Mission Church of San Antonio (Palladium 9:30 & 11:11 Every Sunday)

Ryan Frazier's Journey ... Still Discovering

My Story.

My story is the story of one seeking. Though I began to seek around 30 years ago, I’ve come to understand that the true seeker is Jesus Himself. Jesus pursued me for 24 years before I entered into a New Life with Him.  Since I did, God has forgiven me, taken away my guilt and shame, given me eternal purpose, and allowed me to participate with Him in changing and molding eternal destinies of others. Best of all, God has guaranteed me an inheritance of eternal life with Him.

Good Start Gone Bad.

I was raised in church and my parents did a good job exposing me and leading me to Jesus. But a parent cannot make their child give their life to Jesus. And a kid cannot live through a parent’s faith. No matter how hard a loved one may try to bring someone into a relationship with God through Jesus, every person must come to Jesus on their own. As for me, I spent my younger years saying the things religious people wanted to hear, but chasing after our culture’s versions of pleasure and happiness, of which all the pursuits ended ultimately in dissatisfaction and unhappiness. All my happiness was short-lived and had to be replaced with new and more exciting things than before in order to maintain contentment.   

Straying Continued.

In college, the pursuit of pleasure and happiness increased, and I was selfish and living far from God. At age 21, I had a wake-up call and began checking out church, wondering if God had something for me. It was then that I met Megan, and we began dating. After graduating from Texas A&M, Megan and I married, and we began a life together pursuing wealth and recognition in well paid corporate jobs. My new pursuit of God went on hold. We both began to chase after the material things of this world--and were succeeding in our pursuits. But the pursuit of money, pleasure, and power did not make us happy in marriage and life. Instead, these things drove us apart. After 18 months of marriage, tired of trying to make the marriage work, I left Megan to pursue separation in search of a better life for me.  

My Conversion and Growth.

Six months prior to my decision to leave Megan, we had joined Second Baptist Church of Houston and had been sitting under the “Gospel” preaching of Dr. Ed Young. The Gospel (meaning "good news") of Jesus is an invitation to finally get right with God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  This 2000 year-old invitation had been sinking into my heart and mind as I listened each Sunday. And unbeknownst to me, God had been preparing my heart in advance for that day when I left Megan. The same evening I left her, God moved my heart to make a choice... to respond to His invitation to turn from my sin, put my faith in Jesus, and begin to follow Him. My new response to His invitation changed everything. God gave me a New Life with Jesus and a renewed marriage with my wife. My new life-changing choice connected me to both God, and then to Megan, and my experience in this life has been different ever since. My New Life with Jesus included forgiveness, hope for eternal life, and a new heart. I received new love for Jesus and people, new thoughts that placed Jesus at the center, and special skills and opportunities to serve Him and make an impact. Everyone who responds to the Gospel will receive their own New Life with Jesus.  How?  Click here.

Previous Experience.

I am so glad I spent time in a career before ministry.  Beginning in 1996, I worked briefly in congressional policy in Washington, D.C. Then, I worked for over five years in the energy industry in Houston. I was working for Enron in middle management when the company fell. I had the privilege to be apart of so many unique experiences--I saw people at their best and at their very worse. At the same time, I saw God moving and at work in business and the world. In 2002, I left my career in response to a call to ministry and joined the pastoral staff of my church, Second Baptist Houston, a multi-site church with over 50,000 members. There I was blessed for six years with the unique opportunity to pastor young couples and families, to start-up and grow a men’s leadership development program (www.exultministries.org), and to teach and preach the Bible to adult church members and men in prison. During those years, I formally studied the Bible and theology, earning a masters degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I will always be thankful to God for His kindness to allow me to see and participate in the changed lives God engineered during my time in Houston.  

Journey to San Antonio.

In May 2007, by God’s grace, I responded to His call to start a new church from scratch in Northwest San Antonio.  We moved into a new and growing area of the city in the beginning of 2008 to begin working toward a Fall 2008 church launch.  God has given Megan, the kids, and I a strong love for the people of San Antonio and a desire to serve them. He has given me a grand vision of a movement for renewing souls, saving marriages, building families, and serving the community... showing Jesus through our attitudes and actions. In fact, we think of it more as a movement than a church. This community movement is the new story we call Mission Church.

Your Story is Being Written Too.

My wife Megan, and my three children are an unbelievable blessing from God. Megan and I make a great team. However, the Fraziers have not yet “arrived” on this journey with God. In fact, no one ever does complete the journey until they die. Megan and I are still discovering new things about Life with Jesus and growing in a relationship with Him. Our stories are still being written. I believe yours is too. And the next chapter should include new things for you that need no replacing--a New Life with Jesus. I hope that your journey will connect with mine some Sunday, so we might both see God work in our personal lives and families, let God wipe clean our histories, heal our wounds, experience the thrill of new life, and together be used by Him to make an eternal impact in the lives of our families, friends, and this city.

You are the story. God is the Author. And the story isn’t over ...it’s only beginning.