Life and Ministry Update
Hi friends!
It’s been a few years since I posted a blog, and it’s been a few months since I made a ministry change, so I wanted to take a moment and share what God has been doing as a way to get back into the swing of writing on the blog.
Disclaimer: I will likely be super inconsistent with this until at least April 2025, which is where I’ll start this update.
I have been in school since 2017, and I can finally see the finish line. In April, I will finish my Master’s degree from Western Seminary. I will walk at graduation with a Master’s in Biblical and Theological Studies, and I cannot wait to be done with the grind that is graduate school. However, the Wiggins family will not be done with graduate school. Carissa recently began a three-year graduate program to become a CRNA. When she finishes, she will have a doctorate and be in a field she is super excited about, and I could not be more proud. Come 2027, we will be Doctor and Mr. Wiggins.
Outside of school, I want to share a ministry update that I am super excited about. In March, I stepped down as the student and young adult pastor at Adventure Christian Church in Natomas with plans to finish my Master’s in December (for more on this decision, check out the Made Alive episode we did about this here). However, when Carissa was accepted to her CRNA program, it became clear that this was not going to be our long term plan. So, we began to pray and plan for our future.
I did not think church ministry was the best thing to look for at this time because I couldn’t see anything good coming from rushing into a ministry role. I decided to look into non-profit work, and could only think of 2 non-profit organizations that I really love. By chance both were hiring, but only one was hiring a role I thought I was qualified for. So I applied.
I eventually got a call from them where they informed me that they had done a couple of interviews for the position, but wanted to bring me in for a conversation. Then I played phone tag with the hiring manager for 2 weeks, which was anxiety inducing. Eventually, we figured out a time and I went in for an initial interview. I then had a second interview, and was offered the job. It is clear now that what seemed random was clearly God’s timing.
I accepted the position of church relations at World Relief Sacramento in May of this year. World Relief is a global humanitarian Christian non-profit organization that focuses on refugee resettlement in the United States. We get the chance to help our refugee neighbors get off to the best start possible as they restart their lives in a new place. I am humbled and honored to do the work that I do.
I am not in a pastoral role, but I work with pastors, and my church ministry experience is so influential in what I do. I am passionate about the work we do, and am loving working for this organization. I am so grateful for the doors God has opened for our family, and pray we remain faithful in stepping through them. Is this exactly what I thought I would be doing? No. Is it exactly where I need to be? Absolutely.
I hope you’ll follow me on this journey. Either way, thanks for reading. I appreciate you.
Philip