they identify themselves as a sending church due to the rotational nature of their congregation, and their search committee was adamantly heartfelt and prayerful about ensuring they choose the Pastor who would be the right fit for their next leader.

Through a series of conversations, 6am Zoom calls, prayers, and much patience, James was chosen from a large candidate pool as the desired next Senior Pastor of SCBC.

Thus begins our journey….