It is with a sad and heavy heart I write this post. For 8 years I served at Fellowship Church. I was blessed to be there and work with the team that was in place during Fellowship Church's most explosive growth time. I served along side Rob Johnson and Vanessa Whitwell.
Many of you know Rob's name, but you may or may not know Vanessa.
Vanessa was beyond a shadow of a doubt one of THE MOST creative people I have ever been around in my life. We had a lot of really, really good people who were great at what they do, but Vanessa was a primary reason we became great.
She touched lives in so many ways. You can't walk in to FC without seeing her fingerprints somewhere. From the atrium area where she always had opinions to share, to the bookstore, to the bathroom decor, to the stage where most people saw her, she had a huge impact on Fellowship.
On Thursday I received a phone call that Vanessa had been rushed to the hospital with bleeding on her brain. I am not going to get in to the details, but this afternoon she went home to be with The Lord.
We will miss her greatly, but I take a small amount off comfort to know that all the songs she sang about heaven while at Fellowship she is now seeing and experiencing first hand.
You never really replace a person like Vanessa, you are just thankful for how lucky you were to have her as part of your life. I will miss her greatly as will countless others.