Irvine, CA // Sunday Service Time: 9:30 AM

X Close Menu

A Word from Pastor Reuben

unnamed (3)

Before coming to Village Church, we found ourselves looking to find a new church to call home. Having been so invested in and committed to our previous church for our entire Christian lives, this was not easy. Visiting churches week after week, I found myself being critical of everything that was “different” from what I’d previously known. Months went by and we still hadn’t found a church that met “my requirements." As we struggled to find a church, the Lord gently reminded me that finding a church is not about what I get from it, but what I can give to it—where I can serve. The very next Sunday, the Lord led us to Village Church, and we have been here ever since.

For the first year, we were greatly refreshed, encouraged, and challenged—which is exactly what we needed. We then quickly got involved with the life of the church, and began to serve where we saw needs. Looking back on it, this is what I loved most about being part of the Village in our early days—serving the people of the Village in whatever ways were needed at the time.

Fast forward to earlier this year, when the elders asked me to consider starting an elder-in-training. Truth be told, this came as a surprise to me and my wife. I wasn’t considering or pursuing eldership at that time. I simply wanted to help serve and care in deeper ways. I had a mixed range of thoughts and emotions. I expressed my hesitation to the elders, but they encouraged me to start the process without the pressure of a long-term commitment. So I did.

As I started the elder-in-training process, I sought the Lord more than ever in prayer and Scripture, I continued to dialogue with my wife, I sought counsel, and I met with all the elders and other leaders of the church. About two months into the training, as I continued to consider the idea of being an elder, God started giving me peace about it by gently reminding me that it's not about me, through Paul’s words to Timothy:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
(1 Timothy 1:15-16 ESV)

Up to this point, the majority of my internal dialogue was asking myself if I was "godly" enough to be an elder– if I had measured up to the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Then I remembered how Paul considered himself the foremost of sinners, and yet knew that Jesus would display His perfect patience to those who were to believe. That's when it clicked. I'm not "godly" enough on my own. I don't measure up to the qualifications in and of myself. God was calling me to lead, not in my strengths and abilities, but He was calling me to lead in my weakness because that’s when He is glorified.

From that point on, my prayers became simplistic. I simply asked God to open or close the door to being an elder through prayer, Scripture, and godly counsel. I asked him to help me to see these circumstances with His eyes. If He closed the door, then great. I'd continue to serve the church however I can. But if He opens the door, then who am I to say no to what He is calling me to?

As I continued to seek His will in all of these ways, I believe God continued to open the door to eldership. But more importantly, I began to feel a great desire to be an elder and to shepherd this church. My love for the church grew even more as did the desire to point the church to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Attending elder meetings, the elder retreat and other leadership meetings gave even more confirmation as I felt a strong unity with the current elders here at the Village.

Now, as an elder at Village Church, I look forward to serving the body here in even greater and deeper ways. I will be serving as the Community Pastor and will oversee the Community Groups at our church. In that, I look forward to helping our church grow in community with one another and with the world around us.

My greatest prayer and hope for Village Church is that we would grow in our understanding and love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that the Gospel would captivate our hearts and cause us to be upward and outward focused, leading to us exalting God and proclaiming Jesus to each other and the lost. I also pray that we would have a deeper understanding of the grace of God, which will produce a humble confidence in the atoning work of Jesus and not ourselves.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20 ESV)

Your servant,

Pastor Reuben Park