A note from Chris Yarco

Dear Hope City Family,

It's with sadness that I share with you that Brian Becker has elected to end his tenure as Lead Pastor of the Willamette campus in mid-June. He will transition to a church in northern California with his family this summer. Malachi 3:6, God declares, “I, the Lord, never change.” While the Lord never changes, sometimes his plans for us personally and as a church do.

As the Hope City family, many of you know Brian and Jenn, and for many of you, they may just be names, faces, or pastors that you see serving our larger church family. It's a great story.... Brian and Jenn Becker have been “with” the Willamette family for ten years. Our relationship with them started when you were just a young start up church plant in SE Portland. As we learned of the work being done by the team at Hope City, WCC provided financial and relational support to ensure Hope City could overcome the hurdles of a new church. As the relationship grew, Brian and Jenn asked to join WCC to ensure Hope City would continue to serve the SE and Milwaukie communities for decades to come. Today, you continue to grow and flourish under the shepherding of Pastor Daniel Knutson.

When Brian and Jenn moved into leadership at the Willamette Campus, we believed, as they did, this would be a long-term home for them. It excited us to think about God doing amazing things through their leadership for many years. Today, there is sadness that the Beckers have chosen what they believe is the right fit for the long term for them. They have loved our church and are praying for it... but we are sad that the years will not be as long as we had imagined. We trust the Beckers are following where they feel our God has called them. We also trust God has plans underway to provide a new pastor for Willamette.

We know nothing surprises God, but in our humanness, this change may feel surprising, disappointing, and/or hard. We want you to know we understand those feelings, too. Your team of leaders at Hope City stand ready to walk with you should you have need for help to process those feelings.

We trust God’s Word in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" While we trust, we also sincerely grieve saying farewell to dear friends. But we trust them to the Lord and believe in faith that

I am available to you, and you can reach me at chris@willamette.cc or at the WCC office at 503-656-2328.

In His grip,
Chris Yarco

Lead Executive