Hi, I’m Jay!
It’s nice to meet you… well kind of digitally. I love meeting people in person, please come say “Hi!” when you see me around the campus. Here’s a little welcome video that I put together for you.
God has given me many ideas on how to lead this ministry. However, I CANNOT do this alone. You might find me referring to this ministry as OUR ministry and not MY ministry. That’s part of my philosophy of ministry, we are IN THIS TOGETHER.
The days ahead are going to be great within OUR ministry. Please pray for me regularly. If you need me, you can contact me at my email: jayr@gethope.net or on my cell: 724-244-8222. I will work to respond in a timely manner.
MY STORY: A Work In Progress
As the pastor leading MSM here at Apex, I hope to see God work among our ministry. He has a GREAT opportunity to work within each of us. It takes vulnerability, asking the right questions, digging deep, and pushing through the hard. I personally have experienced all of that in my life. A few years ago, my story was shown at Hope to provide encouragement during the main services. Take a few moments to watch my faith journey…
I am a work in progress… you are too. Let’s grow closer to God, together. Let’s help one another to become more like Christ. If it makes sense, let your middle schooler see my story.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What You Can Expect From Me
We are better when we work together. A value among Hope’s staff is to be ‘In It Together.’ It would be helpful for you to know what I’m committing to and what you can expect from me as your Apex MSM Pastor.
- I will work to equip Small Group Leaders. There are amazing small group leaders who are already in place, I will keep training and equipping them in their abilities.
- I will work to communicate clearly with you. My plan is to send a monthly parent email, which will include devotionals connected to the student ministry curriculum, current series information, upcoming events, and inspiration for you as a parent. I will also send updates or videos on Hope’s Apex Facebook Group (add link).
- I will work to disciple you and your student. I’ve seen that students need a better handle on understanding the bible. Let me help you. Let me help them. Let me help you, help them. I have some creative ideas on how to do this. Go with me on this journey.
- I will pray for your family regularly. As your MSM pastor, it is my responsibility to pray for you generally and specifically when I know what & how to pray. Please let me know how I can join alongside your family in prayer, big or small.
- I will build serving teams. Students need places to serve, and they need to see how their parents are serving the church and community. Below you will see the current greatest needs for MSM.
Current Volunteer Needs in MSM
For this ministry to THRIVE, I need your help in a few areas. Let me know where you would like to plug in to OUR ministry.
- Prayer Team – God listens to our prayers. I would love to see a few families every Sunday morning at 8am, to pray over every chair in the student auditorium and over the small group spaces. You can greatly impact your child’s spiritual life by allowing them to see how you pray. This team needs a team leader to work on scheduling and sending updates to the prayer team. If you can’t make it in person, let me know, I will start to build weekly prayer prompts for this team to pray.
- Welcome Team – I’m currently working to build an adult and MSM student welcome team. This is a GREAT spot to serve alongside your student. This team needs a team leader, who is great at logistics, scheduling, and will take on ownership of training new team members.
- Tech Team – I’m currently working to build a tech team for MSM. This a great spot for MSM students through adults to jump in to help out. Run slides, audio, and lights during the service.
- Worship Team – Looking to start live worship. I cannot play an instrument or even sing in public (just ask my wife for verification). It would be great to begin by having Singers, and then eventually add in other instruments. If you are a musical family, consider doing this alongside your student.
Let me know if you want to grab coffee, lunch, or a phone call and hear more about the opportunities to jump in to middle school.
Meet my family
I cherish my family greatly. I would do anything for them. My wife is Liz Reynolds. We are blessed to have 2 delightful children Olivia (6) and Sawyer (4). We have been attending Fuquay Campus since the launch. They will soon be making the shift to Apex Campus, if you see them around please say Hi. Although, my kids can be a little shy at first.