Twelve Years and Counting

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by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

This past weekend was very significant for me. Twelve years ago on Friday, May 1st, I started my job as a pastor for McLean Bible Church. MBC was a very different place back then. All of our ministry staff could fit together in a small conference room. Our weekend attendance was not much more that 1500 and about 400 of that was a young Frontline Ministry. I was hired onto the Frontline staff although I was clearly on the tail end of their target age – 35 years old. Now, more than a decade later, I could theoretically be the father of a young adult on the lower end of the target – I am now 47. I have seen a lot of people come and a lot of people go. One thing is for sure, it has been a great run for me. And if the Lord allows, I am planning on a good many more years to serve Him in this place.

In my 30 year journey of being a Christ follower I have been in A LOT of churches around the country. Of course you realize that there are no perfect churches, and MBC is one of those imperfect places that God chooses to use in mighty ways. If I could hand pick a church to be part of – and I recognize that God is the one who does the picking – I would choose to be exactly where I am. “Why is that?” you might ask. The reasons are quite simple. I believe that MBC is one of the few churches I have ever frequented where people can come to explore the things of Christ and are allowed to be exactly where they are. You are allowed to not believe without feeling spiritually threatened. It is so amazing to me to see those who do not yet believe in Jesus come to sort it all out. They may not believe any of it – yet – but they sure appreciate the straight forward approach. In a cultural environment in which people evidence less and less respect for the church of Jesus Christ, MBC stands out as a place that still engages the culture. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does next. It is a privilege for me to lead the charge at MBC’s Loudoun campus, to work with such an awesome staff and be connected to such a committed group of worshipers.