About Pastor Rich

In 1965 at the age of 6 I had an experience that would have a profound impact on my life. I was spending the afternoon at my grandmother's house in Crumstown, Indiana. We had been sitting at the kitchen table when she suddenly got up and looked out the window. I could see by the expression on her face that something was terribly wrong. She told me to quickly get into the bathroom. Within seconds I heard an unusual sound that grew louder. I didn't know then that the sound came from an approaching tornado, but I could sense that something was seriously wrong.

The Tornado

I asked my grandmother if we were going to die. She answered me honestly and said that she didn't know. At that moment something happened that God would later use to illustrate His great power and foreknowledge. From deep inside me came the words, "We're not going to die because God is not going to let us die". What makes this amazing is that I had no spiritual training. My family didn't go to church and we didn't talk of God. God Himself spoke through me before I even knew Him. Many years later God would bring this experience back to my memory, to show me in a time of doubt, that
He had always had His hand on me and always would.

The noise grew so loud that our voices couldn't be heard above the roar of the wind. It all lasted only a couple of minutes, and then complete silence. When we opened the door, a tree had blown through the window and now rested on the table where we were sitting just moments before. Outside, a large oak tree was uprooted and neatly laid on its side just 60 feet away from the house. It was a tremendous lesson in the goodness of God.

   Salvation

As the years went by, and I became a teen, that lesson was buried in my heart for a later time. Drugs and alcohol became a snare in my life as it did for so many during the seventies. After high school, in early 1981, God began to really deal with me. There was restlessness within my heart. Although I was still involved in drugs and alcohol, I started to read the Bible and watch Christian television. I was especially fascinated with the idea of the return of Jesus. One night in Kentucky I was talking with a friend and mentioned that I had been reading the Bible and that it said Jesus would return. This friend simply said, "It's true." It was as if the words had come from the mouth of God. I knew I had come to a place were I must accept or reject what I had been reading and hearing. I said to my friend, "I believe that." At that moment the reality of God flooded my soul and I knew that it all was true. I needed the cleansing power of Jesus blood. My life took a 180 degree turn and has never been the same since.

   Married and Called

In 1981 I was married to my wife Jennifer. We both loved God and started our lives together trying to learn His ways. The first years of our marriage, I spent hours upon hours at the kitchen table studying God's word and reading books. One night the Holy Spirit woke me and I knew I was to go to the table and open my Bible. He lead me to Matthew 4:19: And he saith unto them, "Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men." The voice in my heart said ministry. But I knew I needed to go to Bible College and that would take money, so I asked the Lord about it.

The Holy Spirit again took me to scripture. Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." I believed God would fulfill His promise to me. Two years later, I enrolled in Bible College, but I still didn't have the finances to pay for it. One night I received a call from Jennifer's grandfather. He asked if I needed any money for school. His church provided me with a full scholarship to earn a bachelors degree in ministry. The marvelous thing about it was I received a scholarship as a Spirit filled believer to a Spirit filled Bible College from the 20th Street Baptist Church in West Virginia. After I graduated they asked me to preach there on a Wednesday night. God was glorified and He was faithful to His promise in a very unique way.

   My First Church

My first pastorate was in 1989 at the First Assembly of God in Walkerton, Indiana. It was a small church in a small town and a great place to get my feet wet. We saw the church grow and change in many positive ways. While there we also operated a group home for troubled teens that had been removed from their homes for serious problems. At one point we had six kids living with us in the parsonage. We were licensed with, and worked through White's Institute out of Wabash,Indiana.

My First Missions Trip

While at the Walkerton church, I traveled on my first mission's trip to the Philippines. I accompanied Gary Hill, editor of the Discovery Bible, to conduct training for pastors in many of the major cities of the Philippines.   My eyes were opened to missions and my heart expanded beyond the
borders of my once little world.

In 1993 God opened the door of ministry in Shenandoah, Iowa at Grace Community Fellowship. While there we led the church in erecting a new worship facility. I was privileged to write a weekly article for the local paper called, "Think About It." It was written in a down to earth non- religious style that ended with a spiritual moral. It was meant to be an outreach to the community. I also produced a weekly radio program called"Shout to the Lord" It aired on Omaha's KCRO Radio.

In 1992 I accompanied Dr. Delron Shirley on short-term missions trips to India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. While in Calcutta India I had the distinct privilege of preaching at the church founded by missionary Dr. Mark Buntain. What an honor it was to preach from the pulpit of such a great man.

In 1995 I led a team of men from the church to Rangoon, Burma, where we conducted a pastor's conference for hundreds of Burmese pastors from all over the country. It was one of the highlights of my ministry. The pastor of the Rangoon church recently visited the states and we had dinner together. He told me the people are still talking about those meetings and asking when we were coming back.

  The Pain of Conflict

In 1997, we moved back to our hometown of South Bend, Indiana. We had been through a terrible conflict in the church in Iowa. Although we have experienced some wonderful things there, conflict between the boards had taken a terrible toll on my family and I. But God brought healing and restoration. There has been healing between the board members in Iowa and myself. Many apologies and brokenness of heart came out of that whole experience. God took me through the darkness into the light. He showed me where I was wrong and taught me about the church and human nature. Today this web site offers hope to hurting pastors. It also offers resources that will help them either avoid what I went through or get through it victoriously.

   Restoration by Grace

After seven years out of the pastorate, God opened up an opportunity to pastor a church in Indiana. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. The past lessons learned have served me well at my new post. I can truly say that I am thankful for all I went through. It has made me a better and wiser pastor. At 48 I look at the 2nd half of my life as an opportunity for a 2nd chance. I know that the conflict that I went through has helped me in so many ways. I also believe conflict does not have to be a destructive force in your life. Let God use all of your trials and struggles to develop you into all He wants you to be.