What It’s Like to Leave the Church You Planted

In 2023, after ten years of planting Liberty Grace Church, I stepped down as its pastor. It was a bittersweet evening. We celebrated a decade of watching God at work, and yet we also felt the sadness of leaving a church we deeply loved. We carried some uncertainty too. We wanted the church to thrive, but we didn’t know exactly how God would provide for its next chapter.

Since then, I’ve been asked two questions repeatedly: why did we leave, and what was it like?

Why Did I Leave?

There wasn't one reason; there were many. I've previously written about how to know when it's time to leave a church. Here's my attempt at explaining why I felt it was time for me to go.

The biggest reason was what was best for the church. After leading the church for ten years, I worried about staying too long. From day one, I wanted to set the church up well for its next pastor. I knew the church would benefit from someone different from me with a different set of gifts who could do what I couldn't. I also knew the church needed to take on new, ambitious projects, and that it might be best for someone else to take them on.

For a long time, I prayed that God would send a younger pastor with different gifts to take over. I've seen some pastors stay too long, making it harder for someone else to come in later and take their place.

Around that time, I read From Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks. Brooks suggests that as we get older, we need to shift our energies from doing to investing. I had been doing a lot and sensed it was time to move from being the primary doer to investing in others who could do the work of ministry.

Trusted friends also gently affirmed that a move might be timely, good not only for the church, but for me as well. I was 55, and I sensed that if I didn’t make the transition then, it would only become harder later. In the end, it wasn’t one decisive factor but a growing convergence of many.

To be clear, I didn’t leave because I stopped loving Liberty Grace, or because something had gone wrong. I stepped aside to make room for new leadership, allowing the church plant's work to grow beyond me.

In God’s kindness, he answered that prayer by providing a good pastor in Godfrey, someone quite different from me, and exactly what the church needed.

The main reason I stepped down was because I believed it was best for Liberty Grace, and time has confirmed that instinct. I’m deeply grateful for what God has done, and continues to do, now that I’m no longer there.

What Was It Like to Leave the Church?

One word: bittersweet. It was hard to leave a church that meant so much to us. It should always be difficult for a pastor to say goodbye, but it was especially so with a church we had planted and carried so closely in our hearts.

It was difficult for another reason as well: we didn’t know what would happen after we left. Although I had tried to help with succession, there wasn’t someone to take my place when I stepped down, and I knew the elders would be carrying a heavy load as they searched for the right person. We also knew finances could be a challenge in the months ahead.

Most of all, we loved the people. For that reason alone, leaving felt like a real loss.

At the same time, we were stepping into uncertainty ourselves. We didn’t know exactly what we were walking into at the new church where I had accepted a call. Beginning a new pastorate is always risky. God’s kindness has made the new church a joy, and we’re grateful to be there, but we felt anxiety about starting over, building trust, and learning a new community.

And yet, our final night was sweet. We reflected on the past ten years, recalling the joys and heartbreaks of planting a church, moments of faithfulness, and surprising grace.

One of the most meaningful moments of our final service came when a friend stood to speak, someone who had been part of Liberty Grace for a while but had not made a commitment to Christ. She spoke about the banner that hung outside that described Liberty Grace as a church for sinners, skeptics, and saints. She admitted she had been skeptical of that claim at first, but over time she had found it to be true.

That moment captured why we planted Liberty Grace: to bring the gospel to people in Liberty Village, especially those who had never been to church or considered Christ.

So that evening, alongside grief and uncertainty, we felt deep gratitude. It was a privilege to watch God at work in that place and among those people.

Transitions are always hard, and leaving a beloved church is harder still. I'm grateful that Liberty Grace continues, and thankful that we can rejoice in God's work there while serving joyfully at GFC East Toronto.