On Sunday night, I had the hard task of telling my youth group that I was resigning as Director of Youth Ministries at St. David’s. This was not like resigning from any normal job. This was like leaving family. My last Sunday will be June 28th.

Somewhere between the global economic downturn and the first few weeks of our new daughter’s life, my wife and I realized that I needed to find a new way to support our family. The rigors of a youth pastors schedule combined with the rising cost of our family life made this point clear.

After much soul-searching, prayer, and a few graduate school applications, we landed on Penn State. In the fall, I will begin a M.Ed in Secondary School Counseling. I guess I just can’t get enough of middle school and high school students!

Amidst the sadness of Sunday night, though, I couldn’t help but smile and thank God. Here were the students I have come to love caring for each other and me in this hard time. We told stories about youth group memories. We shared our concern for the future of the ministry. The high school students led the middle school students in prayer. Many a hug was given.

Doesn’t this sound like family? Or at least the way you’d like your family to be? It’s been a joy for me these past two years to be involved in the lives of our students. They are a treasure. I look forward to seeing what God does in their lives. And I’m thankful that in God, relationships do not end, they simply change.

I am also grateful for all this community has meant to me. It was within this supportive community that I entered into married life. It was here that my first child was born and baptized. It was here that I heard the call to become a Counselor. Tonight I felt the deep bonds that we have formed over the past two years. St. David's will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope to visit often.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have more than a month left and I plan to make the most of it. SD YG, see you soon!

God Bless,

Jonathan Stube