On September 27th of 2009, 192 people gathered together at the Pine Richland Youth Center for what was the first official Sunday morning worship service for Living Bridge Community Church in Gibsonia Pennsylvania. The church was actually birthed out of a small group that began meeting in early July on Wednesday evenings in homes and parks around the Gibsonia area. By the time we launched we had some 50-60 committed attendees.
Let me just say that the purpose of this letter is not to rehash what went right or what went wrong over the 3 years that I led the church as it's founding pastor. We had many awesome moments along the way, and we had many not so awesome moments along the way. If you were a part LBCC there is no way you came away from being a part of it without learning something about yourself, church life, what is needed to plant a church, what isn't needed to plant a church, and probably several other life lessons you maybe did and maybe didn't want to learn. To be honest, there is not a week that goes by that I don't think, "What could I have done differently?", "What could I have done better?", "What should I have done more of?", "What should I have done less of?" and so on...
Believe me, hind sight is 20/20 and I know I was far from the perfect pastor! If I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, you better believe I would do a lot of things differently. Then again, there are many things that I wouldn't change at all. Truth be told, none of us really knew much about planting a church; we just knew that we wanted to see a Christ-centered church arise in the Gibsonia area and many people gave thankless time and effort to try and make it happen.
Let me also say that I would never trade the days spent as pastor of Living Bridge for anything. God taught me so much, and He has allowed me to grow so much stronger in my faith because of those days spent trying to raise up His church called Living Bridge. And as I get older I've learned that more often than not, life's greatest lessons come not on the mountain tops, but in the valley's; not in our times of greatest victory , but oftentimes in times of difficulty and even through our failures.
Leaving the church my wife, my family, and so many others had poured their life into was one of the hardest things I've ever done. There is not a week that goes by that I do not think about the time spent with the body of believer's at LBCC... There is not a week that goes by that I don't pray for the people who attended LBCC and ask God's favor to be upon their lives. I keep the poster hanging in my office that many of our members signed before I left LB as a constant reminder of the privledge God allowed me, even if only for a short time, to lead His church (His people) called Living Bridge.
I cannot go back and change the past, and truth be told I truly believe that God ordained everything to happen just as it did. As I prepare to face my now 6th neck surgery I realize I could never have been able to keep up the pace that would have been needed from me in order to lead this infant church into it's growing years to come. I also realize that God brought me here to Tullahoma to grow spiritually and mentally as a pastor, father, and ultimately a man of God. He brought me here to help me in my journey of physical healing through the skilled surgeons here in Nashville. And He brought me here to serve Him in music, worship, and senior adults at a place where others have been able to step in and take over for me during my times of physical handicap and the needed healing processes.
Unfortunately, many never truly understood why God led me away from LBCC and still do not to this day. Many became angry with me for leaving of which I can fully understand, but none-the-less saddens me to think about.
I could write so much more but I want to leave you with this...
Know that I still love you all and pray for you daily. I miss you and am sorry that things did not work out like we had all prayed and hoped they would. Thank you so much for all your hard work, dedication, and commitment to God's church called Living Bridge. One thing I do know and that brings my heart much joy is that lives were changed and people were saved! And if it was only just one, the angels were rejoicing none the less! However, it wasn't just one, many came to know Christ through the ministry of Living Bridge! God did have a purpose and He did work in spite of what we may deem as a failed church plant. God didn't see it as that... He saw it as a church for such a time and a place that was September 27, 2009 through December of 2012 when LBCC unfortunately closed it's doors some six months after I had left.
Here's the thing though... What I told you then is still true today... YOU are the CHURCH so BE the CHURCH! Keep on pressing on and keep looking up! God still has a plan for your life and desires to do many great and wonderful things through you!
I love you all with the love of Christ and would love to hear from you! Please feel free to pass this along to anyone who I may not be connected to that attended LB. God bless you my friends!
Be the Church!
Pastor Christian Watts
