POTW – Page 6 – Alumni Blog

June 7, 2017

Kent Bjurstrom: Pastor of the Week

By: Emily Lehner

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Kent Bjurstrom is the Pastor of Student Ministries at Northview Church in Carmel, Indiana. He graduated from IWU in the Spring of 2005 with bachelors’ degrees in Business Administration and Communications (Public Relations).

His decision to attend Indiana Wesleyan was effortless. He stated, “There was really no other place I wanted to even look at.” Bjurstrom’s uncle worked at IWU for many years and encouraged his attendance. Bjurstrom’s time at IWU took him on a spiritual journey that would lead to immense growth.

Young Bjurstrom sat in IWU’s chapel during his first semester listening to Adrian Deprez speak. It was spiritual emphasis week on campus, and he said, “I felt God speak to me like never before. IWU was a huge part of my faith journey. I met some incredible friends and mentors along the way.”

Bjurstrom served IWU dorm life as an RA, where he said, “RD’s Rob Dawson and Jason Makowsky poured into me.” He had the opportunity to travel with ministry teams, leading worship. He stated, “These were some of the best years of my life, and I lived out God’s calling for my life.”

After graduation, Bjurstrom spent three years working in sales, but he was not quite content. He stated, “I had spiritual unrest during those years and knew that even though I was doing well at work, I knew that God had something for me that I had been ignoring for the past 7 to 8 years. It was during this unrest that the church I grew up in had a leadership change and a new lead pastor. This new lead pastor called and asked me what I thought about student ministry.”

Bjurstrom joined the Sugar Grove Church staff and worked there for six years with middle and high school students. He stated, “Even when my wife and I made the decision to join the staff at Sugar Grove Church, there was still part of me that was unsure if I was doing the right thing.” However, Bjurstrom shared that the first summer he went to camp with the students, he saw God move. “I saw God tear walls of guilt and shame down. I saw students decide to put their faith in Jesus, and I got to pray with students who were tired of being apathetic. It was in that moment that I knew I wanted to work with middle school and high school students as long as possible,” he said.

Following his time at Sugar Grove Church, Bjurstrom became the student ministries leader at Northview Church’s Carmel Campus. He said, “Both places have taught me a lot about myself and have only increased my love for seeing students meet Jesus and put their faith in motion. I have had the privilege of seeing many students put their faith in Jesus, be baptized, and see students step up and lead their peers and serve their community and their world.”

Conversely, when asked what one of the biggest difficulties he has faced thus far, Bjustrom spoke of perfectionism. He has realized that being perfect is not necessary to further The Gospel. He said, “My mindset starting off was that these students need me to be perfect in order to see a perfect Savior. It was my wife, Stephanie, that told me in a moment of frustration that there was no way I could hold everything together by myself and that I couldn’t be perfect.” Bjurstrom said he is still learning each and every day to embrace the brokenness in his life.

Northview Church has 8 campuses across central Indiana. Each church is focused on equipping disciples and encouraging growth within the family atmosphere. Bjurstrom stated, “Northview is filled with people who love the Lord and want to see their friends, family and co-workers come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. One unique thing about Northview is that we aren’t afraid to do something unconventional in order to create an atmosphere for student/families to grow in their faith and grow closer together.”

For example, Northview student ministry hosts a Mother Daughter Mud Run to encourage conversation about true identity in Christ. They also hold a Father Son Chili Bowl where Bjustrom said, “We set up a flag football tournament and chili cook off just to set up a conversation for dads to talk to their sons about purity, lust, and pornography.” Also, as a whole, the church cancels services one weekend every year to go out into the community and serve. They call this “Good Neighbor Weekend.” Bjurstrom said, “These are just a few reasons I love my church.”

Bjurstrom encourages students to take advantage of the opportunities they have at their fingertips, especially when in college. He said, “Take advantage of your professor’s accessibility and talk to them about life. Take advantage of the fact that you have an incredible campus to meet people, make friends and grow in your faith. Take advantage of not having to cook your own food and only having to do laundry once a year, and take advantage of intramurals because that was essentially what I majored in the first few years of college.” He believes IWU is an amazing place where he met his wife, and the campus holds some of the best memories of his life.

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Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a junior Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others.

May 31, 2017

Alex Falder and Relational Evangelism (Pastor of the Week)

By: Emily Lehner

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Alex Falder and his family Photo obtained from Facebook — Alex Falder and his family
Photo obtained from Facebook

Alex Falder graduated from Lakeview Christian High School, and although it was a tough decision between Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor University, Falder chose Taylor University. His call to ministry goes back farther than college. Falder’s youth pastor was Charlie Alcock.

Falder said, “My call to ministry was really felt during my senior year of high school- particularly to youth ministry. So, I studied Recreation and Leadership, with a minor in Youth Ministry.” This major focused on using the outdoors to shape one’s faith. Falder planned to pursue camp ministry after college.

During college, Falder worked for Springhill Camps doing wilderness trips. After college, his brother, who worked for Youth for Christ, hired him to begin a Campus Life in Ithaca, Michigan. In this position, Falder encouraged children in the area to join churches.

Following this job, Falder moved to Pittsburgh to work as a youth pastor. “I really grew in a love for the church and ministry in the church. After four years, I came back to get my master’s at Huntington University. This was a time when it became very clear that my talents were meant to be used inside the church.”

After completing his master’s, Falder began his internship at Wabash Friends Church, his home church. Within six months, Falder discovered that the senior pastor at the church was transitioning out. The church leadership believed that he was the one to be the replacement. Falder stated, “I don’t think I was ever planning to be a senior pastor. It just kind of happened.”

As senior pastor, Falder focuses on four main categories of the church. He believes being proactive in every person’s faith walk is of high importance. He said, “A healthy church has 25% quadrants. 25% of your people are exploring Christ, maybe that haven’t even come to know him yet. 25% of the people are coming to know Christ. They’re figuring out who He is. Then, you have 25% who are close to Christ, but they are still figuring out things in life. And then lastly, you have 25% who are all in. They’re serving and devoted to Christ. As a pastor, I am constantly thinking about how I can assist these four groups in moving forward.” Falder said he is always attempting to envision which programs and events and messages will help each group.

As far as reaching out, Falder believes a relationship is the most important and primary step in discipleship. He said, “I really have wrestled with the idea that church is the place where evangelism takes place. Really, it should be just not the staff’s job, but the church’s job to be meeting people where they are at, helping them walk down that road.” Falder spends his days thinking of ways to reach out to the Wabash community and also helping to encourage growth within the congregation members. “We are trying to make the person’s first exposure to Christ relational and not walking through the doors of the church,” he said.

Wabash Friends Church partners with community organizations to pursue this type of relationship with others. Falder said, “The way we look at missions is that we don’t just want to fund it, but we want to have people involved. So, we have people who are going and participating.”

The church focuses heavily on youth. For example, Wabash Friends has a partnership with Kids Hope. Members of the church visit local schools and mentor the elementary students. They currently have approximately 25 mentors. Falder said, “We also have a partnership with Youth for Christ. This is something that has grown in Wabash. Now, all four schools have a Youth for Christ program.” The church also partners with FCA and The Access. “We see these as opportunities to be a part of kids’ lives. We want to walk along them from an early age,” he said.

Falder said that his time spent in college allowed him to see his need for relationship. “I need to have people around me that will sharpen me,” he stated. He puts these insights into practice at Wabash Friends Church and in the surrounding Wabash community, building relationships with all he comes into contact with.

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May 26, 2017May 26, 2017

Jeff Luedtke and The Branch (Pastor of the Week)

By: Emily Lehner

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Jeff Luedtke is the Lead Pastor at Fairmount Wesleyan Church in Fairmount, Indiana. He is a 1996 Indiana Wesleyan graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministries, and a 2008 graduate with a master’s degree in Ministry with a Leadership emphasis. He stated, “My time at Indiana Wesleyan influenced everything about my future. I went to a Wesleyan church growing up, so I knew of Indiana Wesleyan.” Luedtke had planned to attend Taylor University, but while visiting a good friend and Taylor student, he went golfing. While Luedtke was golfing, he ended up meeting the IWU Men’s Golf Coach and gained the opportunity to walk on to the IWU team.

Luedtke did not just gain an athletic opportunity during his time at IWU, but he also met his wife on campus and had a confirmation of his calling to ministry. He said, “I learned the growth process of understanding life, and my close friends now come from college. Indiana Wesleyan has formed me in more ways than one – not just educationally, but with friendships, jobs, with everything.”

Although Luedtke’s place in ministry was unknown when he entered IWU, he believes he gained clarity. He stated, “I never saw myself as a senior pastor, but I always knew I wanted to be in the church. As a high schooler, I taught Sunday school classes. I was also on the church board.” Being in church was natural for him, and many people he knew confirmed his call. At first, Luedtke wanted to pursue Pastoral Counseling, but then realized that full-time ministry includes an element of counseling. Luedtke said that his confirmation to full-time ministry comes in a sense of a peace. He said, “It is more just a peace that I am where God wants me and how God is working. He equipped me through even the death of my mother in college. I had a confirmation that ministry was where I was supposed to be.”

Fairmount Wesleyan Church is very rich in tradition. The church is 154 years old and has never been relocated. Although it has burned down twice, it has been rebuilt in the same location each time. Luedtke said, “Over the last five years, there has been a focus on reaching out.” Fairmount Wesleyan Church has almost doubled in size the last five years. Luedtke stated, “People in the community are watching us because we have become so active and engaging in the community. During our outreach program, we wear bright orange shirts, and people recognize us. When you see a crowd of orange shirts, you can identify that it is the church.”

A couple of years ago, Luedtke read the book, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch. He was greatly influenced by a part of the book that stated that only 40% of a community will ever enter through the doors of the church. He said, “As a pastor, that really started to pull at my heart. I shared that with our board, our staff, and our leadership. We started praying, ‘What does that mean?’” After a year of praying and planning, the thought appeared to create a space off the campus of the church where ministry can happen. Finally, the board rested on a coffee shop and community center.

Downtown Fairmount now holds The Branch coffee shop. The building has been remodeled to hold the coffee shop on the first level and a community center on the second level. Luedtke said, “This will create an opportunity to engage our community.” The community center will provide classes and will also be available for community meetings to take place. The space could also hold a third church service, and lastly, may hold a mentoring program with elementary students. Luedtke stated, “It was a crazy idea. I just had to keep praying, ‘God, this has to be you.’ This is not how you normally do church. I had a lot of fears that I had to get through and God had to help me through, and then I had to help others.”

Now that The Branch has opened, Luedtke said that the community’s response has been outstanding. The Branch is always in need of volunteers. Luedtke said, “We are having fun, and we are seeing some God stories start to develop already.” He mentioned that the way God has provided for this project in the past couple of years has far outweighed the struggle. Even some of Fairmount Wesleyan’s sermon series the past year have seemed to fit the church’s place in this journey perfectly. Luedtke said, “We did a series on Joshua and taking new territory. It was about trusting God, going into battle, and how crazy marching around Jericho was. We know the story, but when you actually stop and put yourself in there, it makes no sense.” He shared that only with God does that command make sense, and it is the same with the plans they have for The Branch and the Fairmount community.

Luedtke said that his wife, Amy, who is an Adjunct Professor in the Psychology Department at IWU, and their two children have been extremely supportive during this period of growth. He stated, “I am definitely blessed with my family. It is awesome to have a spouse who supports me in ministry, who is my partner in ministry and even helps with The Branch.” Luedtke’s wife and children volunteer daily at the coffee shop.

Finally, Luedtke encouraged IWU students to bask in the opportunity around them. He stated, “Be faithful in following after God. If God is not leading, do not do it. Keep your eyes fixed on him. We see this throughout Scripture, and we can see it in our own lives – that when we take our eyes off Jesus, we get in trouble.” Luedtke believes a prime example of following God’s will is The Branch. “Before I preach, it really is my heartbeat that The Lord hides me behind the cross and let the words I share be his, not mine,” he said.

The Branch is located at 108 S. Main St. in Fairmount, Indiana. You can learn more about what is happening at The Branch here. To donate to The Branch visit here.

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May 19, 2017May 19, 2017

Marc Ulrich – Cultivating Hope (Pastor of the Week)

By: Emily Lehner

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Marc Ulrich graduated from Indiana Wesleyan in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministries. During his four years at IWU, he married his wife, Heather, and the couple now has two sons, Shad and Carson. Although Ulrich grew up in Plymouth, Indiana, the family moved out-of-state for many years. Now, though, they have returned with one purpose in mind.

As a student at Indiana Wesleyan, Ulrich said that The World Changer Movement inspired him. “I realized no matter what role I stepped into, I could influence the world I found myself in,” he stated. He mentioned others who guided him along his journey, “Russ Gunsalus’ ability to give me time and kick my butt in foosball was uncanny at the time. Bud Bence invested into me outside of the classroom. There were several breakfast appointments and walks throughout the Christian Ministries building as he mentored me while I was engaged to Heather.” Ulrich grew up without his father, and said that these men in his life were crucial and much needed in the time of his life that they appeared.

Ulrich is now the Lead Pastor of RE.THINK Church in Merrillville, Indiana – a church that he and his wife planted. When asked about his call to become a pastor, he said, “It may seem strange, but this has been a process for me. I started out in vocational ministry and found myself working in a leadership position in the auto industry for seven years.” He believes these years allowed him to learn leadership skills and apply ministry principles. Ulrich worked as a bivocational pastor for six years and said, “When I re-entered full-time vocational ministry, it was one of the most difficult seasons of life. I wasn’t really sure full-time ministry was the correct path until 2015.”

During this transition to full-time ministry, Ulrich went through some difficult times. He stated, “2013 was one of the most difficult seasons of ministry and life in general. I left a great job at Denso Manufacturing (after seven years) on a Friday and on the next Monday, started a new job, as the full-time missions pastor at First Wesleyan in Battle Creek, Michigan.” He shared of how this transition brought doubt, struggle, and a painful church split. The church’s population dropped, and after a strong want to return to his previous job, God continually told him to remain at First Wesleyan.

When Ulrich and his family decided to move back to Indiana, they landed in Merrillville. The family planted a church, which officially launched January 21, 2017. RE.THINK Church focuses on hope. Ulrich said, “Our vision is to create a church that would lead people into a maturing relationship by creating a church that unchurched people would actually want to attend.” The church’s goal is to give hope and show others how to give hope. He stated, “Our mission is to love people the way Jesus loves us. Transformation comes when we love people the way Jesus did and we speak truth as we journey with others.”

Another one of the church’s goals is to reach the community. Ulrich named a few of the missions happening currently, “The tribes we are currently working with are Merrillville Intermediate School, the neighborhood our building is in, families that have kids in youth sports and IU North Campus.” The church offers teachers coffee and snacks during ISTEP testing weeks. They even offer breakfast sandwiches to the neighborhood.

Ulrich said, “We love diversity here. RE.THINK Church services reflect the diversity as well. We have decided to keep our mission the main thing to lead people into a maturing relationship with Jesus, and not diversity, and people are responding in great ways. In a community that has been burnt by churches in the past, as well as having a high churched area, our message of a maturing relationship with Jesus, based on our response to Jesus’ grace, has been fun to watch grow in people’s lives.”

After sharing his journey, Ulrich was asked for words of wisdom for current IWU Students. He said, “Enjoy the ride, graduate. Don’t rely too much on your diploma or title to lead. Start leading day one – doing your job with excellence, being a great team player, and staying hungry and humble will take you further than your diploma ever will.”

Please join us as we honor Pastor Marc Ulrich as this week’s Pastor of the Week. Thank you for all you do for the local church!

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May 12, 2017May 12, 2017

Matthew Barnes: Part 2, Chaplain of Indiana Statehouse (Pastor of the Week)

By: Heather Cox

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Find Part 1 of Matthew Barnes’ story here: http://iwualumniblog.com/2017/05/pow-barnes-1

As Barnes’ job as Statehouse Chaplain progressed and evolved, it began to mean doing Bible studies with legislators, staffers and lobbyists. Since then, the Capitol has also brought on a women’s chaplain who does women’s Bible studies and ministers to all of the women in the Statehouse. In addition, the Statehouse has a chapel service every week in the chapel room of the Statehouse. Barnes paved the way for prayer and Bible studies to enter the Statehouse – making Indiana the first Statehouse to have a chapel.

The Capitol also offers one-on-one counseling, lunch meetings and dinner meetings. Barnes mentioned that he does a lot of the “official” prayers, such as inauguration and swearing-in prayers. He sometimes prays at the start of the new session in the House and Senate and is even the chair of the Governor’s prayer breakfast.

Additionally, they have a Statehouse Prayer Service the first session day of the year in early January. This year was the 13th Annual Statehouse Prayer Service, which included the Governor praying for the Executive Branch, the Chief Justice praying for the Judicial Branch, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate praying for their chambers, and etc. Barnes said that when they started this prayer service 13 years ago, around 40 people showed up. This year, there were more than 800 Hoosiers gathered in the center of the Statehouse to pray for and with their leaders.

Another part of the ministry at the Statehouse, is Public Servants’ Prayer. On this website, they have the United States broken up into four regions. From there, you are able to choose your state. Everyday on this website, they have three people to pray for–from State Legislators to Congress. Barnes said to explain the purpose of this prayer tool, they use 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

“We started this website to help people make it a priority. They can get an email at 7:00 in the morning, and just start their day off with praying for three of their leaders. Now, this is all Nationwide – we now have the data on all 8,000 or so political leaders from that state level and higher, and so we just put that out there – every single day- just three people in each state, to pray for,” Barnes said. The ministry also puts this information on Twitter and is now followed by more than 30,000 people.

Barnes said, “It’s just amazing what God is doing through prayer, because as God’s people pray, He works. And a real passion of mine is the prayer ministry side of this, because I could do a Bible study in a Statehouse, but it may not have as far of a reaching effect on getting as movement of people praying for their leaders – that can really have an impact.” Even though Barnes is very passionate about this job and praying for our leaders, every job has its challenges.

For Barnes, the challenge is staying out of politics. He explained, “As an American, I can put my “American hat” on, but as a Christian, my “Christ hat” has to be on first. I have to look at all situations, even though I have an opinion. I have to focus more on the transcendent issues of the heart. Because, if we as believers can see folks come to know Christ and growing in The Word, their decisions will be based out of a biblical worldview – as opposed to trying to just win the issue, and then, you really haven’t won the heart. That’s my focus, but sometimes it can get muddied. As we know, in politics, many people try to wrap the cross in the flag, and that can have a dangerous result.”

Conversely, the most rewarding part of the job is seeing legislators and staffers come to know Christ. Barnes stated, “It’s worth every dime, every ounce of effort, all of the blood, sweat and tears to see someone come to know Jesus as their Savior. Secondly, then, would be being a part of the lives of these folks that I have grown to love.” The Indianapolis Star wrote an article about Barnes several years ago that was titled ‘The man who loves politicians.’ He explained, “And I have come to love them, I really do care about them deeply. It’s because they’re people and God loves them, and I want to love what God loves. So, I love political leaders and being a part of their lives every day, talking to them every day is just a true blessing to me.”
Learn more about Barnes here: http://www.capitolcom.org/indiana/biography

Read Part 1 – Barnes Story.

May 12, 2017May 12, 2017

Matthew Barnes: Part 1, Chaplain of the Indiana Statehouse (Pastor of the Week)

By: Heather Cox

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Rev. Matthew Barnes, originally from Southeast Indiana, has served as the Chaplain of the Indiana Statehouse since late 2004. As for how he got the job, he has a story filled with hard work and much faith.

When Barnes was young, he became very interested in Abraham Lincoln, and told his parents he wanted to be just like him. This interest resulted in Barnes being home-schooled from third grade and on. From there, Barnes attended four years of advanced ministry training in Indianapolis.

He stated, “After that, I decided I really should go into ministry, and I was looking for that opportunity. (I) ended up serving with my father, who is a pastor, so I was an assistant pastor – there was not a full time position – and ended up working other jobs. We had lawn care business when I first got married, and then I went to work at a hardware store after that. And then, at the hardware store in 2004 is when God really worked on my heart to start a ministry here in the Capitol.”

When Barnes became interested in pursuing a ministry job in the capital, he decided to be obedient to where The Lord was leading him and went to the Capitol to ask if he could speak with the Chaplain. He then discovered that the Capitol had never had a Chaplain before. From there, Barnes went home with this information to his wife, whom he had been married to for only a few years.

He said, “I asked my wife if we could consider quitting my job, which was working at the hardware store, and go to work at Statehouse with no job description, no money, no benefits or anything. And we had a five year old, a three year old, and a six month old, and she said ‘let’s do it.” Barnes quit his job, and him and his family ended up at the Statehouse in late 2004. He began working there for the 2005 session, and since the job had no description, he made it up throughout the years.

When Barnes began working at the Statehouse, he did not know anyone, but he made it a point to go around introducing himself and asking what they needed prayer for. One legislator asked Barnes his opinion on a particular moral issue of the day. He wanted to know what the Bible said about it, and also wanted to know Barnes’ opinion on the matter.

Barnes gave the legislator the answer found in Scriptures. He then said, “We talked for an hour and a half, and really the moral issue at its root is the sin issue. It’s great because the Gospel answers sin issues. Further down the road, Barnes was able to see the fruit of his planting. He stated, “It came time to vote and he (the legislator) voted for the biblical side, which was not what he was inclined to do, and the reporters then asked him ‘why did you do that’ and he said ‘well I have become a Christian,’” Barnes explained.

Barnes said this legislator went on to participate in rallies for this same issue, which had previously been against. Then, the unexpected happened. Barnes said, “Within a couple of months, he (the legislator) died and that just really put the exclamation point on it for me – saying this man who was a state representative and was just going along with life and was interrupted by Jesus Christ, who’s saved him and then, redeemed him. Then, He took him home in a matter of just months after accepting Him. That experience was very rewarding for me, because had I focused on politics, we may not have seen this man come to know Jesus Christ.”

Read Part 2 – Matthew Barnes’ story, as we continue to honor his many pastoral achievements.

Learn more about Barnes here: http://www.capitolcom.org/indiana/biography

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May 8, 2017May 9, 2017

Paul N. Trent – A Legacy of Servanthood

By: Emily Lehner

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Paul N. Trent is fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer, but according to Dr. Jim Lo, Trent’s legacy will live on far longer than his physical battles. Lo and Rev. Robert Van Cise went to minister to Trent in the hospital the past weekend, and Lo said, “We left having been ministered to by Paul. When we entered his bedroom, he had his hands up, praising and thanking God. We spent our time together reminiscing, reflecting and rejoicing. A lot of tears were shed. It was a wonderful to spend time with a special friend and mentor.”

Lo serves as the Campus Pastor-Intercessor and Professor and spoke of his time transitioning into the Wesleyan Church and Trent’s role in this process. He stated, “I came into the Wesleyan Church when most did not know what to do with someone from Chinese heritage. Paul N. Trent was the president for the Wesleyan Youth of the Indiana Central District of the Wesleyan Church (now Crossroads). As president, he invited me to be part of the district Wesleyan Youth executive committee as secretary.” Trent’s welcoming and loving heart gave Lo a place within the district. Lo said, “Paul was willing to give me a chance. He believed in me while others were confused about a Chinese being a part of the district.”

At the time, Trent also served the pastor of the Wesleyan Church in Lebanon. Lo said, “For the 14 years he and his church supported my wife, Roxy, and me while we served as missionaries in Southern Africa. Paul and his flock prayed for us and financially gave to our support. When we were home for home ministries, he always welcomed us into his home and had me preach to his congregation about the need to be involved in missions.”

Not only did Trent and his wife cultivate a Christ-filled church environment, but they became active in children’s ministries. Lo stated, “Paul and his wife Patti have always loved children and were phenomenal children’s workers. For years, they were the children’s workers at Frankfort Camp. The kids loved them and their ministry.” Trent used his many gifts to spread The Gospel, including his beautiful singing voice.

For the past few years, Trent was the lead pastor at Parkview Wesleyan Church in Chesterfield, Indiana. Lo said, “This Easter, in a wheelchair due to his battle with cancer, Paul sang praises to God and preached The Word of God to his adoring congregation. There was not a dry eye in the sanctuary.” Trent was an active presence in his congregation’s lives, showing them the necessity of prayer. One of the parishioners wrote, “Pastor Paul, thank you for always being there for my family. When my kids were sick and especially when one of them was in ICU as a baby, you came every day to pray for his healing. When my dad was dying, you stopped by his house and talked to him about Jesus and prayed for his healing. My family and I love you!”

The impact that Pastor Paul N. Trent has on those around him is evident, and we praise God for allowing us to view his example of servanthood. Lo said, “I love this man of God who befriended me and opened up doors of opportunities for me when I was a young ‘Chinese’ pastor.”

Pastor of the Week is honoring leaders who serve the local church and represent Christ-like values. “Paul has served the Wesleyan Church for many years and has been a long-term pastor in Chesterton, IN,” says Rick Carder, Director of Alumni and Church Engagement. “He is well respected,” he added.

Pray for Pastor Paul and his family during this difficult time.

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April 21, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Richard Cole

By: Heather Cox

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Richard Lee Cole graduated from Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University) in 1985 with a B.S. in Christian Ministries and an Associates degree in Christian Education. Today, Cole has been the lead Pastor and founder of Daybreak Community Church located in Lapel, Indiana for 20 years.

Before he was a Pastor, Cole was a student. Cole said that during his time at Marion College, he had professors and mentors who not only encouraged him in his pursuit to become a pastor, but they brought excitement into his life for what was to come. Bud Bence, Joe Seaborne, Wilbur Williams, and Duane Caldwell were some of Cole’s favorite professors and mentors at Marion College.

As far as how Cole became a pastor, his story is a bit more unique. Though he felt called to be a pastor starting when he was 18, Cole got married right out of high school, began working for General Motors and pushed his calling to be a pastor aside for a while.

Eventually, Cole came back to this calling and decided to do a course at home in order to obtain a license to become a pastor. Cole explained that this home course did not go well, as there were many distractions at home.

After working for General Motors for around 10 years, Cole was laid off, which was actually the beginning of something new. General Motors offered to pay for his education.

“They said that they would help with some of the financing on getting a degree in something, and I asked them about being a preacher. After negotiations, they said absolutely they would. I realized that I had everything going my direction, and I realized that this was a God thing. I’d been married ten years, had three boys and a home,” Cole explained. “I said ‘Wow Lord, you have opened up the doors… this is a no brainer.’ I just walked through that door that God had opened for me, and Indiana Wesleyan was the school I chose to go to.”

After becoming a pastor for a few years, General Motors called him back to work, so Cole began working full time at both the factory and as a pastor. Cole did this for 20 years, until he was able to solely focus on being a pastor.

“I have never thought of myself as anything but a pastor. I’ve never thought ‘Oh, maybe I’ll go to a different direction.’ Now, I’ve been a senior pastor for 32 years, and I’ve never wanted or looked at doing anything else,” Cole said.

Though Cole is continuously pursuing God’s calling in his life as a pastor, the job does not come without difficulties. Even returning to school brought Cole some difficulties that he had to overcome.

“I was never a good student in school, and it was very important for me to even pass my first test in college. I was dreading more than anything that I would not be able to read the material or write or get anything out of it, but the school really helped me with some reading classes, and I felt very successful,” Cole explained.

Cole said that one of the hardest parts of being a pastor was having to move his family around a few times when his children were young.

“The hardest part for the family is leaving the home that they had grown up in and moving off to a new school system,” Cole said. “There was a lot of soul searching not only with going to college, but also moving up to Marion. Moving to Colorado Springs for my first pastorate was a real tough thing for all of us to be on the same page, but it worked out beautifully.”

Cole’s grandson is currently in the process of pursuing an education at Indiana Wesleyan University to become a pastor, and Cole has a granddaughter doing the same in Oklahoma. In addition, all three of Cole’s sons have become ordained in the Wesleyan church.

One thing Cole has learned over the years and wants to pass on to current Indiana Wesleyan students is to not become intimidated or discouraged by people you work with or for. He said, “Every time I ran into a difficult time I had to remember: I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing this for my Jesus.”

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Written by Heather Cox, writer for the Alumni Office. Heather is a junior Journalism major at IWU. She is also the Editor of GrantCOnnected.net, a community news site run by IWU students. She is unsure of where life will take her after college, but she knows she never wants to stop writing!

April 12, 2017

Pastor of the Week: John Freed

By: Heather Cox

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12246627_10153800372122853_1208883147396571605_n[1648] — John & Danielle Freed

Reverend John Freed graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2003, after majoring in Christian Ministries. Freed then went on to obtain his Masters Degree in Christian Leadership through Wesley Seminary, graduating in 2008.

Today, Freed is the lead pastor of Waterline Church located in Fishers, Indiana, which he also founded along with his wife Danielle, who is also a 2003 IWU graduate.

While pursuing his Masters Degree, Freed said he appreciated the flexibility of the program. He was able to continue working in Ministry while also going to school. Freed explained that he didn’t want to have to step away from Ministry to step into a classroom.

“The teaching was very relevant to what I was working with. I could tailor what I was learning to my ministry,” Freed explained. “As I went through the master’s program… it allowed me to really understand and clarify the calling that God has on my life.”

While he was a student at IWU, Freed had a few professors that were particularly his favorite.

“I would say Dr. David Smith and Dr. Jim Lo were both very influential,” Freed said. “Dr. Keith Drury was a very influential Professor and mentor.”

Freed is able to confidently say that planting Waterline Church with his wife is something he was created to do.

“When I was going through the beginning stages in the beginning phases of church planting and starting something from scratch, I could see that I was supposed to do this with my life– that I was created to do this. Because of starting this church and church multiplication, church planting is something that has only been reaffirming my calling in life,” Freed explained. “I talked to one person a few months ago, and they have said they’ve never really had that feeling that this is what they were created to do, and I can definitely say that starting this church with Danielle is something I was created to do.”

The process hasn’t been entirely easy, however. Freed said one obstacle he had to overcome was learning about fundraising and how to fundraise.

12139932_10156072886485364_6052810434572450413_o[1647] — Freed and his family

“Church planting requires a lot of resources and a lot of partnership. I didn’t know how that was going to happen, but because of God’s calling and strong mentors, I was able to learn the skills of fundraising. Now I teach that to other church planters,” Freed said.

Freed loves leadership development.

“I absolutely love pouring into the leaders of our church and developing them. All of our staff are very young, and they’re full time. This is their very first job out of college, so helping them discover their own calling and what God created them to do [is awesome],” Freed said.

Freed explained that Waterline Church is a unique place to be, because the church reaches a unique group of people. The church specifically reaches out to people and families without a church background.

“Maybe [Waterline congregants] have never felt comfortable stepping into a church. We’ve created a place for people who are curious about those things to come and just be curious, to be welcomed and accepted no matter where they’re at their spiritual journey,” Freed said.

Because Waterline’s goal is to reach those who do not regularly attend church, they like to host a lot of events to become connected with the community.

“We want to earn the right to tell people about Jesus. We do that by serving in our community: being generous and finding projects that maybe most people overlook, but that are a huge need in our community. Then we just pour leadership and resources, and we use all of our gifts and our talents to meet those needs,” Freed explained.

Among those events include benefit concerts for human trafficking and for victims of crime and abuse. Through events such as the benefit concerts, Waterline has paid for the therapy and counseling for 80 children and families who have been victims of sexual abuse.

Additionally, Waterline has partnered with various organizations. Recently they have provided 250 pairs of socks for homeless people and 12,000 items for expectant mothers, incuding 7,000 diapers and 5,000 wipes.

The church is also in the process of planning an Easter egg drop, scheduled for April 15. A hot air balloon is going to drop 10,000 Easter eggs onto a field for children in the community. According to Waterline Church, this is a free event for the first 750 pre-registered children up to age 10.

When it comes to words of wisdom for current Indiana Wesleyan students, Freed said to “start!”

“Start something. Even if you fail at starting it, at least you tried starting it. Just try to start something new, start something fresh, something that no one else has done. It will push you, and it will stretch you,” Freed said. “It’s not about actually accomplishing it, it’s about the actual process.”

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April 7, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Dwight Elliott

By: Heather Cox

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Dwight Elliott

Dwight Clark Elliott graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with his B.A. in General Studies with a focus on Biblical Studies in 2013.

Today, Elliott is the Senior Pastor at Amboy Friend’s Church in Amboy, Indiana.

Elliott said that Indiana Wesleyan University greatly influenced his future. He said IWU helped him focus on core values and the importance of a Christian education– not just in the workplace, but in every place.

Some of Elliott’s favorite courses through IWU included Old and New Testament. He said that though he didn’t have Wilbur Williams, he had Greg Smith for Old Testament, and he really enjoyed his class.

As for how he transitioned into God’s call for his life, Elliott decided to first further his education.

“I grew up on a farm and had returned to working with my father, and was called from the pig pin to a pulpit,” Elliott said. “When I came behind the pulpit to work full time in ministry, I had already had a background of working part time ministry for a number of years, but I knew at that time the Lord was calling me to sharpen my focus to continue to be a leader, which means that I needed to be a learner. So I returned back to school to finish my bachelors degree in that time.”

Since then, Elliott said there have been a number of times in which God has confirmed this calling into ministry. One of these confirmations came shortly after obtaining his bachelor’s degree.

“Shortly after my graduation there was a knock on the door here at the church. It was a man to say he was had just been released from jail. We ended up getting him some help, because he said he wanted out of that lifestyle. It took a while to get him into a rehabilitation house, but shortly thereafter he was in that house living. I went to go visit one day, and he introduced me to the other guys in the house as his best friend,” Elliott explained. “It just … humbled me to think here’s this guy–he’s been through hardship in life–and yet God is kind of confirming that call. Because God may not necessarily always call the qualified, but he definitely qualifies those that He calls, and that was one moment I could say for certain I felt that confirmation of that call.”

Though Elliott has experienced confirmation from the Lord, there have been difficult times throughout this journey and process as well.

“I think sometimes the biggest difficulty we face is when we allow pain to to get between us and what the Lord is trying to do in our lives. And sometimes we let that pain block Him out, and it can become a distraction or a detour. When the truth is, we need to see that as an opportunity where the Lord’s working on us,” Elliott said.

Elliott also went on to describe some of the challenges he has faced in his life. Elliott explained he has a 15 year old son who is autistic and nonverbal, and he said he continues to learn from his son who always radiates joy.

“He reminds me every day of the fact that we shouldn’t take life for granted and to see joy in the smallest of things. Because the frustration that he must have every single day is hard for me to imagine– not being able to express vocally what he wants, what his needs are– yet he shows patience, and he is such a happy guy. I mean he is… he’s full of joy and we see that reflected in his eyes, in his smile, and his laugh,” Elliott explained. “It helps remind us that even in the midst of struggle and strife, and even a midst of pain, there is joy and that joy helps us to look past that pain, past that distraction, past that detour, to see the very thing that God wants us to focus on and is praising him.”

Elliott explained that his congregation at Amboy Friend’s Church is unique and values reaching out to the community. The church is from the Friend’s denomination. Elliott said another way of explaining that would be to use the “old school term Quaker.”

Elliott said one of the unique things the church does is a monthly outreach program with the community, called “Free Meal Ministry.”

“We give a meal that is absolutely free. We put it on here at the church, and we often make deliveries in the area. On average we have been serving about 175 meals every month for, I think we’re in our fifth maybe sixth year at this point, and we continue to reach out to community,” Elliott said. “There are people that will come into our family life center for a meal that would not feel comfortable coming into the church but on enter into our gym and there are some very healthy things that begin around the table.”

Elliott went on to say that healing begins to take place during these meals, as people share their stories, their struggles, their hurt, and what they need prayer for.

Elliott said another unique factor about the congregation, is the wide variety of generations.

“We have a lot of folks from previous generations, but we have held their hand as they went on to be with the Lord… and then we’re seeing more young families are coming into the congregation. It’s kind of a transition time a Amboy Friend’s. We’re seeing more and more young families coming into our church. Which is a blessing, and it’s an encouragement to see that happen,” Elliott said.

As for words of wisdom for current IWU students, Elliott wants to encourage students to persevere in the pursuit of their education, and to evaluate what is truly important in life.

“I would just encourage them to continue to continue their path. My bachelor’s degree was held up for a lot of years because of me, and I got in the way of it–in truth I should have completed it a lot earlier, but I was in the way of it,” Elliott explained. “Sometimes life has a habit of doing that, but if anything, I really learned through the online experience at Indiana Wesleyan how to be disciplined and focused so that my studies have their place in my life. There are plenty of times in life where ‘urgent’ is going to try to crowd out what’s important, and it seems to challenge us on a daily basis, but my time in Indiana Wesleyan really helped me to determine what was important, so that when ‘urgent’ came along, I knew exactly what ‘urgent’ was, but I knew truly what was important.”

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