UPDATE:

Click here to learn about the FCC Elder Team Search & Selection Process

Click here to email the Elder Team

SPECIAL NOTE:

Click here to download a PDF copy of this letter.

Click here to watch the January 10, 2010 video when Former Senior Pastor John Hampton shared his resignation with the FCC family.

First Christian Church

Senior Pastor John Hampton's Resignation Letter

January 10, 2010

Dear First Christian Family,

There is simply no good way to prepare for some things in life. What I am about to share with you is one of those things. It is with a very heavy heart that I write this letter to inform you that I am resigning as the Senior Pastor of First Christian Church. I know those words will come as a shock to many, but I would ask you to read on and let me give you a fuller explanation of what has led me to this agonizing decision.

When I came to First Christian Church more than 12 years ago, I came with the hope and expectation that God was giving me a new assignment to help an old church with a great past find its way forward into an even greater future. My family was young and we came with the desire to see how God would grow us and this church. And He did both--in amazing and often surprising ways.

However, I sensed some time ago that my role as the pastor of FCC was only to be for a season. I believe God gives some leaders specific assignments to fulfill; once those assignments are completed, He often redirects them into new opportunities to keep both them and the people they serve fresh and forward looking. I am certainly not suggesting that I’ve done everything God wanted me to do here. Indeed, I will leave here wishing I could have been a better leader for you in many ways.

But even that suggests that we are all part of a bigger story; that God is ultimately in charge, and that His purpose is not defined by or confined to one personality. This church belongs to Jesus Christ. It was His long before I came, and it will continue to be His long after I’m gone. I have been blessed to be a steward of this great ministry that means so much to so many. I pray that I am leaving it spiritually healthier, better equipped to embrace the future, and more capable of reaching its redemptive potential than when I found it. Only God knows if this is true, and I am content to submit my work here to His wise and gracious evaluation.

During my time here, several offers from other churches came, asking me to consider leaving and going elsewhere to minister. I never had a serious conversation with any of them until recently. Churches that were larger in size, churches that offered to literally double my salary, churches in almost every geographic locality in the U.S., have reached out to me over the last twelve years.

There were two important promises that I made that kept me here. The first one was to my children. I promised them that, if God allowed us, they both would graduate from high school here. That promise has been kept as our oldest daughter graduated from Hoover High School in 2004 and our youngest in the spring of 2009.

The second promise was to myself and the leadership at FCC. Once we embarked on our relocation project back in 2002, I vowed I would do my best to pilot this ministry through that challenging and exciting phase of growth and development.

As most of you know, our relocation was a massive undertaking during which I often found myself wondering if I was in over my head. But now, we are three years on the other side of our move-in date of December 2006. God has been gracious and faithful every step along the way and has recently given our leadership a new vision for the future of being “the best source of hope for hurting people”. I love that idea. Our Elder Team is more united and more in alignment with the leading of the Holy Spirit than I have seen in my time here. Our staff has some of the most capable and caring people I have had the privilege of working with. My work here with both groups has been marked by joy and gratitude.

And yet there has been an undeniable restlessness in my spirit for some time. I have often wondered what that might mean. At the end of 2008, I sensed God saying to me, “Don’t just say ‘No’ anymore. At least listen.” I took that to mean that He was speaking to me about other ministry opportunities. It wasn’t long before the phone started ringing. Over the past twelve months, five different churches called wanting to know if I would consider becoming their lead pastor. I’ve never experienced so many churches calling in such a short period of time like that before. It has been a bit bizarre to say the least.

Most of the churches that called were quickly dismissed after a conversation or two. There was one ministry, however, that caught my spirit and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. What they need most right now, seems to be what I do best.

The new church I will be serving is Journey Christian Church located in Apopka, Florida, which is just northwest of Orlando. I will serve as their Lead Pastor and will begin my work there on March 15, 2010. My last Sunday to preach here at FCC will be February 21, 2010. Melinda and I will be taking some time off in between to prepare for the move. As you can imagine, there is much to be done for a move of this magnitude.

The transition plans for the leadership of FCC will be communicated in a separate letter by Elder Chairman Tom Clark. Pastor Scott Rosen will be acting as the Interim Senior Pastor, effective upon the date of my last message at FCC. I urge you to join with me in praying for the entire Elder team, our staff, and especially for Pastor Scott during the days ahead. I truly believe greater things are yet to come for FCC, but there will no doubt be some significant challenges in the short term during this handoff of responsibilities.

I have wrestled for many days with the question: “Is now the right time for me to leave?” That is a very hard thing for any pastor to determine. Making a “leave decision” from people that you love and a work that has been so rewarding is one of the most difficult things a leader has to do. And yet, as a friend of mine has put it: “I would rather leave one year too early than one day too late.” Better to leave while you’re still wanted than to stay until you’re barely tolerated.

I don’t really know how to close this letter in a way that conveys the deep sense of appreciation, utmost respect and the genuine love I have for First Christian Church. I have always counted it a privilege to be called the Senior Pastor of The First Christian Church, Canton, OH. My life and the life of my family have been forever impacted by this place. Please know that I will be cheering you on for the rest of my life. Thank you for loving me, laughing politely at my corny jokes, enduring my redneck accent, supporting me in difficult days, and following me as I sought to follow Jesus. I will always thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

With much gratitude and affection,
 

John A. Hampton