More Changes
In the summer of 2002, South Abbotsford Church asked me to consider taking their Pastor of Worship Arts position. I declined, but was encouraged by Steve Berg to try the position for a year. I had nothing to lose because I could take a leave of absence and be guaranteed my teaching position again, and the church had little to lose as they had been looking for someone for quite some time. I agreed, and we were on the move again.
I left my music position at Rick Hansen Secondary to take on the new challenge. Some of my friends would say that I knew before I started the church position that I was going to go back, but in my heart, I was excited to try full-time ministry. I would be working with my dad and with Steve Berg, a trusted and loved father-figure. I gave the church all of my passions, and thus decided not to start Doxa again that fall. Instead, the boys of Doxa worked with me in the worship ministry at the church. Dustin began leading worship and I got to know Mark Berg, Steve's son on a whole new level.
(Doxa begins again for 2003/2004. Left to right: Mark Berg, Vijay Manuel, Jared Falk, Sarah Manuel, Dustin Freund)
When I gave the church my resignation letter in January of 2003, I knew two things for sure: 1) I couldn't be a full-time worship pastor and 2) My place for that season was to be working in the public education system as a teacher and hopefully an administrator some day. I went on to complete my Masters degree through San Diego State University that spring in Educational Leadership and looked forward to getting back into the education system with young people. My passion was to work with the youth, and I knew that was where I belonged. Brian affirmed my decision to return and asked me and the Doxa Band to join him and other leaders on stage at a city-wide worship event at Rotary Stadium.
We had added Mark Berg as the lead guitarist for the band. He was a great addition because he was a worship leader first, and a musician second. Now we had essentially three worship leaders in the band. Brian announced to the thousands in attendance that Doxa would be starting again on a weekly basis that fall. We played a few songs that let the crowd know that the heart of Doxa hadn't changed: we were about sharing the Gospel to those who didn't know Jesus yet.
(The crowd of thousands
worships with Doxa at the City-Wide Rally at Rotary Stadium
in Abbotsford, 2002)
The service started again, and once again we found
ourselves in a place of great support from so many people.
In January of 2004, I led a worship choir for the live
Brian Doerksen recording which would become the
Today
CD. It was
a great privilege to work with Brian on one of his
projects. The role included arranging the choral music,
recruiting and rehearsing the choir, and preparing them for
worship. The CD was released in over 30 countries around
the world and was a spriritually growing experience for me
and all the friends who joined me.
At the end of that year, I knew once again that the Doxa
weekly service was at its end. I didn't want to lose
connection with this group of musicians and leaders in the
Doxa ministry and so we continued meeting for our bi-weekly
Bible studies for the year following. The weekly service,
however, had run its course. Sarah & I were about to
have our second child, Dustin & Jaydene, Mark &
Heidi, and Jeff & Demara were to marry that coming
year.
(The Manuel family: Sarah, Jada, Misha, & Vijay,
2008)
In the coming two years, more children were born and
careers changed. Jada joined our family in 2004 nineteen
months after our son Misha. We enjoyed a ton of activity in
and around our house as neighborhood children seemed to
join our driveway and front yard activities daily. I was
hired as a Vice Principal in the Abbotsford School District
in 2005 and began to immerse myself into the culture of the
high school in which I had been placed. Sarah continued her
role as a support to me and the new ministry
that God
had given us. My father-in-law, Steve Nicholson, had begun
serving as the Missions Leader at his church,
Christian Life Assembly, and began
making Robert Bateman Secondary
a part
of his mission field by helping with dances, student
leadership events, hosting dinners for students with his
wife (my mother-in-law) Ruthie, and offering financial
support to various groups within the school.
Our ministry continued and grew in new directions. Although
music wasn't to be central in our ministry lives for the
new season, it continued to be central in our home as we
worked hard to teach our children about the loving God who
made Himself known to us through His son Jesus Christ. This
was clearly our number one ministry priority: our children.
The new job which demanded a great deal of my creativity,
energy, and time would be our second ministry site, and our
church would have to be the place where we would receive
the needed spiritual food for each week.
We took on the new challenges facing us with a great deal
of enthusiasm and renewed purpose. The tug in our hearts,
however, kept asking the question: What's
next? Although that answer
isn't clearly before us, we have great confidence in
knowing that God's Holy Spirit is our protector, guide, and
friend. He will make our paths clear as we give Him the
glory in all the varied situations we find ourselves in.
Update:
Visit the News section for the
latest (May 28, 2008)
Further
Update: Visit the
News section for the
latest (December 2, 2009)
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The Doxa Story // Beginnings / Growth / Major Moves / Events / A New Direction
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Take It To The
Streets / A Year Off / Doxa Begins Again
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More Changes
(c) Shikina Publishing
2008