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At just 22 years old, Barnabas Bates led the Cape Cod Awakening, a spiritual renewal that changed the course of churches and towns across the Cape toward authentic, Christ-centered faith. He then left for Bristol, RI, where he was appointed as pastor for a successful church and began rubbing elbows with wealthy academics and businessmen. He had arrived – and his faith withered away as a result. How does that happen? How can success – and the pursuit of it – pull us away from our faith?

In 2025 we told the story of the 1809 Cape Cod Awakening – how a spiritual movement swept over the Cape leading sleepy churches to true faith in Jesus. That awakening was spurred by the young evangelist Barnabas Bates – who would later leave his faith. This week we begin telling “the rest of the story”: how someone walks away from faith – and, hopefully, how they can find their way back.

We’re wrapping up our series on Nehemiah this week, a series that has drawn out lessons from the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the Jerusalem wall after the exile to Babylon – lessons like how to build a legacy, how to respond to critics, and the importance of community. It turns out that the final lesson of Nehemiah consumes much of the last half of the book – a lesson that’s all about celebration.