Joe And Kerry Willis
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel. Proverbs 27:9
The fellowship here was very encouraged by our dear brother and sister Joe and Kerry Willis visiting us! Joe and Kerry actually visited Phoenix over 6 years ago all the way from Sydney Australia – the same weekend that Mark Garrido was baptized into Christ! Since that time, the Willis’ have “give(n) up everything” (Luke 14:3) to follow Christ! They have moved from beautiful home in Sydney and left very lucrative jobs to train for their return to the full time ministry in our sister church in Los Angeles. Joe wrote a very poignant article about this transition entitled “Who Changed The Price Tag?” and I highly recommend taking a look at that article as it covers in detail the heart and mind behind the Willis’ sacrifice for God.
Joe and I share a very similar sense of humor being big fans of “Monty Python” – or “”Pythonians” as Joe calls them. It was clear from the first time Joe and I sat down with Chris “How-ya-doin'”) Chloupek were going to have a lot of fun together in the ministry learning together from the Chloupeks. And of course we’d take the time to school our dear brother on “Pythonian” quotes and lore…”I’ve had worse!” Joe and I, along with our wives Kerry and Amy, also share sense of destiny in God’s Kingdom and similar experiences in our pasts. The Willis’ were in the ministry for more than a decade and provided oversight for several churches in the UK in our former fellowship. The Willis’ shared humbly about their rise and fall through the tumultuous times of 2002-2003 and their decision to leave the full time ministry pursuing their secular careers. A powerful reminder evident in the Willis’ journey is that our Heavenly Father is patient with all of us not wanting any of us to lose our faith or our dreams. God wants nothing more than to stoop down and make us great the moment we repent and give up everything to follow him. Joe and Kerry’s account is so encouraging because God, through their repentance, has healed their wounds and called them to get back into the fight! And that Joe and Kerry are doing as they lead the newly formed North region of the City of Angels church.
On Saturday we had a “family get together” with the Shepherds and “Shepherds In Training” to get some great fellowship with the Willis’. The Willis’ brought to us as refreshing perspective with their earnest council as our friends. The church here is grateful for their visit and for the inspiring lesson and moving communion we heard Sunday. A heartfelt thank you from all the brothers’ and sisters in the church here in Phoenix – “we love you with the love of the lord…!” and we’ll see you again soon!
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