In April of last year our lead pastor Jim Burgess announced that he and his wife Alanda will be returning home to the United States in 2022 after shepherding Fellowship Dubai for 13 years. As Pastor Emeritus, Jim will continue to serve Fellowship Dubai through his stateside role with Arabian World Partnership.
On Sunday 1 May, we’ll be taking some special time to honour and thank God for Jim and Alanda, and all He has done through them during their time here in the Emirates. We also plan to present them with a gift to help jump start Pastor Jim’s new position with AWP, which is fully self-funded. Use the following button to learn more about this gift:
Farewell Events
Sunday, 1 May
The Agenda, Dubai Media City
The Agenda, Dubai Media City
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We are preparing media presentations that capture the special ministry and moments from the past 12 years with Fellowship Dubai – especially those with Jim and Alanda. We want old and new, serious and funny, and everything in between. If you have media of life at Fellowship Dubai that you would like to share, please hit the button below.
We are putting together a video montage as a tribute for Pastor Jim and Alanda to view privately. It only takes a minute to film and submit your video! It should make for an unforgettable gift that shares our collective love and appreciation for them and their time here at Fellowship Dubai. Don’t be the last to submit your video!
We will be following whatever safety measures are recommended by the CDA at the time of the event. This will likely include facemasks indoors, food precautions, etc.
The two farewell events on Sunday 1 May are different and you are invited to both. The morning event is essentially a Sunday church service but with an emphasis on honouring what God has done through Pastor Jim and Alanda during their time here. The evening event will be a farewell gathering and a time to simply celebrate.
We regret that our farewell events may not suit the schedule of everyone who would like to come. Scroll up this page to find other ways we have provided to express your sentiments to Pastor Jim and Alanda.
Arabian World Partnership (AWP) creates opportunities for believers to connect with and support trusted ministries in Arabia. While remaining on board with Fellowship Dubai as Pastor Emeritus, Jim will also serve as Director of Church Relations with AWP. This is a strategic role that he is uniquely qualified to fill “for such a time as this.”
The focus of Jim’s role with AWP is to cultivate deep and lasting partnerships with local churches in the U.S. who will commit to investing in Fellowship and other AWP member ministries. Serving 13 years as lead pastor of Fellowship Dubai will enable Jim to present a clear and compelling vision of what God is doing in the region. Please pray for God’s favour on Jim as he invites many mission-minded churches to pray for and give to specific kingdom-advancing initiatives in this part of the world.
AWP is able to minimize operations costs and maximize service to AWP member ministries because their staff raise their own personal financial support. As a tangible way to bless Jim and Alanda, we would love to send them out “fully-funded” for the first year of Jim’s new role with AWP. Thank you for prayerfully considering a special (one time) gift of any size or a monthly (recurring) gift to partner with Pastor Jim in his new ministry role: www.awpartnership.org/pastorjim.
