27 Sep 2007
With this edition of The Bell, we welcome Glen Suckow to the staff of Gladstone Christian Church. I have known Glen since his birth while I was the Pastor of St. Johns Christian Church, Bruce has known Glen through camp and various youth gatherings, both as a student and as one who volunteered in youth ministry, and John had the privilege of being Glen’s youth pastor during his time at St. Johns. The three of us have, as have many of you, seen this young man grow up both physically and spiritually. We have seen him mature through his college years at Puget Sound Christian College as he has learned about ministry in both the class room and in local churches. He has discovered that ministry is what God is calling him to do. Thus we are delighted and thrilled to have Glen join our staff to serve the Lord here at GCC.
A year ago we never imagined we would be making this announcement. At that time we were blessed to have John Stearns come to us to fill a very important need in our worship ministry. For the past 12 months while he was teaching high school in Amity, John has commuted one hour each Sunday to lead this congregation in worship. That shows his dedication both to the Lord and to us. In that year he has maintained our expected quality of worship even though he was only able to be here part time. Also we have been able to get to know and love his family. For all of this we are very grateful even though our decision to hire a new full time staff person means John’s time with us has come to an end. Continue to pray for the Stearns family as we know God will bless them for their faithfulness to Him and to His Church.
So now Gladstone Christian Church enters a new chapter, for every staff change brings adjustments and new possibilities. We look forward to what God has been preparing to bring to us in this new relationship. Glen’s responsibilities, as proposed by the pastors and approved by the Elders, are essentially to lead in three areas: Worship, Jr. High, and Friends Club. His duties will include preparing and leading our morning worship time, plus helping with the youth worship on Wednesday and Thursday. [Kody Antisdel will continue to lead the Sunday evening worship service.] This will also include developing our worship teams and encouraging the spiritual gifts God has given others in our congregation.
Jr. High is part of Glen’s assignment for two reasons. First, because that age group is one of his passions and because of Bruce’s changing focus in ministry. There is no doubt of Bruce’s passion for teens. However, he also has a heart for ministering and reaching young adults, which is the main focus of our Sunday evening worship time. This is a growing population in our church, and the pastoral needs are also growing. A shift in focus to allow Bruce to continue to minister to our high school teens and young adults while taking on new pastoral roles in the church makes sense at this time. We feel God has brought us to this moment, and is providing through both Bruce and Glen what we need for effective and quality ministry in all these areas of the congregation.
That leaves Friends Club. This has been a successful new outreach ministry for us developed by Mike Nichols. It has been exciting to see new families and children being touched by this program. So even though children’s ministry is not part of Glen’s responsibility, the style of ministry offered in our Sunday night children’s program is well within Glen’s strengths. We are confident of this in part because of all the adults and teens who have stepped up to continue to serve in Friends Club, and also all those who are taking on leadership in our other children’s programs such as Sunday School, Children’s Worship, Nursery and Play Group. Because of the willing service of God’s people, we continue to offer children an opportunity to learn about Jesus.
So we open our arms to a new staff member, confident of where God is leading us, trusting in His blessings as we serve. May all that we do together be done in His Name and for His glory!
Denis Whittet
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