Back Home - New Ministry

After nearly 13 days on the road, it sure is good to be back home. I had a great trip visiting my family in the Chicago area. My mom is 88, still with a great sense of humor, even tho her memory is starting to fade. She's never seen any of her great-grandchildren and I'm hoping to bring almost 6 year old Kaylee for a visit sometime this spring or early summer.

Chicago was being swept by Obama-mania. Nearly every news story seemed to have a tie in to the new president elect. And tho I find it difficult, the Word still exhorts me to pray for those in authority. As Christians we must take the higher, nobler ground and not succumb to fear or anxiety or bitterness. God's love in Jesus is still the answer for our messed up world!

From Chicago I flew to Albuquerque where on Mon. and Tues. the board and regional mission facilitators of Shepherd's Staff met to pray and seek the Lord for the course He would have for the ministry in the year ahead. I had to pinch myself a few times to make sure it was all real. I've been welcomed into a great ministry and find myself part of team of folks I've mostly known for years - some for decades! Pastor Jeff Jackson who developed the core concepts of the ministry and serves on the board was my first assistant pastor in the mid '80's. He and his wife Helen and their kids were the first missionaries Calvary Escondido sent out to the Philippines and have been my dear friends for a long, long time.

Also serving on the board are my long time friends Jim VanderSpek and Dr. Nick Yphantides.

Other board members are Pastor Dain Wadley from the Calvary Chapel in Poway, Pastor Joe Paskewich who pastors a Calvary in Connecticut, Pastor Jeff Fadness who is pastoring a Calvary in Pocatello, Idaho after 12 years pastoring a church in Russia, and Ron Clipp who is the present director of Shepherd's Staff. Unable to attend were Pastor John Michaels of CC Spring Valley in Las Vegas who has pored his life into missions and missionaries around the world for nearly a quarter of a century, and my friend Trip Kimball who spent many years ministering in the Philippines - most recently as director of the Calvary Chapel Training Center and the Rainbow Orphanage in Dumaguete. Just an absolutely great group of men who love Jesus and love missions.

I'll be working alongside Bryon Mondok who used to be the mission's pastor of CC Jupiter in Florida. Bryon will be responsible for the missionaries serviced by Shepherd's Staff east of the Mississippi and I'll be responsible for those in the western US. We'll both be assisted by a gifted team of resource pastor's who will help with training, teaching and representing the ministry at various pastor's and leader's conferences around the country.

My new job will include building relationship with 43 missionaries and about 30 sending churches. I'll have many opportunities to teach and offer specific training to help both missionaries prepare for the field and their churches to help care for them. I think my plate will be full! And I'm so blessed the Lord would give me this opportunity to meet so many new people who are serving Him radically and be of assistance to them.

Thanks for your continuing prayer for my health - I'm doing better! And please pray for these missionaries I'll be serving. From time to time I'll include stories and links about their ministries - I'm sure you'll be blessed and challenged!

In His Arm's,

Pat