Welcome Our New Deacons :: February 2014 (Part 1)

Two Sundays ago we introduced six new deacons: Justin Pearson, Preston Chastine, Jeff Green, Sarah Adams, Frank Trivett, and Daniel Reynolds. In this first of two blog posts, we have asked the first three to share about their lives. They are a blessing to our body and serve it well. We want all of you to meet them and praise Jesus for raising up more servant-leaders in our church. Justin Pearson serves by helping our church love and go out to the nations. Preston and Jeff serve by coaching City Group leaders and raising up future leaders.Justin Pearson – Deacon of International MissionsI was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was saved when I was young but my growth was slow. As God was growing me more into Christ's image I felt His call to do long term international missions, which brought me to Southwestern Seminary here in Fort Worth to prepare to go. I have been a partner at The Paradox since October 2011 and I met my wife Julie through The Paradox. We were married in August 2013.As the Deacon of International Missions, I will be seeking avenues for The Paradox Church to reach the nations with the Gospel, whether that is the nations that have come to Fort Worth as refugees, students, etc., or helping to send our people out to the places where the name of Jesus is not known. We will seek to develop relationships with organizations and missionaries here and overseas so that we can serve together. Julie and I are still seeking to do long term missions sometime in the near future as well.Preston Chastine – Deacon of City GroupsI was born and raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico and lived there until moving to Fort Worth in August 2012 to attend Southwestern Seminary. My beautiful wife and I met in New Mexico and have been married since September 2010. I was blessed to be raised in a family that loves Jesus and helped point me to Him, so I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior at an early age. During college my faith really started to grow as I started to dive consistently into God’s Word. Through His Word the Spirit did transformational work in my life. More recently, God has revealed more and more to me about the power of the Gospel and my consistent need for Jesus. I’ll never graduate from the Gospel. This has transformed my worship, my relationship with God and with others, and every other aspect of my life.My wife and I began attending The Paradox Church shortly after moving to Fort Worth and have greatly grown in our understanding and love of the Gospel since then. We became partners in April 2013 and I currently serve The Paradox Church by leading the University West City Group (since March 2013), coaching other City Group leaders, and helping oversee our new Sunday evening gathering at First Christian Church. My goal in serving the church is not for my own glory or for the glory of The Paradox Church, but all for the glory of God and the name of Jesus Christ. I want to see people’s lives transformed by the power of the Gospel for their ultimate joy and the glory of God. I serve because of the Gospel and through the Gospel, being empowered by the Holy Spirit to worship Jesus Christ, His grace in my life, and all that He’s done for me, specifically through His life, death, and resurrection.Jeff Green – Deacon of City GroupAbout as Arkansan as you can get, I was raised in the foothills of the Ozarks in a small town called Batesville. I love The Natural State and everything outdoors. Growing up, I never knew a time when our home was not a place that proclaimed the name and love of Jesus Christ. I fulfilled all of the jokes about a stereotypical church kid. I walked the aisle at church at an early age, I was baptized (at what should more likely be described as a pool party with my entire Sunday School class), and I was (what I believed to be) a perfect youth group member. However, it wasn't until after high school when God fully called me to Himself. He began showing me that His love for me did not require and was not a result of my works. He began to reveal to me how His Son accomplished what I never could and that it was in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that my identity was secured. At Ouachita Baptist University, I majored in Biblical Studies with a Greek minor. God used the academics along with a solid community to prepare me for what He knew (and knows) to be coming. Throughout college I spent my summers working at Sky Ranch Camps. During my second summer there I met the Senior Counselor of Cabin 9, my then future wife, Bailey. The following year I proposed; we both graduated and were married on January 8, 2011.In the summer of 2012 we moved to Fort Worth, unsure of why, but it wasn’t long before God began to give us a heart, calling, and vision for our lives in Fort Worth. I took a job at Texas Wesleyan University and we bought a house in Benbrook. We joined the Wedgwood City Group, covenanted as partners with The Paradox Church, and in January 2013 we began leading the Ridglea City Group. I began coaching City Group leaders that summer while preparing for the October launch of the Benbrook City Group, where I currently lead. In December, we added the newest addition to our family—our son, Elliott.The last two years have been full of seeing Christ’s love for us and our hope is to walk with others so that they might see the same thing. I currently coach three of our men who lead City Groups and love walking with them as we are all shown Christ’s work in and through us. I believe that there is no greater use of our lives than discipleship and it is a joy to serve The Paradox Church as a deacon through coaching men, their families, and City Groups so that more people see and know the love of Christ.