To Our Amazing Students and Parents,

Wow! What an incredible journey you have allowed us to take with you. We have been so blessed over the 13 years we’ve been here to have met so many amazing people and to have had so many wonderful opportunities to serve alongside of, and to grow with many of you. Our kids have also had the chance to grow in an environment in which ALL THREE are following the Lord and Serving Him faithfully because of the example set forth by so many of you. Whether it was summer camp, missions trips, retreats, Epic Nerf Wars, #SquadNights, or a myriad of other events, we have had fun together, worshipped together, sometimes wept together, and grown together. Our heart being knit together in Christ through the Spirit.

It is with both excitement and heavy hearts that we are announcing a new chapter for the Elliott Family. When we were hired in 2010 we vowed that we would be willing to commit the next 10 years of our lives to the families and friends of SHBC. After coming back from Kenya in July the Lord began to impress on my heart that a “new work” was happening in our hearts. We became aware of a smaller church in Williamstown WV that was in need of a youth pastor with our kind of experience and tenure. Spring Hills has been such a wonderful place for us to grow and serve that while we are confident that this is the direction that God is moving us, we still have heavy hearts because of all the wonderful relationships that we have built over the past 13 years. We are so very thankful that you have allowed us to be a part of the ministry to your families and allowed us as well to help impart some of what we’ve learned about youth/teen culture that you could more confidently lead your families for Christ.

First Baptist Church of Williamstown was in need of a Student Pastor with the kind of experience that we felt we are able to offer and when the Lord moved on our hearts to reach out to them, we found the courage to pursue that call. We have prayed extensively about this decision and have no doubts moving forward that this is the direction that the Lord has been calling us. We are confident with the leadership, gifts, abilities, and volunteerism at Spring Hills, that what has been built over the past 13 years will be sustained by the wonderful parents and leadership of this church.

There is no easy way to reach each one of you to have the one on one conversation that each of you deserves in this situation, and for that we are so very sorry. With the news going out to the entire congregation this weekend during the services, we wanted to make sure that you heard personally from us first. Thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of our hearts for ALL that you have done to bring us in as family and to embrace our kids as your own over the years. Thank you for your relentless support, kind words, and generosity over the years since we have been here. Our final day here “on the job” is September 7th and until then, we have some work to do building the Kingdom and getting things ready for the year!

Until ALL Have Heard,

Pastor Mark