Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
In my last two blog posts I’ve shared with you the amazing journey that the Lord has set our family on as he moves us to Florence, SC. Today I have a crazy story to share of the faithfulness of our Lord.
Scripture says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Since Ashley and I were dating as teenagers we’ve tried to live by these words. Though we fail, Christ has always been the center. From our first days off marriage in 1999 packing the truck to move to Texas for seminary, we’ve said, “yes” to the Lord. Never once has he failed to provide for our needs. Never once have we been in want. Yes, I’ve worried and yes, I’ve been afraid. But time after time Jesus has proven His amazing grace to me. Jesus doesn’t have to do anymore than he already has on the cross – but he does. He shows up in powerful ways just to bless my heart and bring himself glory. He blows my mind!
Today is no exception. Three weeks ago tonight (21 days). I created an online listing on Zillow to sell our home in Spartanburg so that we could move to Florence to serve Him at Ebenezer. When we moved to Spartanburg our home in Lancaster sold in thee days. Times have changed and the housing market isn’t the same, so I was worried. God wasn’t. I prayed that night as I created the listing that the Lord would show up in a big way. I said, “Lord, it would be awesome if you sold this house in three days like last time, but what about three weeks.” I literally asked the Lord to sell 109 Monroe Road in three weeks.
Well, after six prospective buyers and eight showings…we got an offer yesterday and it went under contract tonight! The Lord’s hand is all over this process. Though I won’t mention the buyers names in this blog for privacy, it’s an absolute miracle how this all came together. My first contact about them was on Sunday night through Diana Wike. Diana is the pastor’s wife at Ebenezer in Florence. She posted our listing on her Facebook wall and it was seen by her cousin in Charleston, SC. Her cousin shared it on her Facebook wall because she used to live in Spartanburg and wanted her friends to see it. The buyers are friends of the family from Charleston In addition, a number of other mutual friends here in Spartanburg were sharing the listing on Facebook and the buyers saw those postings as well. All that to say…God has shown up in a powerful way. I’m grateful for social media and I probably need to buy stock in Facebook for helping us sell our home, but Jesus is the one who deserves all the glory.
We’re not at the closing table yet. There are still a number of steps that have to take place, but tonight we celebrate! How great is our God!! He has clearly shown us where we are to go and what we’re to do…and tonight he is clearing a path and making straight the way. Thank you Lord for answering our prayer. Selling it quickly is a blessing…selling it in three weeks is just how crazy awesome Christ is! If you need a reason to believe in Christ remember this story. Miracles happen everyday. The ONE who was…and is…and is to come…the Creator of all things..and Savior of this world is named Jesus. Put your complete trust in him and he will make your path straight.
So, the Lord is leading us to Florence. The first step in the process was letting everyone we love in Spartanburg know what the Lord is up to in our life. These past ten days have been rough. It’s never easy saying goodbye, especially to people you love so much.
The second step in this process of moving is selling our home. It’s crazy how fast it’s going now. We told the students on Wednesday, April 17 and by Thursday morning we were cleaning out the excess in our house, filling up a 10×10 storage unit, staging the house and printing flyers.
Over the last seven years we’ve put an extraordinary amount of time, energy, blood, sweat, and money into this place. We bought it in foreclosure and have transformed it into what it is today. So, we’ve decided to sell it ourself to take as much of the equity to Florence as possible. Now we’re one week into the sale and we’ve shown it three times and have a fourth tour tomorrow afternoon! All it takes is one solid offer and we’re on our way to a closing. We know that the Lord has led us this far and he has a perfect plan in mind – so we’re trusting in Him to bring the right family at the right time. If you know of anyone who needs this great home, here are the details:
Download a PDF of the Sales Flyer: 109 Monroe Rd or see the Online listing @ Zillow
Morningside Family,
In 1993 as an eleventh grade teenager I said, “yes” to the Lord when he began guiding my steps toward full-time ministry. From that day until now, I’ve prayed that I will always say “yes” when the Lord speaks. I must admit there have been times in my life that I’ve said “no” but it has been in those times that I’ve been the most out of the center of God’s will.
In 2006 Ashley and I clearly heard the Lord calling us to move to Spartanburg to join you in His Kingdom work at Morningside. This church was in need of a leader to come and build a student ministry that led students to Christ and helped them magnify God, mature as believers, and get outside the walls of the church both locally and globally to share the amazing news of Christ. Though there will always be more that needs to be done and more students to introduce to Christ, we feel like we have completed the task that God called us here to do.
Every time I speak to students I tell them that when the Lord calls us to do something – we must obey. For our family – this is one of those times. The Lord is leading us to move to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Florence, SC to lead a student ministry that is in need of help. We know that saying “yes” to the Lord is not always easy, but we know that being in the center of His will is always best.
We moved to Spartanburg as a family of three and we’re now a family of five. Morningside is the place where we dedicated our children to the Lord and the place where Anderson gave his life to Christ. You have helped us raise and disciple our children. We are forever grateful for the investment that you’ve made in each of our lives. You are our friends…you are our family. We will miss you all deeply.
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We [will] continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.” (Colossians 1:9)
My last day as youth pastor of Morningside will be May 15.
In Christ,
Rev. Nathan Neighbors
Nathan Neighbors 