GREETINGS FROM PASTOR MARTIN FROELICH

OUR IMPRESSIONS OF CALVARY COMMUNITY CHURCH 
I never cease to be amazed at the wonderful diversity of people in the church, and how God is using them with their talents and abilities.  Having spent most of my time with the staff and board, I can honestly say Calvary Church has a wonderful, skilled and committed group of people in it – who are ready to work hard and do whatever it takes to see Christ glorified in the world through them.   

Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willowcreek Church in Chicago (someone I have tremendous respect for) says often:

“GOD WORKING THROUGH THE LOCAL CHURCH IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD”

I happen to believe that seemingly outrageous claim!!  I believe that people’s fundamental problem is that they don’t have God in their lives, and that leaves an ache and emptiness there – because we were hardwired for just that!!  And the local church is the primary steward of a message, that God has provided a way for people to get reconnected to Himself – through the person of Jesus Christ.  And the church does that by:

1. -Worship that declares and lives in his Glory
2. -Fellowship that mirrors his Family
3. -Growth that aspires to his Character
4. -Service that demonstrates his selfless Love
5. -Outreach that acts on the Urgency of his Message  

I am looking forward to sharing these wonderful truths in the coming months and years, and seeing people discover how GOD can become a living, vibrant FOUNDATION and FRIEND in their lives.

REASONS FOR THE WRITE UP BELOW

 Well not all of our boxes are unpacked, and we still have lots of odds and ends to clear up to get fully moved into Windsor.   But the thought crossed my mind, that people who know a new “Lead Pastor” has come to Calvary, might be a bit curious about him and his family.   They might want to find out what makes him tick.  What excites him, what his background is etc.

For this reason (at the risk of looking self-centred)  I have include here on the church website, some details about my life, my “philosophy” of ministry (a fancy way of saying what my personal convictions are about what the Church is , and how it should look), and what a Pastor can do to get it to move ever closer to the amazing vision that Christ had in mind – when he paid for it (and the life of every person in the world actually) with his own life.   So sit back grab a coffee and click through the pages to follow.  Sorry it’s a bit long, but by the end you should have a pretty good idea of where I am coming from

I.  TESTIMONY

I am thankful for a spiritual heritage extending back three generations.  Although I grew up going to church and Sunday School, it was not until university that I truly accepted Christ as Lord and true transformation took place in my life. In retrospect I now better understand the series of incredible events through which God began a process leading to conversion. While in university, I found myself often responding with a sense of awe of as I learned about natural history.  I also began to sense the futility of life without God in it. My once important career ambitions began to pale. I recognized within myself a strange inner battle, where I sensed part of me wanted God, but at the same time another part resisted him.  I purposely took a course on the Synoptic Gospels knowing it would cause me to closely study Christ’s life.  Sure enough, I began to sense a deep hunger and love for Him grow within. Up to that point in my life, I had kept my spiritual struggles to myself, significantly I remember distinctly having conversations with a couple of friends about where I was spiritually.  Finally, it was through some family struggles, that I became profoundly and painfully aware of my personal need for God’s forgiveness.  I literally wanted Christ to change who I was. That was in December 1981. With fondness I remember some immediate changes;  I experienced an unparalleled level of joy and peace.  Before I dreaded going to church, but now I could hardly wait to go. It felt like - home. This gives me a deeply personal love for the local church.  We live in a day when many Christians seem to see church attendance as optional, but I have a deep personal conviction, that church is the right place to thrive and grow in the faith.  Looking back I am also grateful for the grounding I received through the church’s ministries and the mentoring influence of Rev. Bert Liira, who was my Pastor at that time.

After receiving Christ, I sensed God calling me to leave a career in earth sciences and enroll in Bible College. At that time students used to gather informally for times of worship and prayer.  I am so grateful for that foundational experience that has become a lifestyle pattern of seeking God daily in worship, meditation and prayer.  These days we seek to instill this into our children in devotional times as well.  We already are seeing the fruit of this in their lives. It goes without saying my wife, Paula has been and continues to be a tremendous blessing to me.

II.  PHILOSOPHY OF MINISTRY

Pastoral Care

God’s people need to be cared for with love, counsel and encouragement.  I have come to believe that If the individuals and families of a congregation are spiritually and relationally healthy, people will enthusiastically work together to touch lives in the community. The pastor can be a strategic influence in this, by both his care for the people and also by ensuring that  mutually caring relationships are growing among church members themselves.

I believe that the New Testament shows that the Lord intends for believers to enjoy loving care from one another .  This quality of fellowship usually only develops in the context of a small group setting.  Here people can begin to have a true sense of belonging and transparency with one another that stimulates spiritual growth (Acts 2:44-46; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 5:19). Though it is a challenge in our day when people seem busier than ever, it is nonetheless important for believers to develop loving relationships with one another; especially now that so many of our people come from wounded and dysfunctional backgrounds.

Purposeful Ministry

The church has a biblical mandate to do essentially five things: to worship the Lord, to evangelize in culturally relevant ways that see people soundly saved, and to incorporate these new believers into the family of God by building true loving relationships,  to disciple believers to maturity and equip them to use their gifts actively, and to demonstrate Christ’s love in ways that meet needs in the community (Matt. 28:19-20).  The Pastor must be able to effectively take on multiple roles of leader, pastor, teacher, preacher, administrator and equipper to lead the church forward in these areas (Eph 4:11-13).                                                                                               

In our increasingly secularized society, it is critical for the pastor to try to guide the church through a process that moves towards becoming a relevant witness in the community.  To do this, the church needs to honestly assess the church’s present health and ministry effectiveness.  They also need to understand the mind-set, lives and needs of unchurched people living around them.  From these starting points, I believe the Holy Spirit desires to shape a vision and direction that will work for that church.  I have always found leading people to discuss these things both rewarding and effective; provided that discussion is followed up with real decision making and action (Acts 15:28).  This corporate “vision” approach takes a lot of work, but has the potential of unifying and mobilizing a significant proportion of the church body.  Happy is the church that has a growing number of people committed to truly becoming a respected and effective light in the community.

Since change is often needed but difficult; the pastor must be continually sensitive to the needs and feelings of the congregation in this process. Older and more long-standing members of the church, who have seen much and invested much, tend to be wary and resistant to innovations and change. It helps to affirm the past accomplishments of the church in its history and repeatedly and clearly explain reasons why certain changes are necessary.  With time, people can be brought to the place where they experience the joy that comes from a sense of shared purpose.  This joy is especially rich once they actually see people getting saved and changed in significant numbers. For this to happen in an authentic way, the pastor needs to be given room to personally build relationships with unchurched people in the community so that he is able to live out the outreach he is trying to promote.  

The Holy Spirit and the Spiritual Disciplines

All church ministry should happen in an environment in which there is an unmistakable sense of the presence of God.  If we attempt to “do church” in our own strength, we will become frustrated.  No lasting fruit results from self-effort that is independent of God’s enabling.  We must constantly revisit the account of the early church in the Book of Acts, and make sure our people are excited about and powerfully involved in - prayer and other spiritual disciplines.  While programs and technology are good tools - they cannot be the driving force of ministry.  Everything we do must be motivated by actually hearing from God.  The dynamic of the Spirit in the midst of the church’s activities is also vital for outreach (1 Co. 14:25, Jo. 3:8-11). The conversion of a seeker is nothing less than utter spiritual transformation resulting from deep conviction, repentance and regeneration (Jo. 3:3).  It is ill-advised self-reliance that assumes the church can accomplished this without significant prayer.  So all church activities must be steeped in prayer.  As difficult as it may be today, the prayer meeting in some form, must be encouraged to become the heart of church life (Acts 1:14, 2:46, 4:23-24).

Worship is an important component of my own devotional life and so I find that I naturally  encourage people in both private and corporate worship.  I think that Christians who are enthusiastic worshippers are the stronger for it.  It encourages a sensitivity to the dynamic of the Holy Spirit. His transforming power (Ro 8:4) has never been more vital than in today’s society when dysfunctional families, emotional problems and addictions are common things which people wrestle with in their lives (Eph 5:18).

Equipping Believers

The development of all of the key aspects that make for a healthy, strong church is a challenge for any pastor.  In my experience, it takes significant insight to discern what areas in the church need the most attention at that point in its life.  The church needs people with a clear sense of their own calling and ministry who can make valuable contributions (1 Pe. 2:5,9; 1Cor.12: 12-18). It stands to reason that one of the critical tasks of a pastor is to help congregation members identify their gifts, equip them with training, then release them into “good-fit” opportunities. The resulting “team ministry” makes it possible for the critical areas of church life to move forward.  I am convinced that many believers have no idea what a wonderful blessing they are or could be.  Once they do - the church can begin to fulfill our exciting mandate of making irreligious people fully devoted followers of Christ.

III.  LEADERSHIP STYLE

Leadership

Preaching and teaching are important aspects of pastoral ministry, which I enjoy immensely.  They have a vital role to play in setting the spiritual tone and vision of the church. People have told me I am expressive and interesting to listen to. I endeavour to incorporate principles of Bible interpretation in my ministry so that the believers will be equipped in applying scriptures for themselves in their daily lives.  Innovative preaching relevant to our post-modern audience is great, but the scriptures must remain the power and main feature of preaching for it is the source of life-changing power.

An examination of Christ’s life will always be the most challenging model for leadership.  His relationship with the disciples was intimate and hands-on.  He lead by example, and lived and ate with them, so that they could observe Him and His relationship to the Father first hand (1 Jo.1:1-3).  He also encouraged his disciples to step out and become ministers in their own right. He was vulnerable with them and openly sought their support and encouragement.  This authentic leadership is what leaders should always strive to emulate.

Speaking personally, I think you would find that I am an open and transparent person, who enjoys Christian fellowship.  I also understand the role of Pastoral leadership that is necessary for a church to thrive. A pastor needs to open his heart and life, so that people are learning from his example. Leaders need to truly be humble servants at heart, yet able to exercise spiritual authority of leadership when required.  I have been blessed with broad life experience.  The four years of overseas missions ministry, along with ministry in ethnic and multi-national churches has given me a global vision of the church.  Work experience before ministry, including such things as draftsman, construction labourer, warehouse forklift driver and geologist, has given me an appreciation for different walks of life and the challenge of living as a believer in the workplace.

Knowing Ourselves

Over the years I have become very interested in counselling, and have read extensively on it to help my skills.  Nothing delights me more than seeing people touched by the grace and love of Christ in the areas of their struggles and brokenness.  With time and deliberate work, I think I have come to understand myself fairly well, both good and bad. I am encouraged by my strengths and am actively working on areas that need development. I tend to be a task-oriented person and a fairly good administrator, and appreciate meaningful relationships. I love to read good books on the faith and enthusiastically apply them to myself and the church. I am increasingly learning to trust my leadership and pastoral intuition as I try to be aware of the Spirit’s help and prompting.   

IV.  FAMILY LIFE

My wife Paula, is a constant source of inspiration to me with her energy and zest for life. Paula has a real heart for people. She is fun loving and enthusiastic in all she does.  She loves God intensely.  People young and old seem to gravitate to her genuine warmth.  She is very accepting of others and a good listener.  Her many years working as a Registered Nurse have given her compassion and a capacity to envelope many in her circle of influence.  Paula a good organizer, has spearheaded many ministries in the past.  I feel blessed that God has seen fit to give me such a partner in life and ministry.

Our children, Charis, Moriah and David are a delight. Paula and I enjoy just spending time with them going on walks, skating, skiing, camping, and bicycling. We take seriously the outreach and discipleship of our own kids.  We schedule in daily family devotions and try to take advantage of teaching moments.  We endeavour to have honest and open relationships with our kids. One of our chief joys has been to see evidence of a growing faith in each of them.