Endel Liias is our new Director of Worship Arts!

Dear Resto family,

I am so excited to be writing as your soon-to-be Director of Worship Arts.  My first ‘official’ Sunday will be October 20.

It is with tremendous joy that I step into this role, as well as a deep sense of gratitude — to all of you, for praying and supporting our church through this period of transition, and to God, for his goodness, faithfulness, and provision. Thank you.

This is a quick note to say hi, share a bit about me, and tell you why I’m so pumped about what’s to come.

A bit of background. I’m originally from Boston, spent 12 years in Philly for school and work, and moved to D.C. in 2011, which is also the year I met my wife, Kate, at Restoration. I pursued her doggedly for 4 years before she finally relented and married me. Many of you know her. She’s amazing. We don’t have any kids yet but are praying for our family to grow. Professionally, I’ve worked in the field of impact investing for most of my career, and have run my own consulting practice since 2016 called Nexus Impact Advisors. I’m deeply interested in how entrepreneurship and business can be used to address pressing social issues, and will continue to do this part time. For fun I enjoy golf, tennis, guitar, running, traveling, reading, cards, and napping (is that sad?!).

Jesus as the rock. I believe that the single most important thing we can do in life is know and have an intimate relationship with God. We were created precisely for this purpose, and through Jesus’ death and resurrection we now have access to this personal connection. I’ve known this intellectually for most of my adult life, but only recently has it become the emotional and spiritual reality of my heart. My deepest desire is to know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit more intimately, and the practical manifestation of this is a passion for worship, praise, and prayer. It is from this place — of gratitude for what God has done in my life and a desire for others to know Him more deeply — that I feel called to this position.

Why I’m excited about this role. What excites me most about leading worship is the opportunity to walk together with all of you toward greater intimacy with Jesus. From my own personal experience, I know that our relationship with God can feel dry, difficult, doubtful, and distant. But I also know from experience that we are invited and have access to so much more — into relationships characterized by a felt awareness of God’s presence in our daily lives; a confident expectation that He is involved in and moving in every detail; and a constant assurance that we have access to the transformational power of the Holy Spirit. Worship and prayer are the spiritual tools we have to bring these things into existence in our own lives.

Restoration is a special place. God has blessed our community abundantly over the past 10 years, and my belief is that the best is yet to come. I’m overwhelmed with joy that we get to take this journey together.

With gratitude,

Endel