The Sparrow Fund team did a few cartwheels when we got the call from the Morlans in 2014 saying they were IN to join us for Together Called 2015 and lead worship. All of us had long been Seeds Family Worship groupies. Their hearts for adoption, worship, and living out faith with the next generation by our sides made them a great fit. Once they joined us, we knew they were actually the perfect fit to partner with us. We had them locked in for Together Called 2016 before we said goodbye at Together Called 2015.

But…

They’ve got kids. And, one particular kid is a senior this year. And, her school decided that they couldn’t have some theater production and senior prom on the same night. So, they gave the students the good news that they were going to move senior prom to another weekend…the weekend of our marriage retreat.

While the Morlans are the worship leaders we love, they are also the mom and dad their children need. So, we told them kindly to STAY HOME, do hair, take pictures, wait up late for their girlie, and send someone else to lead us and serve with us.

We’re excited to share the couple who they recruited to bless us!

Ross King has been a full-time songwriter, worship leader, performer, and producer since 1995. His songs have been recorded over 150 times, including cuts by The Newsboys, Jason Gray, Todd Agnew, Jimmy Needham, Carrollton, North Point Community Church, The Village Church, OBB, Casey Darnell, Charles Billingsley, Student Life Camps, The Austin Stone, Liberty University and many others. He has recorded several independent albums of his own music, has sold over 45,000 CDs, and have had his recordings downloaded over 60,000 times. In 1998, he helped plant Community Church of Bryan/College Station, where he served as an elder and worship leader for 17 years. He currently provides for his family by doing several different things including writing songs for Simpleville Music/Fair Trade Services, doing concerts, producing music at his recording studio, and leading worship all over the country. His newest record entitled “Unfettered” released in May 2015. Ross lives in the Nashville area with his wife, Staci, and their four children.

Ross and his wife Staci chose to pursue adoption after a couple of years of “trying.” They had been interested in the idea of adoption when they first got married but thought they might go that route after growing their family first biologically. But, God had another plan for their family. Sam is 12, Jude is 9, Naomi is 7, and Sunny is almost 3. All four were adopted domestically as infants through an adoption agency/ministry in Texas that helps/houses/counsels unwed mothers. Their adoptions are all “semi-open,” meaning they have some limited contact with each of their children’s birth families.

Ross and Staci are excited to be joining the Together Called team as worship leaders this year. And, we can’t wait to welcome them and pour into them as well.

We told you we’d send a reminder to you. And, so we are.

Together Called 2016 promises to be a weekend you don’t want to miss. It was created for you—an entire weekend devoted to blessing you and giving married couples considering adoption, waiting to adopt, or who built their families through adoption years ago an opportunity to reconnect and be refreshed.

We’d love to have you join us April 8th-10th, 2016 at Liberty Mountain Resort right outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We’ll be joined by some awesome folks who are eager to bless you—Matt and Becca Whitson of Community Bible Church in Arkansas, Phil and Jessica Morlan of Seeds Family Worship, Jeff Nitz of Bethany Christian Services and Cheryl Nitz of The Attachment & Bonding Center of PA, Beth Templeton of Hope at Home, Jeff Pearson and Bjorn Anderson of Young Life, and the entire TSF team.

For the last 3 years, Together Called has filled up in minutes with couples registering from at least 14 different states around the country every year. Don’t wait. Set your phone alarms for this Sunday evening at 9pm EST. Registration will officially open at precisely that moment with the link posted on our website on the Upcoming Events page.

Investing in the two of you is one of the best ways you can bless your family. We want you there.

Watch.

Share.

Register on October 4th.

To learn more about Together Called 2016, click on UPCOMING EVENTS. We’d love to tell you more about it.

We shared the location of Together Called 2016 months ago. But, many of you have been emailing us since then…

Who is speaking this year?

Dying to know who is going to speak this year!

Our team put a lot of blood, sweat, and prayers into finding the couple called to be our keynote speakers at this next Together Called. And, we found them.

Allow us to introduce you to our new friends and Together Called’s next speakers…

Matt and Becca Whitson.

Matt and Becca Whitson were married in 1998 and have three kids via both birth and adoption. Matt is the Executive Pastor at a multisite church in Arkansas, and Becca is a licensed therapist in private practice. They believe in the power of stories—in their ability to heal, to expose our hearts, to build community, and, most importantly, to reveal God’s work in our lives. They are passionate about sharing the hope of Jesus through their work and family—the failures, the successes, and the brokenness and beauty of everyday. They enjoy traveling and speaking together (which we’re thankful for!), and they write (when they find the time!) about marriage, parenting, and life as a transracial family at WhitsonLife.com.

Mark April 8th-10th on your calendars now!

And, set an alarm for Sunday, October 4th at 8:50pm so that you have your fast fingers ready to sign up right as registration opens at 9:00pm.

We’re not going to try to put into words why you need to be a part of Together Called 2016. We’ll let these quotes from couples who attended last year make the point for us.

There simply are no words. We haven’t brought our daughter home yet, so we didn’t even know if we belonged at this retreat. We could not have been more blessed….God reaffirmed our calling and reassured us in so many ways this weekend….We also received great insight into our marriage and our bio kids just by having this time away that was centered upon family. God has mightily worked through you by you following his calling to put on this retreat. You blessed our socks off, and we could never thank you enough.

We gained a perspective from others, hearing what they have walked through, that gave us great encouragement as we look at our pending adoption. The stories of hope we heard as we connected with other couples were the biggest takeaway.

The retreat was so wonderful start to finish. As simple as it might sound, the care package with the note as soon as we entered our room put many of our concerns to rest immediately. We truly felt welcomed.”

It was the first time in a long time that we got to really talk and have direction in our discussion!

We came into this weekend so dry and distant and really struggling. After about 14 months or so of what we’ve deemed “crisis living,” we really needed this time away. It did not disappoint. We feel infused with support, truth, and a renewed sense of purpose for our marriage and our family.

Put TWO events on your calendar right now:

• October 4th. Registration for Together Called 2016 will open on Sunday, October 4th at 9pm EST. If this year is anything like previous years, it will fill up fast (and by fast, we mean potentially minutes). Be ready to register right at 9pm to make sure you get one of those spots. If you are on our mailing list [hint: add yourself to our mailing list now], we will send out a reminder to you.
• April 8th-10th. Those are the dates for the marriage retreat itself. We’re at a new location this year that promises to impress you. Liberty Mountain Resort is close to Gettysburg, PA and accessible from Dulles Airport, Baltimore Washington International Airport, or Philadelphia Airport. Consider coming out on Thursday and staying through Monday, perhaps, to take advantage of all that Gettysburg has to offer!