There’s a phrase in the writings of John Wesley that doesn’t get talked about to often, but it carries a quiet weight: itinerancy, the idea that pastors are sent, not settled.
For Wesley, ministry was never meant to be comfortable or stationary. He believed that pastors were called by God and then sent to where they were needed most. The gospel, after all, was always on the move, crossing boundaries, reaching new people, stirring hearts in unexpected places. So John Wesley organized his preachers to travel from place to place, trusting that God’s work was bigger than any one community or personal preference.
Scripture echoes this movement. Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19), and the early church lives it out by sending Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13, trusting that the Spirit is already at work wherever they are sent. Again and again, we see that ministry is less about staying put and more about following where God leads.
In the United Methodist tradition, we continue to live into this understanding in a very particular way. Pastors are not called by a local church; rather, we are sent by our Bishop to serve a local congregation and community for a season. That may sound like a small distinction, but it carries deep meaning. It reminds us that our primary call is to Christ, and through the leadership of the church, we are appointed to serve where we are most needed.
And that brings this a little closer to home.
In the life of the church, there are moments when this calling becomes very real. A pastor who has walked alongside a congregation, shared in joys, carried burdens, laughed, prayed, and grown together, is sent to a new place of ministry. And at the same time, another pastor is sent to come and walk with you. It can feel like an ending, and in some ways it is. But it is also a continuation of God’s ongoing work.
This is one of those moments.
As I am preparing to be sent to a new appointment at Lower UMC, I do so with deep gratitude for the time we have shared. You have shaped me as your pastor more than you may ever know. And just as I trust that God is already at work where I am going, I trust that God is already preparing the one who will be sent here to walk with you next.
Itinerancy reminds us of something important: the church was never built around one person. It is built on Christ, sustained by the Spirit, and carried forward by faithful people like you. The mission doesn’t pause with a transition, it continues, often in new and surprising ways.
So while there may be some sadness in the goodbye, there is also hope in what comes next. Because the same God who brought us together for a season is the same God who now sends us forward, each of us, into the next chapter of the journey.
And wherever that journey leads, one thing remains certain: God goes with us.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Owen