My name
is John Rittenhouse...
I was brought on part time as lead pastor in November of 2005 and started full time with Living
Spring in January 2006 after 15 years in business. My wife Lisa
and I were called to full time ministry 10 years prior. What took so
long? I don't really know. We were always ready to go but never
felt like God was saying "yes" to the other opportunities that came
along. As a matter of fact, we felt very clearly that God was saying
"no" to those other ministries.
Then, in August of 2005 we got a call
from our denomination's conference superintendent asking us to check out
Living Spring. I'd never heard of it but drove from Lakewood to Garden
Grove to check out the campus. I knew I was in trouble when I arrived.
Typically it didn't take long for God to show me that "this wasn't it."
Not in this case. Later, Lisa and I both drove down and we prayed in the
parking lot seeking God's guidance. This was it. We knew we were going
to make a radical change in life! I preached four weeks in late
September and was brought on in November.
Lisa has an entry in her
journal that says "I don't know what God is going to do but I know we
are called to full time ministry...even if it takes 10 years." That was
written ten years prior.
Pretty cool, huh?