When Tracie and I first began to talk and pray about what we sensed God doing in our life—a calling to “leave and go”—one of the things that we desired was for God to bring someone along with us on the journey. We didn’t know who that would be or if God would stir someone’s heart to join us or not but that was our desire.
Because God is bigger than one family and one ministry he was simultaneously working with a young couple living in Nashville—Jono and Meghann Ramey. I have known Jono since he and his family joined Crossroads Church when he was a middle school student. I had the privilege of baptizing him along with his brother and dad; I got to watch him graduate from high school; he served with me as a ministry intern in our Student Ministry at Crossroads Church; and in 2007 I had the honor of performing his wedding to Meghann. When Jovi was born we were able to be some of the first humans on the planet to see her sweet face. When they went public with news of a second child we were some of the first to know. To say that the Ramey’s are family to us is not a stretch. In late 2012 I received a letter from Jono telling me that he and Meghann had sensed God leading them to leave their job in Nashville and return to Georgia and that they wanted to partner with us in what God was doing. They took a huge step of faith without a salaried job or insurance—there were no guarantees—and began to joyfully and humbly serve. Their lives and giftedness have been a gift to The Stone Church, to Tracie, our boys and me. Each week Meghann has worked to establish The Stone Quarry so that it is a safe, fun, and God-honoring environment for our kids. She has selected, downloaded, edited and prepared the curriculum for the Preschool and Elementary classes so that the volunteers who serve there each week have every resource that they need to be successful in sharing the love of Jesus with our kids. She has administrated the safety procedures and training of each of our volunteers so that we are doing everything within our power to assure that our kids are safe and that our volunteers are protected from dangerous situations. She has given hours and hours to communicating with small groups from Crossroads Church and here to coordinate the volunteers to make sure that each class is staffed appropriately. She has purchased resources and supplies each month so that the teachers have every possible advantage and so that the kids are led with excellence. She has served with grace—she has used her giftedness to build up the body of Christ and to advance the kingdom. A church’s Children’s Ministry is often the front door for people looking for a place to plant their family. For The Stone Church it is literally the front door! We have been truly blessed to have Meghann serve with such a tender, passionate and gifted heart all these months. Jono’s fingerprints are all over this place. He helped me sand, stain and polyurethane this floor after we ripped up old carpet. He has run, re-run, and re-run cables from the front of the building to the back. He has helped install the AV and sound components. He has become our onsite, local technology expert: learning to use Adobe Photoshop Suite, design and maintain websites, record and upload podcasts, design graphics, build teams. He and Meghann are usually the first ones here on Sunday to make sure everything is a go and to run through the sound and media with that week’s worship leader. He has been my “left hand”—when something needs to be done, I call/email/text Jono. When I need a creative idea…ask Jono. When I need someone to take a creative idea and turn it into reality, call Jono. When I need to get some honest feedback on how things went on the weekend, I can trust Jono. He will tell me what I need to know with grace. Having served with him for so many years he intuitively gets the look and feel that I’m looking for—and that is a gift! Now, the Rameys are once again following the leadership of the Holy Spirit and are transitioning to a new season of life. After much praying and searching and praying and wondering, Jono has accepted a position at a company in Carrolton where they will be moving in the next few weeks. They leave us much richer than when they joined us! We already miss them.
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