Draw Closer

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By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC

I am beginning the official process of my 360-review this fall that comes at the end of each 4-year term for superintendents.  I’m just starting to write my personal reflection portion now.  As I’ve been looking back on the last 41 months, I am filled with joy and gratitude for the journey God has had us on.  In a world full of so much brokenness, I stand with enduring hope.  I see your faces.  I know your stories.  We struggle together.  It truly has been a beautiful journey. 

When people ask me what the most difficult thing about conference ministry is, I usually answer quickly.  It’s hardest when leaders are in conflict or when factions grow in churches.  Though as The Reconciled we should be professional reconcilers, the church can’t escape the human condition. Conflict is natural and normal and we shouldn’t be surprised by it. For those of you who have gone through church vitality work and have a relational covenant, you are familiar with this.  Yet, the work continues to be challenging, especially so it seems, in these days.

I love the maxim “there is no insight until you are onsite.”  I’ve shared this often but I feel like I need to say it again and look at in in the light of conflict’s ongoing presence. 

Our warm days and cool nights have been epic.  Yet, they have been a disconnecting backdrop when so much is stirring around us.  Amidst all of the unexpected that has been contained in this year, what I have been praying for the most has been an anti-divisive heart-set for us.

It is shocking how ignorant and misdirected we can all be because we make judgements from so far away.  We have the dangerous habit of creating whole realities before we invest time in understanding.

We don’t acknowledge our own filters or biases and quickly write people off.  We are conditioned to listen for key phrases or telling behaviors and immediately turn and walk away.  Too often we invest in listening only to those that share our same beliefs and we settle for a spiritual laziness in understanding others.  That’s the “other” and “I am not them!”

I believe we do this interpersonally as well.  We too often use expedient and non-personal ways like text or email to attempt important conversations when we should be talking face to face – or at least voice to voice.  Like Adam and Eve hiding from God in the Garden, deeply rooted in the very beginnings of the birth of our sin nature, we have been avoiding each other. 

It, unfortunately,  is a predictable pattern – yes in our churches (where the the Holy Spirit-empowered, God-infused expert ambassadors of reconciliation can be found) – that we too often make assumptions and react too quickly to people, without first having direct conversations. 

I believe there are too many ideological and financially motivated forces that are stirring an increasingly dominating spirit of division, impatience, and intolerance. It is the spirit of this world and we must not give it power. 

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 Cor. 2:12 NIV

We swim in waters that diminish true expressions of the Fruit of the Spirt.  We breathe air that fights against our work of reconciliation interpersonally and corporately. We need commit ourselves to the vital work of sitting down and having clarifying conversations and civil dialogue.  We must relearn how to slow down and open up vital connectional space to talk.  Too often we hurry, hurry, hurry.  We move on and away from each other. 

Communication comes from the Latin root communicare which means “to hold in common.”  Too often, we avoid the longer and more difficult work to sit down and talk enough to get to the point of understanding each other.  Notice I did not say “completely agreeing with each other.”  We have grown too used to staying distant when relationships are difficult.  And worse, we’ve grown too used to not working on them and walking away.  That is not the way of our Savior.  With the incarnation, the root of our new life in Christ is the impulse to draw closer.  It is the anti-hiding behavior that the Cross creates in us. 

Biblical maxims from the wisdom literature of the OT and NT:

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing their opinion.

Proverbs 18:2

If one gives an answer before they hear, it is their folly and shame.

Proverbs 18:13

Be slow to speak and quick to listen

James 1:19

Who do you need to draw closer to?  How can we better submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21)?

As God continues to abundantly fill us with his grace and mercy, may we exude anti-divisiveness.  As we embody Christ’s hope to the world, may it be ever present in our relationships with each other.  As Jesus came to us in flesh and blood, may we draw closer to each other especially with the hard stuff.  May we find divine insight as we are onsite with each other. 

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Rom. 12:2 MSG

The Bridge Care Center in the Time of COVID

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By Jen Manlief, Director, The Bridge Care Center, A Ministry of Quest Church

​The Bridge Care Center is a drop-in day center in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle and an affiliate ministry of Quest Church; our mission is to be a bridge to resources, relationships, and hope for women and men experiencing homelessness or economic hardship in Ballard. Until March of this year, pursuing our mission looked like hosting open hours at our building where our neighbors could pick new outfits from our clothing closets, use computers and phones, meet with an outreach manager, eat doughnuts in our community room while watching a movie, and most importantly, be known by name and story by The Bridge staff and volunteers. But then COVID-19 entered our reality, and Seattle shut down. Our last day of open hours was March 17. 

During the next two weeks of self-isolation by our staff due to potential exposure to COVID-19 from a neighbor who was awaiting test results, we got the hang of staring at ourselves in Zoom meetings as we had many conversations about what this shift meant for us and for the community that we serve. If the coronavirus pandemic was a sobering reality in our world–remember that it was only March at this time–it was already a devastating reality for those who lived outside. Suddenly, all of the places with restrooms or outlets for phone charging that only cost a cup of coffee–as well as the people who would share food, or a few dollars–were gone. Even the network of providers who helped with day-to-day survival by offering food, clothing, showers, or laundry weren’t a reliable option because so many of us depend on volunteers to open, and volunteers weren’t yet considered “essential.” In other words, tasks that were once extremely difficult for people who were living outside became impossible. 

As we saw the need for community support increase, we were eager to re-open our doors, but it became obvious that it would be unwise to attempt to offer our services in the same way we always had. The infection numbers among people who were unhoused were trailing the numbers of the housed community by about 2-3 weeks, and we were concerned about being a place that would become a vector for spreading the coronavirus by drawing people together who weren’t already congregating. So we got creative. It had been about two weeks since people had been able to get clothes from us, which is a long time when a person only has 1-2 sets of clothes and no way to wash them. 

We realized that we could use our answering machine as a hotline, where people could call in and leave messages listing what they needed; we could then get in contact with them to arrange a pick-up or delivery. If they had needs that weren’t in our inventory, we used Facebook and our network of friends to crowdsource them. Josh canvassed the neighborhood taking “orders” from people who didn’t have phones to call in. Jenn continually had her van filled with furniture to deliver, since we saw 5-6 of our neighbors get housing! But as we settled into this new normal, we had discussions about how this wasn’t the most effective way to distribute resources as some people were hard to track down for delivery. Also, the method of giving people whatever items we had chosen for them wasn’t prioritizing our values of dignity and agency as we had when we held open hours.  It felt transactional and somewhat paternalistic for us to choose things for people to wear, rather than offering opportunities to pick for themselves what they might like. 

Yet donations continued to generously come in. Suddenly we had the brand new problem of having too much stuff. Back in the days of “open hours” we would serve 60-80 people a week, thus, men’s pants were rarely stocked.  Now we had three full bins. Carrie, our associate director of operations, suggested a parking lot clothing distribution event, but instead of at our current location where the logistics of such an event weren’t feasible, we would hold the event in our own Quest church parking lot. I responded with what has become my mantra during this weird time we’re in: “Let’s try it!” 

We would be going old school. The Bridge Care Center got its start as “To The Streets.” Members of Quest church would bring boxes full of clothing to a grocery store parking lot and engage with our neighbors who lived outside. The ministry grew, moved into a building, and even changed its name, but now we were going to go back to our roots!

We spent three weeks preparing for the event, with Carrie anticipating every detail. We thought through safety protocols, limiting exposure, and helping people feel safe and known. We were a little anxious, wondering if anyone would show up. And then we got a phone call from the King County Health Department because they’d heard about our event and wanted to know if people needed referrals–they had been interacting with a lot of people who needed clothes and wanted to send them our way. We realized we would need more volunteers. 

When the day came, we had plenty of volunteers to help. They set up a charging station with socially distanced chairs and power strips so people could power up their devices while waiting. We put out chairs six feet apart for the waiting line. The word had gotten out, and we had a line down the block by 15 minutes before “open.” We had asked specifically for cases of water bottles and new underwear to be able to hand out, and our Quest family came through donating 12 cases of water and 322 pairs of underwear! We were able to hand out cold water to the folks waiting in line and have conversations with them as they waited. Josh was our welcome guy, and talked people through the process. He also took that chance to share some information on participating in the census, as we’re working with an organization that’s trying to get people who live outside accurately counted and represented in our state. From that point, our neighbor would meet their “personal shopper” to go find some clothes! Having fewer people touch fewer things seemed like the right thing in the time of COVID. It turned out to be something that emulated our values of dignity and agency, allowing our personal shoppers to get to know each person, talking about needs and preferences, holding up different items, and being that friend that’s a sounding board when you’re shopping. We stood six feet away but still walking beside them, and got to hear a bit about how they were doing during this difficult time. As we heard about needs beyond clothing, we’d bring them over to Jenn, to connect them to other organizations and resources or address their need later in the week. We had a great mixture of seeing people we knew, and also getting to know people who were new to us. 

When all was said and done, we were able to share resources with 82 people that day. It was an encouraging day all around, and our staff and volunteers felt energized by being able to connect with people once again, to hear their stories, and meet tangible needs.  It was only about 15 minutes into the event that one of the staff said to me, “We should do this again, maybe every month.”  And of course my response was, “Let’s try it!”  

[Click Here] to visit the Bridge Care Center Website

A Drive for Clackamas Service Center

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By Jordan Evans, Director of Community Life, Eastridge Church

At the beginning of August, a small group of us from Eastridge Covenant Church in Portland, OR got the chance to drop off a trailer full of high need items (food, clothing and hygiene items) to the Clackamas Service Center (CSC). CSC is a local service center that provides a variety of services for the homeless or very poor (or as the center calls them, its “members”). As a church we had been collecting items throughout the month of July and it was a joy to be a part of distributing the fruit of that generosity knowing that it would be given to those that need it most.

In the past, Eastridge had worked occasionally with CSC but, as COVID-19 began to spread and impact our local community, we felt pressed by God to be more proactive in helping meet some of the immediate and practical needs of the most vulnerable around us. A few different ideas were discussed and after much prayer we decided to reach out to CSC with the simple question of “What are your biggest needs and what can we do to help?”  It was from that question that the idea of a drive began to take shape. A call was put out to Eastridge and our church family responded generously with donations.

We fully recognize that although useful, a singular drive for donations is a small contribution to a very large and ongoing problem but, it is important to start somewhere! Too often a task or good deed gets abandoned because we feel like we cannot see the full picture or are able to “solve the problem” but, this isn’t how Jesus usually operates. He doesn’t lay out the neat 5-point plan. Instead, He calls us to faithfully follow Him and trust where He is leading. He asks us to engage with the lost world around us as His ambassadors. We are called to be lights that pierce the darkness and draw the lost to Him.

To do this authentically, it is critical to build relationships and we are in the infant stages of doing that with the staff and members at CSC with a view to the long-term. Our hope is that this drive will be one of the first steps towards a regular pattern of presence for us there. We are excited to see how God will use us as His hands and feet to serve some of the most vulnerable in our own community and as the opportunity arises, we look forward to giving “an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give a reason for the hope that [we] have”. (1 Peter 3:15) 

(Click Here) to visit Eastridge Church’s Website

Pivot Again?

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By Dawn Taloyo, Director of Pastoral and Congregational Health, PacNWC

“Pivot” seems to be my new favorite word. It well describes the relentless need these days to switch things up, change course, be adaptable and flexible. A quick look at synonyms for “pivot” is revealing. Turning to Merriam-Webster’s online thesaurus I read “revolve, roll, swing, swirl, swivel, twist, whirl.”  No wonder I feel dizzy and tired! How about you?

I feel immense respect and gratitude for our Covenant pastors, chaplains, leaders and churches for the persistent pivoting; the twisting and turning and adapting and learning required in this ever-changing, all-hands and hearts-on-deck, racial-reckoning and covid-pandemic season. As one Covenant pastor in Yakima said in a recent Zoom meeting, “We now know this isn’t a snowstorm but a winter.”

Yes, and maybe that’s why our conference staff team is sensing a new wave of “tired” among our clergy and leaders. You can only swing and twist and pivot so long before needing to lie down and get your sense of gravity and stability back. I suggest, the counterpoint to “pivot” is “stillness”.

Be still and know that I am God. -Ps 46:10

He leads me beside still waters. -Ps 23:2

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. -Ps 37:7

This summer I am facilitating two clergy book clubs, both discussing The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero. An early chapter is titled, ‘Slow Down for Loving Union.’  (Now slow down and go back to repeat that title a few times. Good job.) In this chapter, Scazzero reminds us that “…every action Jesus took was rooted in a place of deep rest and centeredness out of his relationship with God.” [emphasis mine] And, Scazzero offers the following checklist:

You know you’re not experiencing loving union when you…

  • Can’t shake the pressure you feel from having too much to do in too little time
  • Are always rushing
  • Routinely fire off quick opinions and judgments
  • Are often fearful about the future
  • Are overly concerned with what others think
  • Are defensive and easily offended
  • Are routinely preoccupied and distracted
  • Consistently ignore the stress, anxiety and tightness in your body
  • Feel unenthusiastic or threatened by the success of others
  • Routinely spend more time talking than listening

The invitation? Slow down. Slow down for loving union with our God who calms the storms, stills the waters, and makes passageways through the rivers. How can I slow the spinning down?

  • Take a walk and listen for the birds.
  • Read Psalm 46 a few times every day for a week.
  • Place a chair in front of a window or find a beautiful card or piece of art to stop and give yourself permission to just gaze for 10 minutes a day.
  • Call a friend (instead of Zoom) who helps you to laugh.

I imagine the need and ability to pivot will continue for some time. But, just as important is the pausing and resting. I’d rather move like a ballet dancer who concludes the pirouette with grace and purpose, than like a twirling child who dizzily staggers and falls to the ground.

So, I invite you to take a moment now


Recognize the spinning.

Slow it down.

Put the other foot down.

Steady yourself.

Breathe.

Be still.

Introducing Rachel Gough and Michelle Huskamp, Co-Lead Pastors at Monroe Covenant Church

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By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC

Enjoy these interviews with Rachel Gough and Michelle Huskamp, the new Co-Lead Pastors at Monroe Covenant Church

Rachel Gough

What is your personal and ministry background?

I grew up in the church in a Christian family, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly met God for the first time. My parents were going through a divorce, and I, too, was leaving an abusive marriage. It was a tumultuous time to say the least. Because my parents had always said they would never get divorced, and because I thought I had done everything “right” and had still ended up a failure, my faith in God was completely shaken. I took a deliberate break from all things religious. When I turned around and came back home—literally and metaphorically—I found, not an angry deity ready to strike me with lightning for my apostasy, but an open-armed Father throwing a party for his prodigal daughter. My practical needs were met immediately by friends and family—a place to live, a car, a job. For the first time I experienced God as intimate, as one pursuing me and showing me, without a doubt, that I was beloved. It changed my life, and I hope to walk alongside others who are learning that they are part of God’s story. 

My path to church ministry took a circuitous route. As a woman, becoming a pastor was not something I had ever considered. I didn’t grow up seeing women pastors. It was subtly but firmly forbidden in the non-denominational church I attended as a youth. A few years ago, my mom started attending seminary to take classes for her continuing education certification, and she started telling me all the things she was learning about the Bible, the church, and God’s heart for women. My family and I had recently moved to the small town of Monroe from Seattle having been challenged by our former pastor to be counter cultural in how we stayed put in one place and built community. However, it took more than three years to find a church in the area that affirmed women in ministry, which had become a nonnegotiable criterion for all of us. We visited many churches, and we even tried hosting a house church with some similarly churchless friends. Finally, through three different points of connection, we found Monroe Covenant Church, and we’ve been astounded by this small church with a big heart that feels like family. 

At the time, I, too, was enrolled in seminary with the intention of becoming a chaplain, but when Pastor Mac Taylor invited me to speak to the women from the gospel mission after a Tuesday night dinner, and then to preach on a Sunday morning, God began shifting my heart toward the idea of pastoring. Not just pastoring anywhere, but pastoring these people in this place. Saying yes to the call of my beloved church family has been one of the greatest joys of my life, and I look forward to many meaningful years of ministry to and with them. I am also thrilled that I get to share the responsibility and vision of ministry with my co-pastor Michelle Huskamp. In God’s upside-down kingdom, of course two women can pastor a church!

What are you passionate about in ministry right now?

The thing I am most passionate about in ministry is our call to witness to the world of God’s goodness and love by the way we care for each other internally and the way we turn outward to work for the flourishing of all people in our communities. This includes a radical commitment to fellowship with brothers and sisters with whom we may disagree. It includes leveraging our money, time, and resources to make sure everyone has enough. And it involves caring more about people and the dignity of their stories than about having the right answers. I also love digging deeply into scripture, wrestling with it, and coming to it with eyes ready to see something fresh that’s truly good news for my people.

How can we pray for you?

I would love prayer for Michelle and myself as we have begun our calls here in the midst of COVID-19 and the reckoning of racial injustice. I would love prayer for unity and action in our church as we navigate these issues. I would love prayer for my family as my husband and kids adjust to Mom/Rachel working for the first time. And I would love prayer for equitable housing options in our increasingly expensive town.

Five Things You Didn’t Know about Rachel:

What is your favorite thing to do?

I read whenever I can. I love reading almost anything, but when it’s just for fun I devour early 20th century British mystery novels.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to and why?

I got to spend a week in Italy last year, Venice and Rome. It was the best—incredible buildings and history, friendly people, and amazing food. I would go back every year if I could.

Which one would you want most – flying cars, robot housekeepers, or moon cities?

Definitely moon cities. I’ve daydreamed about being the first chaplain to a space colony, or at least writing about it. 

What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?

If I weren’t a pastor (and I may still do this alongside pastoring) I would write mystery stories, perhaps with a feisty clergywoman as the heroine.

Tell us something that might surprise us about you.  

I spent some time working as an extra in Hollywood in my mid-20s. You might catch a glimpse of me on an episode of ‘Chuck’ or ‘Criminal Minds.’

Michelle Huskamp

What is your personal and ministry background?

I grew up in the church as the daughter of a pastor, so I have been around ministry and involved in ministry for my whole life. I was basically the youth group mascot as a little girl, attending summer camps and going on mission trips with the teenagers from toddlerhood. As a teenager I taught Sunday school and was a junior counselor at summer camps for elementary schoolers. While I loved the church and loved serving, I hadn’t considered ministry as a vocation until college. I was home during Christmas break one year and the senior pastor at our church pulled me aside at a Christmas party to talk about how college was going and such. During our conversation, he suggested that I consider seminary after college and that God might be calling me to vocational ministry. From that point on, I approached serving in the church more intentionally and really began praying about seminary and full-time ministry.

Immediately after college, my husband (Andrew) and I moved to Bellevue, WA so Andrew could work with Youth for Christ. We ran a City Life club, started an afterschool drop-in center at our church, and most surprisingly, within a year after moving there, ended up as the volunteer youth pastors at our church. We pastored the youth group for the next six years while I attended Fuller Seminary Northwest in pursuit of my MDiv.

When we found out we were pregnant with twins a year and a half after our first son was born, we knew that we weren’t going to be able to continue doing it all – we both had full-time jobs while also pastoring the youth group. We stepped down from our volunteer roles, through a miraculous set of circumstances ended up being able to buy a house in Monroe, and spent the next year and half learning how to be served and cared for by the church after our many years of serving the church ourselves.

Through all of those years, I continued taking classes at Fuller and finally finished my coursework for the MDiv in 2019. During this past year, I did my apprenticeship at a Covenant church plant and then at Monroe Covenant Church to finish out the last requirement for graduation. I was called by Monroe Covenant Church as Co-Pastor when the then-current pastors retired in May.

What are you passionate about in ministry right now?

I am passionate about seeing the church be a family, with room for everyone to serve, love, and grow together – from the littlest babies to the grandest of grandparents. I want to see authentic relationships between the generations, for children and teenagers to truly be adopted into the full life of the church, and for all of us to learn from each other and support each other as we journey through life with God together.

How can we pray for you?

I would love prayer for my family as we continue to navigate life in this era of COVID – balancing working from home with the needs of our three children (Malachi – 5, Lydia and Dara – 3), making decisions about schooling for our kids (Malachi would be starting kindergarten this fall, but that is up in the air now), continuing to figure out how the rest of the family fits into my role as pastor at the church. I would also love prayer for me specifically as I take on this new role as co-pastor and lead Monroe Covenant Church with Rachel – pray for our partnership as we work together, that our friendship would grow deep; pray for the relationships I am building with the congregation; pray for creativity for Rachel and I as we continue to figure out how to lead our church in ‘being the church’ when everything looks so different in this era of COVID; pray for us as we lead our church in learning more about the history of racism in our country and the anti-racist work that we our pursuing


Five Things You Didn’t Know about Michelle:

What is the one thing you cannot resist?

          I cannot resist books. Brick and mortar bookstores are dangerous (and wonderful) places for me. I always find more books than I can read and have such a hard time picking and choosing which ones to actually buy. Andrew feels similarly about books, so our library is quite extensive and we are always adding to it.

Where is your favorite place to be?

          I don’t have a specific favorite physical location to be, but my favorite place to be is anywhere I can be with my family and/or close friends and enjoy time of connection with one another. This may be in my living room or backyard, eating a meal or playing games together. This may be in a campground or on a hike, enjoying nature and conversation in the beauty of the outdoors. This may be in a coffee shop (in a pre- or post-COVID world) sharing life or discussing theology/politics/parenting/books/etc.

What is your favorite thing to do?

I love to read, bake, play intense board games, and have deep conversations / discussions with people.

What does true leadership mean to you?

          True leadership is about bringing people together. It is about walking with people on their journeys with God and creating spaces for authentic connection and relationships within the church. It is about supporting people as they do new things with God and helping all of us to reimagine creative ways to be the church and bring the kingdom of God ever more fully present in the world.

What is the best book you have ever read?

          I don’t know how I could ever narrow it down to one book. I love anything Madeleine L’Engle or C.S. Lewis wrote, both fiction and non-fiction. Rachel Held Evans always makes me think and Jen Hatmaker makes me laugh (and cry). I have thoroughly enjoyed Justo Gonzalez’s two part “The Story of Christianity” and learning more fully the scope of church history and how much the current church has been shaped by the events and thinkers of the past centuries. I love the Harry Potter series and I am of the luckiest generation that got to grow up with the books as they came out, reading each one at right around the same age that Harry was in each book. I could go on
 but I won’t.

Introducing Amanda Moffat, Director of Youth Ministry at Newport Covenant

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By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC

Enjoy this interview with Amanda Moffat, the new Director of Youth Ministry at Newport Covenant Church

What is your personal and ministry background?

I am originally from Orange County, California and have grown up in the Christian faith my whole life. I developed my own personal faith in the Friends church tradition through the acceptance of Jesus Christ and baptism as a young teenager.  My relationship and actions with God have always been extremely intentional and in pursuit of who He is and who I am in Him. Through my time growing up, I have had a passion for learning about Jesus, art, and history which has truly formed my career as well as focus in ministry.

While I grew up in Southern California, I now call myself a true Washingtonian after living in the Seattle area for the past 10 years. I came up to Washington to attend Seattle Pacific University in pursuit of my bachelor of arts in art history while learning in a Christian community. Through my time at Seattle Pacific, God not only guided me to a career in teaching but also introduced me to my husband, Ethan, in which we will be celebrating our 6-year wedding anniversary this September. After 3 years of teaching history at a private school, it was clear that God was calling me away from teaching and to ministry in the church. After months of discernment, God made it clear that I was called to Newport Covenant to serve as the Youth Director as well as go back to Seattle Pacific to receive a Master of Arts in Christian Studies this Fall.

My husband and I live in Lynnwood, Washington with three cats, a tortoise, and 11-year-old goldfish. While we have been attending Newport Covenant for 5 years, my husband has grown up in our church and I am appreciative to serve where he developed his own faith.  We are extremely blessed by a supportive church and family through the pivot of careers for myself. God has made it clear through this past year that ministry is what He has made me for and we are very thankful for the clarity that has been provided to us through this time. I am looking forward to devoting my time to serving our youth and in the church after years as a volunteer in my congregation.

What are you passionate about in ministry right now?

While I am extremely passionate about sharing the name and good word of Jesus Christ, I have been recently focused and passionate about helping facilitate lasting faiths in our youth with solid roots of action and understanding of our beliefs. While I have been surrounded by Christians my whole life, I have seen many in my same age group leave the church or stop attending church for many different reasons. I can see the benefits and call to be a part of the church, but why do not others? As I have moved into full time ministry, I have began focusing on how to create a sustainable youth ministry while also help cultivate healthy and vibrant relationships between the youth and their Savior reminding them the importance of the church and their faith. Through solid foundations created in youth ministry, I hope to see young Christians continue engaging in their faith as they move on into adulthood.

How can we pray for you?

As I move into my first full time position in ministry, I ask for prayer to lead with wisdom from God and a smooth transition from congregant to youth director. Prayer for spiritual growth for our students would be very much appreciated since time a part has caused us to struggle on helping build their faith. Our church could also use prayer through the time of separation as it has been difficult to engage individually, especially for the youth and young adults.

Five things you didn’t know about Amanda:

What three traits define you?  

Outgoing, Determined, and Creative

Where is your favorite place to be?

I have a couple of favorite places to be or go, especially in the Pacific Northwest. If I need a solid day of relaxing, self-care, and time with Jesus, I love to either go to Whidbey Island or Leavenworth. I, also, LOVE going to Cascades Camp and wish I could go there more often. If it is a rainy day, you could find me at the Seattle Art Museum enjoying one of the exhibits there.

What is your favorite thing to do?

I love to cook and bake, watch television with my husband, and cuddle with our three kitties. If I am feeling creative, I also enjoy coloring and working on different art projects around the house.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to and why?

I have been blessed enough to travel to many places around the world but Rome is still the best place I have ever been. Due to my background in art history, I love being able to walk around every corner and find a piece of history. Plus, the pizza, pasta, and gelato is AMAZING there. I would happily live there for a summer again.

What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?

Be bold and trust God in EVERYTHING. Looking back as an adult, I wish I was less apprehensive to God’s calls for me but I also know that His timing was perfect for when I did follow through.

THRIVE OR SURVIVE: When Pandemic Restrictions Mean A Whole Summer Of ‘House Arrest’ With Masks and Social Distancing

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By Keith Tungseth, Mission Advancement Coach, PacNWC

This summer was to be full of weddings, conferences, retreats and a family reunion and travel in Canada – CANCELLED!

It is taking me time now to adapt to a new reality. A ZOOM small group from church is serving as God’s ‘Wake-Up Call” to look around me ‘through the eyes of Jesus’ and aim for thriving, not just surviving.

Besides opening my eyes, it is time to open my ears. Listening to Dr. Don K. Warne, M.D, a Lakota from Pine Ridge, South Dakota who is now at UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences I learned to think differently about ‘Social Distancing’ (the recommendation of maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others). He pointed out the unfortunate implication of the term – that we must distance ourselves socially from one another. He shared his culture’s values so different from individualistic isolation. He spoke of life in community with focus on spirituality, thankfulness and prayer in direct  contrast to ‘social distancing’. So thanks to Dr. Warne, I am rejecting the concept of ‘social distancing’. “What kind of a rebel are you?” you may ask. Oh, I believe in the wisdom of physical distancing to reduce the chances of spreading the virus – but not social distancing.

Now more than ever we need social interaction that brings closeness. I recall Jesus’ priorities as I consider thriving. Life in Jesus is about loving God and loving neighbors. This new reality means that now my loving is not confined to the inside of a church building. Now my loving extends from my home base which is strategically located right smack in the midst of the people Jesus wants me to love as I love myself.

Jesus has designed the making of disciples with a geographical progression – Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and then beyond. If we have yet to catch on to this, then this is indeed the season to discover what mission means when it starts out from our home base. 

I don’t think my block in my neighborhood is that unusual in our Northwest multicultural communities.  The whole world seems to be walking just about 6 feet from the end of my sidewalk – people who represent many nations and races.

These weeks and months might just be the time I need to come to realize that my  neighbors are ‘family’ and it is time for me to quit labeling them by race, ethnic group or country or language in ways that keep the distance between me and those different from me, way more than 6 feet. It is interesting how labels that separate have a way of disappearing as personal friendships grow. With prayer for opportunities for fresh air meetings on our patio, I am believing that these months will see the developing of relationships with deepening respect and love.

Because loving our neighbors as ourselves is key to our discipleship may we  wake up to realize that this is the season for putting our faith into practice. It is now a unique time for listening and learning of the backgrounds and values of neighbors.

So what will my own witness sound like to my neighbors? Are we all convinced that we have a vital message to share with those in our neighborhoods? And beside the actual message, this is also about the messenger. Sharing on my block will be with people who see I am quite imperfect. They see how I live, how I relate in the neighborhood, They note my priorities and can sense my attitude. They know if I am being authentic because as their neighbor they can see right into and maybe even through me. They know if I truly respect them. And besides that, it is humbling to see how my neighbors from other countries and other races respect me and care about me.

So if I believe this is a season to thrive, I need to reject ‘social distancing’. To thrive, I need to awaken to the remarkable opportunities I did not expect to have – to take time to listen and truly hear the cries of neighbors hearts. Like at the death of their family member from covid-19 for example – when they were not able to be physically present with a dying father in another country.

So now, my focus is not on getting to church on time to take my turn to welcome people at the door. Now is the time to welcome a neighbor to join me on the patio or to walk with them on their turf.

As I listen, I believe there will be new understandings that will come to my mind and new attitudes in my heart that will make a difference in how I respond to the critical issues of today. I expect that new awareness will lead to specific active collaborations involving advocacy. A call to authentic living in community.

As people continue walk by my house only 6 feet away from my front walk – I pray. I pray that God will fill me with the love of Jesus that casts out all fears and that I will be led to connections with those in whose lives the Holy Spirit is already at work.

To anticipate thriving, I go to God’s Word for wisdom.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.

Philippians 2:5- 8 (Message)

Introducing Mike Matousek, New Associate Pastor at Countryside Community Church

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By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC

Enjoy this interview with Mike Matousek, the new Associate Pastor at Countryside Community Church in Sherwood, OR

What is your personal and ministry background?

My relationship with God has always been a centerpiece of my life.  I grew up in a Christian family and spent my formative years in a strong church, placing my faith in Jesus in the Children’s ministry program at age 8.  My faith needed to grow both in intellectual understanding and in experiential deepening, and my involvement in church and especially in camping provided the setting where my faith flourished over my late high school and college years.  God also used significant life events to deepen my faith. 

Twice I have felt like God placed a calling on my life.  One was the night I was elected as the mayor of our city in Wisconsin and the other was at a missions conference at our church a few years ago.  Both times He confirmed a unique calling to ministry on my life and both times I felt Him work in supernatural ways.  I’m not sure exactly how the second one will play out but the first one has already had enough time elapse to clearly see God’s hand.  The night I was elected I looked at my wife and said, “This doesn’t make any sense, and it seems like God is preparing us for something beyond even this.”  She agreed even though neither of us had any idea what that meant.  At the time I probably would have guessed that He was preparing me for some sort of higher political office which was a real possibility.  However, upon the calling to pastoral ministry, and our attempt to turn it down twice before finally accepting, it became clear shortly thereafter that God had specifically prepared me with the exact skills and abilities needed to step into the gap at His church.  I’m certain that I’m in a similar place now based on the second affirmation of calling and I’m excited to discover whatever God has in store for my future.

What are you passionate about in ministry right now?

I find that my faith deepens significantly when I interact with a vibrant faith community and when I spend time intellectually learning about it.  Therefore, I have always put a very high value on my involvement in the life of a local body of believers, and upon journeying through life intimately with a group of Christians that practice mutual accountability.  In addition, I carve out time to engage my intellectual side by frequent study of God’s word, books on theology and Christian leadership, and by my decision to attend seminary.  I try to pray continuously and bring biblical thinking to every situation.  I want my faith to be integrated into my life, not just something that takes center stage on Sunday or even during a quiet time.

How can we pray for you?

I’ve been married for 20 years to my wife Christina and we have four children: Abby (17), Tyler (15), Brady (8), and Kinsley (5).  During that big break in the middle we moved from the midwest to Portland 🙂  Like most parents, we are concerned about doing the best thing for our kids’ education in this time of COVID and social unrest.  Do we move them from public schools to private?  Do we put them in a private online schooling situation (the end of the last school year did not work well for any of them)? What part do finances play? What part do our beliefs and values play? These are things we would appreciate prayers for us and for so many parents that are facing the same issues.

What is the greatest challenge you have had to overcome in your life thus far?

The greatest challenge that I have overcome in my life has been my congenital heart defect (bicuspid aortic valve). It has led directly to two heart surgeries (2007 and 2020) and will likely result in at least one more.  The first one was when I was only 36 years old with two children under five years old.  It was very difficult and definitely pushed my faith in God’s sovereignty and goodness.  I have learned much through these experiences and they have created a very deep compassion for those suffering from health issues.

What has been the most important innovation you have witnessed in your lifetime?

The most important innovation in my lifetime is undoubtedly the internet.  I’m old enough to remember when it wasn’t a thing.  The way we live in a wide variety of ways has been completely upended since those days for both good and bad.  I’m not saying I would want to go back…I can’t imagine living in this time of quarantine without the internet!  It has also profoundly changed the way we do ministry and the way people expect us to engage with them as pastors.  Again I think this has had both good and bad aspects, but regardless it has caused us all to think differently and forced us to confront change.

If you could do another job for just one day, what would it be?

If I wasn’t a pastor I’d go back into politics.  I loved it.  Maybe it would be harder now and I wouldn’t like the mean tone of it all.  When I served in local politics and dipped my toe into the possibility of statewide politics in Wisconsin (2004-2008), the climate was very different than today.  However, it provided a platform for creating real and meaningful change, for fighting for justice for all citizens, and for profound relational and leadership development.  I count those years as the most interesting and transformative of my life in all aspects and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Click Here] to visit Mike’s Facebook Page

[Click Here] to visit Countryside Community Church’s Web Page

Restore to [us] the joy of your salvation, and make [us] willing to obey you.

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By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC

Psalm 51:12

Our human stuff is exhausting: virulent diseases, corruption, destruction of decency, our racialized society, greed… We are overwhelmed with 24/7 news cycles, endless commentary, social media saturation… There are so many voices, so many perspectives, so many agendas.  Lord, help us to hear your voice and yours alone. Like King David, we know that we will not be able to hear you until we surrender ourselves and ask for your forgiveness. 

Lord, restore to [us] the joy of your salvation, and make [us] willing to obey you.

The joy of your salvation does not come from everything being stable, safe, or bountiful.  Help us to not confuse discomfort or disruption as not from you.  The Spirit shines the bright light of Creator on hidden and disregarded places.  This is often disconcerting and disorienting.  Lord, create in us clean hearts; teachable spirits that desire to live in your revealing light.  Forgive us for our judgmental hearts and our dependence upon human voices rather than yours.  Help us to be avid students of your scripture and good listeners in our prayers.  Come Holy Spirit, come.  Shine your light on us. 

Lord, restore to [us] the joy of your salvation, and make [us] willing to obey you.

We see your salvation in Revelation.  It gives us hope.  There will no longer be any sorrow, suffering, or death. You are making all things new. Every language, ethnicity, and nation will be recognized and honored as you intended.  We hold onto images of the river of life flowing down from your throne, and by this river will be trees whose leaves will be for the healing of the nations.  We need those leaves, Lord.  We join creation in groaning for your return, Lord Jesus.  Come Jesus, come! 

Lord, restore to [us] the joy of your salvation, and make [us] willing to obey you.

But right now with all of the exhausting human stuff, we need you desperately, Lord.  There’s still so much to learn.  And with that, we recognize the gift you bless us with; each other to enter holy spaces of mutual learning and listening.  Help us to draw nearer and not push away.  You ask us to lay our lives down for each other.  Save us from our indifference and help us to love our neighbors.  You ask us to join you in your work of the gospel that flows out of the power of the resurrection and the church birthed by nothing less than your Holy Spirit.  Help us to not reduce your work to stuff that just makes us feel comfortable. May we find holy resolve to wholly dedicate ourselves to the renewing and restorative work you are doing in lives and in this world.  Create in us clean hearts, O God.  Renew in us a steadfast spirit. 

Lord, restore to [us] the joy of your salvation, and make [us] willing to obey you.

Lets Go! March to Surrender Mobilizes Over 25 PacNWC Churches and 700 People

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By Kim Thomas, Pastor of Administration, Radiant Covenant Church

“LETS GO!” These were the words shouted from Pastor Mike Thomas of Radiant Covenant Church, lead organizer of the march, as he and over 20 pastors and ministers lead 700 people in a peaceful protest against racial injustice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Appropriately called The March to Surrender, it was the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest and the first within our denomination. Along with other churches within the faith community, over 25 Covenant churches in our conference stood up and marched for justice and to speak against the devaluing of black lives. These are historic times we find ourselves living in. Historically, The Church has been mostly silent in the areas of racial justice. We believe that this pandemic has allowed for eyes to be open and for those who have ears to hear, let them hear the cries of injustice around the world.

The March to Surrender was a call for the church community to come together, acknowledge the sin of silence, and to surrender the idols in our lives that causes indifference. The call was then to, as followers of Jesus, to pick up the mantle to love MERCY, and do JUSTICE. It was a call to the faith community to come together to make a statement against injustice, the violence and dehumanizing of black lives, and be the bridge-builders God has established his church to be.

The march and rally was also intended to not only be a moment, but a commitment to be a part of a movement towards awareness, advocacy, and to lead our churches in discipleship that understands you cannot separate Jesus from Justice.

[Click Here] to see the video of the march and rally

[Click Here] to see the Covenant Companion article about the march

[Click Here] to visit Radiant Covenant Church’s Website