Goodbye New Holland / Hello Coatesville

Well it’s official, we live in Coatesville. Today we finished packing, cleaning, and moving our belongings from our old home in New Holland. Our last meal in the house happened on a kids play table because it’s all that was left.

Now we are staying with one of my sisters until we find our next home.

As our packing was coming to a close I was surprised how much I started struggling with the move. I’m not questioning the call for our family to the city of Coatesville. I was just spending time thinking about all the work we invested, the memories we made, and the joy we shared in the house.

Not knowing what comes next is scary and I kept looking back to a place that for the last few years served as our families sanctuary. It was emotionally draining to say the least.

As I look back we also look ahead believing God has a great plan. He has consistently provided us with amazing homes we are trusting He will again.

But Why Did You Need To Move?

Over the last few weeks we have been getting questions like this a lot. “Why move?” “Why not just commute? It’s not that far after all.”

This is true, I had been doing the drive from New Holland to Coatesville a few times a week, but I believe CityWell is called to be a part of the community in the Coatesville area. To be effective at that I want my family to also be part of the community.

We believe God is doing a great work in this city and we want to be right in the middle of what He is doing!

What’s happening now with CityWell?

Actually we are launching this Sunday! COVID did shift our plans some, but we are pushing forward with starting this new live-giving church.

Our biggest shift was pushing our launch from being in-person to online. This isn’t a permanent thing, but will allow us to keep taking steps to effectively reach the community while we prepare for a great in-person Launch Day.

After we launch online services we will focus our attention on building small communities of people in Life Groups. Each group will be organized around a common life stage or interest. They will be a vital part of CityWell’s mission.

As we build Life Groups and our online service we will also keep our eyes on launching a physical services. We know that we only have one change to make a good impression so we will wait until restrictions are lifted and the team/finances are in place to launch services really well.

How do I Learn More or Get Involved?

I would love to connect with you to answer any questions you have about CityWell, our vision and mission, or how you could be a part of helping bring this church into reality.

You can reach me at DJ@CityWell.Church.

Also Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

How Are The Kids Doing With The Move?

We have witnessed some strong emotions from them over the last few weeks. They know we are excited and they are joining us in that, but at the same time they too have a feeling of fear. Unknown is always scary. During this season I am praying like crazy that they see our faith and love for the local church and it builds the same into them.

I some time with one of my daughters this week helping her process emotions. She was a mess and just couldn’t get it together so I gave her permission to cry. I plopped down next to her with a notebook, set a timer for 5 minutes and said “Let’s make a list of all the reasons to cry and just spend 5 minutes letting it out”. WOW did she let it out! As a few items found there way on paper she wept. But 5 minutes seemed to be the right amount of time because as the timer went off and we switched the list to “reasons to give praise” she was laughing within the first 30 seconds.

I reationally know that God’s got a plan, but emotionally don’t always feel it. I want to give my kids the same opportunities. And as we have it’s been helping them feel better about everything going on.

How Can We Be Praying For You?

Thank you for your desire to support my family and CityWell in this way. We actually send a prayer e-mail out bi-weekly ( To sign up click here ) .

Our biggest prayer need right now as a family is to find a new rhythm in this changing season. We work the most effectively on routine so we are trying to figure out what that will look like.

For CityWell please pray for our Online Launch on Sunday. Pray that we will be tech glitch free and declare the Gospel boldly.

How Can we pray for you?

I would love the opportunity to pray for your and your family. Please leave a comment of any ways I can be praying for you.