The Donut Story

When I was about five years into being a Youth Pastor, I met a group of kids that changed my life.  Many of you reading this, who know me personally, have probably heard me talk about them numerous times.  Nate and I happened to live in the parsonage next door to the church I was serving at at the time, and would routinely come home to a group of boys that I would have described then as "rough around the edges."  

They dressed mostly in black, had long hair, and sometimes even had black painted fingernails.  They loved to smoke, and they loved to skateboard.  After a few days of watching them through our window, Nate and I went outside and brought them some sodas.  We introduced ourselves, told them I was the Youth Pastor at the church, and invited them to come to youth group.  While they politely declined our invitation, we continued to invite them over and over again, attempted to skate with them, and fill them with snacks.  Until one day, they said yes.  They came in for a twilight egg hunt event just for teenagers.  That night, we did a drawing for a free registration to our upcoming youth retreat, and two of the three boys were chosen (only God could orchestrate that).  We ended up giving the third boy a free registration and the rest was history.  All three boys came away with us for the weekend, and all three boys AND all of their friends would continue to attend youth group until they graduated.

One of the boys was named Brandon.  Brandon would ask hard questions, say shocking things, and continue to show up with his friends.  After youth group each night, we would take them to the local pizza joint, ride around in the church van together, and then Nate and I would bring him home each night after youth group.  He would routinely tell me that I would some day smoke pot (which I continued to remind him would get me fired from my job), and I would continue to tell him that someday he would come to love Jesus as much as I did.

Brandon eventually graduated high school, and our youth group, and went into the military. Several years later, he called me to tell me the news.  He had given his life to Jesus and was coming home because he wanted me to baptize him.  That day will still go down in my youth ministry top 5 moments, as I watched a church who had to come to love and pray for him over the years, celebrate his decision to follow Jesus. 

Brandon would occasionally call me from all parts of the world while on duty, and sometimes text me to just say hi.  While we didn't talk often, so much of the way I engage the world as a Pastor is directly related to the way he impacted my life.  He taught me about what it means to meet people where they are at, what grace looks like, and how God is never finished with our stories.  Two years ago, I woke up to the news that Brandon had passed away in a car accident, and was invited to officiate his funeral.  That day, I had the privilege of not only sharing his story with his friends and family (some of which were the very ones that skated in that parking lot 15 years earlier), but I also got to share how his story impacted my story.

As a Pastor, Brandon and his friends sparked a passion in my heart to meet people where they are at.  They taught me that what you see on the surface isn't always the whole story.  They taught me that real and raw conversations matter.  They taught me that despite how different two worlds can be, true community always bridges the gap.  They taught me the power of friendship, the importance of never giving up on someone, and the reality that God is always weaving together some of the most incredible stories.

And this is why I bought a Donut Truck.

Yes, you heard that right.  I...well we...as in me, Nate and our good friends Noah and Meg, bought a donut truck.

Despite the rumors that we bought it so that we could binge on donuts daily, we actually bought it so that we could meet people right where they are at.  To hear their stories.  To look them in the eye and remind them that they are loved, that their life has value, and that their story matters.  People in our neighborhood, in our community, and in our every day world.

So when is this truck going to be up and running you ask?  You'll just have to follow along in the days to come and listen in to the rest of the story...The Donut Story.