Taking My Next Step

Taking next steps is something I passionately believe is integral to the Christian walk. Pun intended. When Whitney and I first decided to pursue the Lead Pastor Resident position at Trinity West Seattle, God opened door after door after door and we just kept taking steps forward. Essentially, the most challenging part of uprooting our near decade of life in Orlando, Florida to come to Seattle, Washington was the drive…and the drive was amazing.

Exiting the residency well and finding our next landing spot was a very different journey. What do you do when there are no steps to take? You can’t force doors, opportunities for a ministry role, to open. And even if you could, maybe those doors should have never been opened to begin with. Our next step was literally to not take one. Our next step was to wait. That was the journey, or lack thereof, which Whitney and I faced as my time in the residency at Trinity neared its end.

The elders gave the go ahead to begin applying in December and January of 2026. Finding a church job can take a very, and I mean very, long time. Cultural fit (staff, congregation, location, etc). Role description. Theological alignment. Family considerations. And so much more. For pastors, the church is certainly a job and a calling, but it is also a place you have to discern whether or not to call home. Discerning all of that during an interview process where everyone puts their best game face on is a challenge. So the December and January green light was worrisome, but fine. I hoped it would be enough time.

I had my first opportunities for interviews quickly, like insanely quickly. Whitney and I discerned during this time that we were either going to be in Seattle or going closer to family. If he wanted us to stay in Seattle, he would have to make the money and housing stuff work. Because as we all know, living here ain’t cheap. 

Early on in the days of interviewing, I ended up saying no to quite a few places. Churches all over. Churches in Silicon Valley and Portland. Even churches close by in Renton, Lynnwood, Gig Harbor, and others. The bad fit and other various reasons just stood out. I was told no by quite a few as well, all over Texas, Florida, and Illinois. All places close to my siblings or to Whitney’s family. My fit to their desired roles were not panning out from their end.

February and March sneaked up on us, and all of a sudden not a lot was moving. It was a ton of waiting. Long times between interviews and responses. Discernment got even more personally challenging due to our stressful housing situation and our second miscarriage at the end of February. Fear and stress creeped in…well more like burst onto the scene like the Kool-Aid Man those 90s Kool-Aid TV commercials. But God was at work. I was in some interviews with three churches, two local Seattle churches and one in Michigan, close to Whitney’s family. They weren’t going according to plan, well not my plan at least.

While waiting on the first Seattle church to get back to me, I ended up as a final candidate to the Michigan church and the second church here in Seattle. Whitney and I took off to Michigan for an in-person discernment and interview visit and asked the second Seattle church to standby, which they graciously did. They honored Whitney’s and my desire to try and move closer to family. 

I honestly thought we would end up at the Michigan church before we visited, but when we visited it became clear it was not the place the Curry family should be. Our time in Michigan was incredibly stressful. We didn’t fit there. The people were absolutely incredible and kind beyond anything we deserved, yet we were just so different from the culture of western Michigan. So it was stressful because we didn’t fit but also because the church needed some serious revitalization. There were so many things that would be on my shoulders, and so many elements that needed fixing. I could see the challenges clearly, and the solutions for them were both overwhelming and daunting. Whitney and I think God has gifted me with all that was necessary to revitalize the church, but at what cost? 

We walked away from that weekend acknowledging that we do want to be closer to family, but not at the price it was evident that our family, especially me, would personally have to pay. Because of that and the lack of cultural fit for our family, I declined the tentative offer and removed myself from the interview process. We asked God for clarity, and after walking through a stressful weekend, God gave it. He was faithful. It seemed like He might be trying to keep us in Seattle. I was starting to get excited.

I received a tentative offer from the second Seattle church during that same time. The church was Grace Church West Seattle. Following a final few conversations with the staff pastors and wives, as well as a personal conversation with the elders at Grace, I accepted the offer to join their team as an Associate Pastor. 

After accepting the offer from Grace, I told the first Seattle church I had accepted another job. They were disappointed, but very excited I was staying in the Seattle area. I love the collaborative nature of various churches in this region. It is the gospel lived out amongst churches. Then shortly after that, our housing situation took a turn, and we were able to place an offer to purchase the house we were currently renting. 

My journey toward Seattle from Orlando was simple steps along the way. It was one step at a time, and all of them were very clearly laid out before us. This time, the journey was simply waiting. Patience. Stillness. Trusting God in the midst of anxiousness and looming deadlines. Yet, in both situations God was faithful. Not just faithful because He provided for our family (I mean, He is Jehovah Jireh after all), but faithful because He was present with us through each moment of stress. Each moment of waiting, He was there. He showed up in the mess and in the stress. 

While Whitney and I are sad to leave Trinity, we are so grateful for the relationships that began here that get to continue. Trinity is the place I baptized both of my two older sons, Oliver and Dietrich. It is the place where we grieved two miscarriages and were surrounded by love and care. Trinity is the place where I first became an Elder and preached my first Sunday sermons. Trinity is now an integral part of my story, and my family’s story.

I’ve come to realize that the Lead Pastor Residency is a lot like parenting. Trinity gets to raise up residents and fully invest their heart, soul, minds, people, and resources into them. Then they get to send them out and watch them bloom. How cool is it that one of Trinity’s residents is staying close by and continuing to do life and ministry alongside you in Seattle? Every mom has dreamed, at some point, about her kids buying the other houses in her cul-de-sac when they grow up. Well, we get to live that out. Good is ahead!