To our family at Sanctuary,

The past three years have been an exciting and challenging time to be involved in ministry at Metro Church/Sanctuary Christian Fellowship. We thank God for allowing us the blessing of serving with many of you and seeing how God has worked in our hearts and lives since we started. We feel privileged to have worshiped with you and grown more complete in Christ because of our time spent together.

We were surprised by the abruptness of our release but we respect the elders’ decision. This is not a character or moral failure in any way and the elders adamantly reiterated that fact when they spoke to Jon. We want you to know that Jon has not done anything that would compromise his character or qualifications for ministry and he hopes to continue pursuing a life of integrity moving forward.

It was also stated that this was not a lack of competency or calling on Jon’s part. We are grateful for the opportunity that Jon has had to grow as a musician and worship leader during his time at Sanctuary. It is our hope that the creative arts ministry will continue to grow as we cherish the memories that we carry from ministry together with you.

As we move forward we would value your prayers for us in these areas:

• Blessings, wisdom, and discernment for the leadership of Sanctuary. No staff change is easy on a church and we pray for God to give wisdom and Spirit-led discernment to the elders and staff of Sanctuary.
  
• Our future direction. We’re not just praying for God to provide a new job for Jon; we’re praying for God to give us a divine understanding of what He is calling us to do next.
  
• Grace and healing for the Creative Arts Ministry.
  
• Spiritual renewal and rejuvenation for us. Pray for a fresh wind in our sails and a fresh fire in our hearts.
• Protection from Satan’s attacks – As with any prayer for a new direction, we know we will be threatened with Satan’s wish to destroy our ministry, our marriage, our minds, and our lives. Please pray for a hedge of protection to be around us.

Throughout all of this we still believe in a good God who is still on His throne in heaven. We know that God is a good Father who gives good gifts to His children and we look for the next gift to come our way. We are excited for the future and we hope for God to give us clarity within the weeks to come.

We love you,

Jon and Kara Cook