Today Fellowship Bible said its goodbyes to the Vander Ploeg family. Eric Vander Ploeg has been the Executive Pastor at Fellowship for 3 years now, but he, his wife Parker, and their 3 girls are moving to the Madison, Wisconsin area so Eric can step into a lead pastor role at Hillcrest Bible Church in Oregon, Wisconsin.
I've been close friends with Eric these past few years, and I've also had the pleasure of having him and his family living about a block away from my house. We started a small group together, and we've had many nights eating dinner at each others' houses. When the ice storms of the past few years have hit, we've been good neighbors and taken care of each other, and we even learned that our houses, which are in sight of each other, are actually on different power grids because we once had power when they didn't. My 3 boys have really enjoyed playing with their 3 girls over the years, and we haven't gone on a family walk without stopping by to see who was home at the Vander Ploeg house. My wife Amy has become close to Parker, and it's been hard for them to say goodbye.
Eric did great things in his tenure at Fellowship. He has strong leadership skills, and he led the capital campaign, building design and building construction process from start to finish to get us into our new building. In addition, he has freed up Phillip from administrative matters so Phillip can focus on teaching. He has been the chief decision maker in staff issues and building issues, plus he has had a strong part in the general leadership of our church. In my opinion, Fellowship Bible would not be in the place it is today without Eric's involvement, and I appreciate his hard work over the years.
We had dinner with the Vander Ploegs tonight, and it's sad to see them go. We wish them the best in this new venture in a new place, and we also look to God's direction as we move into a new chapter for Fellowship. Thank you, God, for the friends who cross our paths and make a difference during the time they're in our daily lives.
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