God at Work
It all began with a word from Pastor Bob Caldwell at the NW pastor’s conference. He encouraged all the Calvary pastors there to “recalibrate” and make an effort to assess whether our ministry was meeting the needs of our congregations and fulfilling God’s vision for where they should be heading. Since then, I and many other pastors in the NW have been looking to the next steps, and looking to see what changes need to be made.
The Lord certainly has been at work since then, and the result of recent changes has meant a new church plant in Arlington, and new opportunities for several young men to become assistant pastors at MLT, Whidbey Island, and Lake Stevens, and for the head pastors there to be blessed with the help they need in these new guys.
With the church planting we have been doing in Wallingford and Capitol Hill, I’ve really needed to fill gaps at the church in Mountlake Terrace left by Jordan, Justin, and Jack turning their focus to their own campuses.
Jack Coultas has been instrumental in developing the ministry in Wallingford, but he has been divided in wanting to be focused on the ministry there while fulfilling his old duties at MLT. He has been on staff at MLT for 3 years and has done a great job with facilities, assisting in pastoral duties, and CCBC work. However I needed to reclaim the assisting role at MLT that Jack has held, in order to meet the many needs of our congregation there. Jack will be able to continue his ministry at Wallingford helping pastor Jordan as a lay minister while that church grows. Jack said this about the change, “I feel relieved" (because his ministry focus had gotten too divided).
Daniel Lefotu will be the new assistant at Calvary MLT, Jonathan Finley will be the new assistant at Whidbey Island, and Brandon Howland will be the new assistant at Lake Stevens (in the Summer of 2012).
God Always Works on Both Ends
It’s like when we share the Gospel with people, and they come to faith in Christ, they always say that God had been working in their hearts for a while, using other people and events to draw them to himself. God is always working on both ends of an outcome, and we know it is Him doing the work to confirm His Will when He brings things to pass.
When there was a vacancy at Calvary Whidbey, it opened a door for Jonathan Finley to step in there to assist Pastor Brett Williams. This is a great step for Jonathan and Danielle and we are super excited to see him grow into that role. But that left even more pastoral responsibilities at MLT that needed to be met.
Pastor Kelley Taylor and his staff had been training Daniel for some time to assist in youth work and worship, but there wasn't a staff position available at CC Lake Stevens to be filled. As Kelley prayed about 'recalibrating', God began to renew and reform his vision for CCLS. This led to a chain reaction of events resulting in a strong church plant in Arlington, and therefore a staff opening in the future to meet the needs at CCLS.
But prior to this Daniel and Pastor Wayne had begun praying about Daniel assisting at CC MLT. Through prayer and counsel Daniel sensed this was God's leading. That opened Kelley's mind to the possibility of filling an assistant role with someone else. Around that same time, Brandon spoke to Kelley about wanting to get back into ministry from police work. Kelley was very excited to hear this, and although Kelley would be sad to see Daniel go, he saw the Lord opening doors for Brandon who had done great worship leading and pastoral ministry in the South.
It may seem like a lot of shuffling, but it’s clear to me that the Lord orchestrates these kinds of events. And through a lot of open and candid conversations, and much prayer and seeking the Lord by many people, we can see how the Lord is working on all sides to put the right people in the right positions to fulfill the vision He has given us. The recalibration Bob Caldwell encouraged us to do has expanded the opportunities.
Meet the New Guy
I’m really excited to bring on Daniel as an assistant pastor at Calvary Fellowship. Although he is a bit new to our congregation at MLT, he has been a good servant of God at Lake Stevens. Here are some things you should know about him:
1) Recently graduated from CCBC in MLT; 2) Worked several years in Jr. Hi ministry at CCLS; 3) Was a Worship leader at CCLS; 4) He is especially gifted at evangelism and teaching, and is known for his Christian Rap as 'Barnabas'.
I’m looking to him to fill the roles of assisting at CREW, organizing outreaches at Westlake, colleges, and schools. And he and Jesse Williams are going to help me personally with Pastoral duties and small group development.
All of this reminds me of Eph. 2:10, "For we are His handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
