Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashok Willmott.
Hi Ashok, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In April 2024, I received a phone call that would start the next chapter of a unplanned story. “We are delighted to tell you that we are assigning you to be the pastor of the Storyline Seventh-day Adventist church”. Those words were filled with hope, expectations, fears, and faith as I was just a four weeks away from graduating with a Masters in Divinity from a small Christian seminary in Michigan.
My journey began in 2014 when I was working as an auditor right out of college. Though I would experience success early in life, the next 10 years would prove to be quite the chaotic journey. I experienced hopes and dreams that were made real while I also experienced hopes and dreams that were dashed. I would go from being an auditor for 3 years to an intern youth pastor for 2 years to a MDiv student for 4 years; a pathway that felt going backwards than forwards. Through this journey, I had incredible mentors and experiences that encouraged me to keep submitting my will, my life, and my future in the unseen God. By the time that my denominational organization made the decision to assign me to Storyline upon graduation, I felt impressed by God that this new chapter would be a beautiful experience. As I look back, I can recognize God’s miraculous hands working in and through all the chaos.
It didn’t take very long for me to realize that Storyline is a community that is well-versed in grief, loss, and pain. For some mysterious reason, it is a church family that is a safe home for many individuals. Despite the various backgrounds represented, there is a common unity and togetherness that I have seldom experienced. There is a beautiful culture of resilience and empathy for people. I’ve seen people experience healing, wholeness, belonging, recovery, and freedom. After almost 2 years of being here, my conclusion is this: God has ordained this space to bring a mysterious rest to people’s souls. How do I know this? Because Storyline has brought me rest through the chaos I have experienced in my life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Pastoring the Storyline Church is the first time I have pastored a church by myself. “Flying solo” was quite daunting initially. There have been the struggles of managing personal and external expectations, dealing with painful experiences within our congregation, finding purpose and direction, while also finding healing for myself. Thankfully, God has put together quite an amazing leadership team at the church. They are intentional with recovery work, mindful of my capabilities and limits, and incredibly in-tune with the needs of our community. As crazy as it sounds, they have taught me how to pastor and I am forever grateful for each of them.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Storyline SDA Church?
Storyline Church is part of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Our name gives away the description of who we are. We are church that is intentional about living out the entire storyline of Jesus. We gather on Saturdays (the seventh day of the week) in order to throw a celebration called “Sabbath”. This weekly celebration reminds us of the “eternal rest” we get to experience through Jesus. From this restful heart posture, we look forward to the coming advent of Jesus. When this advent takes place, we believe that He will provide humanity with the eternal reality of love, peace, and freedom with God. There will be no more death, pain, sadness, or hurting.
As we await this advent of Jesus, our church family is committed to bring the ministry of Jesus to our community. This ministry looks like addiction recovery work, inner healing from pain and loss, and inviting others into relational rest and belonging. We team up with a ministry called Celebrate Recovery and I have seen so many individuals find new lives that Jesus has for them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.storylineeugene.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storyline_eugene/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@storylineeugene
