The session (board of elders) of Trinity Grace Church is pleased to announce that Rev. Ben Tharp will be joining Trinity Grace as the new Assistant Pastor for Youth & Families beginning January 1, 2023.
As many of you know, our church has experienced significant growth over the previous year. Along with growth comes the need to consider how we can best spiritually care for the people God has brought to our church community. If you have been around Trinity Grace for any length of time you have likely noticed that the Lord has blessed us with many children and youth. We are grateful for the way these younger members add vitality and bring their various gifts to our congregation.
In an effort to more faithfully care for our youth age members - and in light of how many of our children are about to enter middle school - we are excited that Ben feels called to provide leadership for our growing youth ministry and pastoral care for our students and their parents. Ben will also provide leadership in other areas of our church including regular liturgical leadership, occasional preaching, and assimilation of guests and new members.
Many of you hopefully had the chance to meet and get to know Ben and Elisa during their visit this past October. They also have a daughter named Nora who is almost 2 years old. Ben has been ordained as a Pastor (Teaching Elder) in the PCA for the past 5 years, and he is coming from St. Louis where he has served as Assistant Pastor of Youth & Families at Trinity Presbyterian Church. He brings years of experience and a deep passion for youth ministry to Trinity Grace.
When asked what he and Elisa appreciated most about Trinity Grace during their visit, Ben responded, “One of the things we enjoyed most about Trinity Grace during our visit was how welcoming and warm everyone was. It was so great to talk with folks before and after the service. The middle and high school students during the Christian Education hour were great! The students were fun and engaging.”
Ben and Elisa have a number of details to take care of as they transition to San Antonio over the coming weeks. We can be praying for this transition, specifically that the sale of their home in St. Louis and buying a new house in San Antonio would be a smooth process.
As they prepare to settle into San Antionio and ministry at Trinity Grace, Ben says, “One of the things I am looking forward to as I begin at Trinity Grace is getting to know students and their families. I am looking forward to starting to build those relationships.”
We’re grateful to the Lord for bringing the Tharp family to Trinity Grace and we look forward to their ministry to our congregation over the coming years. As Ben considers what makes youth ministry exciting and challenging in our current cultural moment he says, “One of the things that makes youth ministry exciting for me during this cultural moment is that students desire to make an impact in the world. They want to help make the world better. The challenge during this time is that the idea of universal truth is under attack. Youth ministry today has the difficult task of bringing the universal truths of the Bible to bear in a loving way.”
Please begin praying for the Tharp family during this season of transition. We look forward to welcoming the Tharp family at the beginning of 2023.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the session at session@trinitygracesa.org.
Grateful for the Lord’s provision for our church,
The Session of Trinity Grace