Dear Friends and Family,
We are so excited to be able to tell you about the Transition that God has us in. Let us just start out by saying this; we have never been more excited about what God is doing at Lakeshore church! We believe that Lakeshore is on the verge of a new season of ministry like never before! We have never loved a local church like we love the people of Lakeshore. God has and is doing something unique and it has been amazing to be a part of it. We have never loved a group of teenagers more than we love the students of Paradigm! Whether you were part of paradigm in the past or the present, it has been an amazing journey to see what God has done in the past 7 years as we have served as youth pastors to some of the most amazing students on the planet!
In saying all of that, we want to share with you that God is transitioning us out of Lakeshore Church. It all began 11 months ago when we felt God preparing us for transition. We received a call from Pastors Carey and Meghan Robinson asking us if we would pray about joining them on the journey of building a church from the ground up! Initially, we thought it was crazy and didn’t give it much thought but God began to speak to us and work on our hearts. The more we prayed about it and the more we tried to get away from the idea. But God kept bringing it back up in our spirits. The more we tried to run from the idea the more it was brought up in our hearts. It was in late August that we sat down and had a conversation that we both knew this is what God was preparing for us. We took the next month to pray, seek counsel, talk with our Pastors (who had been praying with us regarding this decision for the past 9 months) and hear from the Lord. The decision to transition out of Lakeshore has been a difficult one! But we are excited to be on this new assignment from God!
We are being obedient to the call of God and transitioning to Southern California to help plant The Movement Church. Orange County is 90 % unchurched and there is a great need for more churches to reach out into their communities to be the tangible expressions of Jesus . Up to this point there are 25 other people moving their lives and their family to help plant this church. To get to know more about the heart and vision of The Movement Church go to http://www.facebook.com/theocmovement
God has done a great work in our heart to get us to this point and we are excited and looking forward to this great adventure building His church! Transition is never easy but we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that being in the center of His perfect will is the best place to be and it is the only place we want to be.
The Plan Moving Forward
Pastor Brad and Denise have been more than gracious throughout this entire process and we are so thankful for leaders that care more about people than the process! We couldn’t have asked for a better church or better pastors these past 7 years. We are committed to finishing these next few months strong at Lakeshore ensuring that the student ministry doesn’t skip a beat and moves forward stronger than ever.
We are taking a giant leap of faith trusting God and we know He is faithful and that He is going to take care of our every need. We are leaving everything we have come to know and love to follow His call on our life. Initially we won’t receive a salary until the church is able to bring us on full time; so we will be raising support and we plan on getting a job to make up the difference to cover our living expenses.
Three areas we need support in are prayer, finances and encouragement! Please consider supporting us as we embark on this journey!
Here is a brief timeline moving forward for the Dekold family
Jan – Stay focused on student ministry at Lakeshore / Fundraising
Feb – Transition and Training new Youth Pastors
Feb 28th – Dekold Baby #3 Due Date
March 1st – Final Day on Staff at Lakeshore
March – Making arrangements to move, Packing up the house
April - Loading up Truck / Moving to California
Once again, a huge thank you to Lakeshore and Pastor Brad! We will always call this place home! Thank you to all the families that have taken us in over the years. And a huge thank you to Paradigm leaders and students! Ya’ll are so amazing! We will miss every single one of you!
Nick, Liz, Gavin, Emory & Baby #3
I am so excited to hear of such great things happening for your family! Although it’s been a couple years, knowing you guys truly made a difference in my life. It will be hard on you guys, as well as those back at lakeshore but the fact that you guys are willing to be so obedient to Gods call is very inspiring! I wish you guys nothing but luck happiness and success and will keep your beautiful hearted family in my prayers! Ps congrats on the new upcoming addition to your lovely family! <3 love you guys! -Kasie Lofton
Kasie!! Thank you so much for the encouragement and kind words! Liz and I miss you being around!!! I was reminded after reading this comment about our fun times on the LA Missions Trip of everyone sliding down the hallways on our stomachs through the soap! haha good times! Liz and I love you and are here for you if you need anything and if you ever need a visit to California you definitely have a place to stay at our house! P.S Congrats on the Engagement!!!
Nick and Family,
Thank you first of all for setting an example of how to do this right. It blesses my heart to hear you honoring Pastor Brad, making sure the youth group is solid, and taking your time in making this move. I also wanted to thank you for your investment into my Children. Paradigm was a blessing for us. As you know it is a struggle for us both logistically and environmentally for our children to receive what they need through our ministry. Paradigm filled that void and embraced them as though they were Lakeshore Kids. Thank you for that. Caleb is finishing his 2nd year at CFNI this semester and is doing a great job as our worship Pastor. He preached for his second time last Wednesday night and he has for sure been marked by God as a communicator of the Gospel. Thank you for your investment into his life. I bless you and your family and know that the fullness of what God has for you has only just begun. CareCenter Ministries will be sowing a seed toward your transition soon.
Bless you guys,
Eldred L. Sawyer
Urban Missionary
Eldred! Thank you so much for the encouragement! I am so glad to hear the good news about Caleb serving God full force!! I always knew he was going to be an amazing worship leader but I am even more happy to hear that God has given him a gift to preach! You have great kids! and that can only come from the Lord and great parenting! It it always an honor whenever we get to partner with care center to ministry to the needy in Dallas! Keep doing what you are doing!
NICK AND ELIZABETH I THANK GOD THAT YOU GUYS ARE WILLING TO LAY YOUR LIVES ON GODS ALTER.GOD WILL POUR HIS BLESSINGS ON YOUR FAMILY BECAUSE HE REWARDS OBEDIENCE.NICK LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN BE A BLESSING IN HELPING.ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT YOUR PLANS.YOU WILL REMEMBERED IN OUR PRAYERS.LOVE PAPA
you know we love y’all so much … and are so excited for you!! Can’t wait to see how God will continue to lead you & bless you on this new journey. You have been so loyal & faithful to God, your leadership and your baby sheeps!
no doubt … God will bless you crazy-awesome for your obedience and great faith.
Much love & respect from the Frith Fam …
PC, Lisa, Allison, Nicholas & GMan
Nick, I have been blessed with having both your parents minister to me for the last two years.
Through them I have come to know God and now have the most amazing family I have ever had!
At Lighthouse, I have gotten to know you and your family.
Us here Canadian folk are with you guys all the way! We are praying for you all on a weekly basis.
Bless you and thank you for all the work you have done with our youth!
I’m glad I’ll get to see you before you leave (and if my spring break just doesn’t work for your schedule, I’ll come down some other weekend).
On the downside, you’re leaving what you’ve come to know and love, but really, you now get to experience the adventure of ministry most people don’t get to see. You get to experience the highest highs (and perhaps low lows) that come from abandoning everything to follow Christ, not just in word, but in deed, in a manner that requires real faith. Granted, you do this every day with the way you live out your life not only around your family, but also with friends and work and such.
On the bright side, now I have an excuse to visit that area of California again. Maybe I’ll have a chance to pitch in with the ministry over there someday.