A NEW ADVENTURE: PT.1 – WE ARE JOINING POIMEN MINISTRIES

 A NEW DIRECTION IN MINISTRY

The Lord is leading Laura and I into a new ministry adventure. After 26 years as Sr. Pastor of Calvary Chapel Sacramento and 9 years of ministry with Calvary Chapel Salt Lake City, we are taking a further step of faith into a new ministry. The Lord has slowly prepared us for this change over the past 18 months. But, now that His direction is clear, things have moved quickly. So what is this new direction?

WE ARE JOINING POIMEN MINISTRIES 

(‘Poimen’ = ‘Shepherd’)

Poimen Ministries (www.poimenministries.com) is a team of seasoned Calvary Chapel pastors dedicated to serving other pastors. The goal is to help pastors, churches and missionaries fulfill their calling by offering personal encouragement, practical help, fresh perspective and seasoned guidance. This may mean simply filling in for a pastor over a weekend – or committing a couple of years to shepherding a church through a challenging transition. Each ‘assignment’ is unique whether a ministry of encouragement to a leadership family, bringing assurance and hope to a church that’s lost it’s pastor, coaching a younger pastor through the challenges of ministry, or providing an honest assessment of a church’s ministries. This means we’ll be depending more than ever on the Lord’s guidance and the Spirit’s enabling. For us, this brings a new intensity to our frequent prayer: “Lord, help us to be what they need.”

Poimen is a ministry that resonates deep within our hearts. It has been my joy over the years to mentor others towards ministry and coach fellow pastors – often giving them the benefit of lessons I learned through my own mistakes. The Lord has continually drawn us to this kind of service, consistently encouraging us by blessing our efforts. Although this will require new steps of faith and a dependence upon the Lord’s provision through His people, we are excited and feel honored to have this opportunity. Please remember us in your prayers. We want our lives to count for Jesus, now more than ever. Our prayer is that the Lord will use us to strengthen pastors and churches so they, in turn, will continue to reach more and more souls for the Kingdom.

•  A SNAPSHOT OF POIMEN
  Here is a snapshot of team activities this past month (May 2015):
  • Bill: Finished 4 1/2 months at Calvary Chapel Bible College, in Peru
  • Al: Completed a church assessment in NY; helping a church in Northern GA.
  • Bob: Serving churches in England: sorting out new, restrictive visa regulations.
  • Phil: Completed church assessment in NY; on way to Czech Republic.
  • Gillette: Returned from Nepal; on way to church assessment.
  • Trip: Finished 6 wks in Juneau, AK; helping 2 churches in FL.
  • Pat: Filled in for various pastors; Teaching at School of Ministry
  • Larry: Pastor Larry Anderson went home to be with his Lord while filling in for a missionary pastor in Kosovo, Yugoslavia (see tribute at http://www.poimenministries.com).

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