Dear Ministry Partners,
While it’s hard for me to fully comprehend the past 18 years of service, this I know: I am genuinely grateful and warmly appreciative of the relationships, ministry opportunities and kingdom breakthroughs I have had the privilege of traversing in team. It’s not possible to fully explain everything about this journey and so I’m left simply with a posture to extend grace, care and God’s richest blessings to you and your ministry and context.
As with any transition, I am particularly thankful that Fresh Hope has embraced a future posture. You don’t need me to remind you of Paul’s assertion – so forget what is behind (Philippians 3:13ff) – as a critical orientation that arrests the predisposition of the Church towards ‘stuck-ness’. In everything it’s our future that counts! Our 2020 theme, ‘Fulcrum’, has the tag line, “See the future, be the future!” This is my prayer for you. With this in mind, I am confident that both Daz Farrell and Dan Dwyer, and the wonderful teams of people they help lead, will continue to position Fresh Hope into a vital and renewed future.
To all the teams of people who serve and have served on our boards (there are many), I extend to you deep gratitude for the many and varied contributions you have made. You are the unsung heroes of this journey and without your oversight, governance and collegiate capacity, we would not have grown like we have. To the staff teams that I have worked with (you know who you are), I express my heartfelt thanks and incredible appreciation. Words are inadequate.
Most of you know that I’m not retiring. Wendy and I will take some extended leave to recharge, renew and refresh. As I have always taught and hopefully modelled, spiritual leaders hold lightly to seasons, including seasons of transition. We will hold and seek to discern God’s agenda for our next kingdom assignment.
I am on leave during January and so the season of Christmas also becomes a season of closure. May this season be full of love, joy, peace and hope as together we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah and true hope of the world.
Andrew Ball
Executive Ministry Director
