Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "DK Has A Better Idea":
Church Growth has shrunk a pastor. From the November St. Peter Freedom newsletter (Hopefully you can comprehend all of "Pastor Tim's" run-on sentences. Apparently punctuation becomes needless at a growing congregation...who has time to stop long enough for periods and commas!!!??? We're too busy growing!!!!!!):
A NOTE FROM
Pastor Christenson
Dear Members of St. Peter,
On October 4th, I received a call to serve as pastor at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in
La Crescent, MN. The fact that I had received a call only after being here seven months is not normal protocol in our synod. Because of struggles that I was having in my ministry, I thought it may be best that my name be eligible for a call, and if that call came I would have the opportunity to evaluate the gifts God had given me and the gifts needed to serve here as second pastor at St. Peter. Even in a time when there were very few vacancies in our synod, the Lord granted that request and First Lutheran, La Crescent called me to serve as their pastor. I have considered where I could use my gifts to their fullest as well as what gifts are needed to serve as second pastor here at St. Peter. After prayerful consideration, I accepted the call to serve in La Crescent.
I cannot stress enough that my decision to accept the call and leave should not in any way reflect negatively on the members of St. Peter. The members here have gone out of their way to show their love for me and my family. I truly feel in just a short period of time that God has created relationships and friendships that will last forever, which doesn’t make this announcement any easier. With that said,
I am thankful for this time God has given us together and we will trust in him, that as this call was extended and accepted, it is his will and we know that God will work all things for the good of his church. May God’s will be done wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed.
Thank you for all that you have done for us. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless and keep you.
In Jesus’ Name,
Pastor Chris J. Christenson
Where Do We Go From Here?
I first want to thank the Lord that he has provided Pastor Christenson with a wonderful opportunity where he believes he can best use his gifts and talents to serve our Lord in La Crescent, MN. We pray that the Lord will bless him, his family, and his new ministry. Any words of encouragement for Pastor C are appreciated.
Where we go from here will be determined by our congregation over the upcoming days and weeks. It hasn’t been a full year since the congregation approved the job description for our 2nd pastor, so there won't be a lot of new insight regarding what we need here at St. Peter to help carry forward our vision and mission. The council and our leadership teams will have discussions over the upcoming days, where we may tweak some of the duties for our pastors and talk about our future plans. We will then present these updates, changes, and suggestions to our congregation and lay out our timetable for calling a 2nd pastor to carry out those duties. We are at a great time in our congregation's history, where we are being blessed by the Lord and growing, and we have members who are excited for ministry and getting involved, and now is not a time to step back and slow down and lose that momentum. While I may be the only pastor here for the next few months, we don't plan on taking several months for discussing our options. Please keep our congregation in your prayers, thank the Lord for all of the blessings he is providing to St. Peter, and pray that he continues to help us move forward with our mission and vision trusting that according to his plan he will provide us with our next pastor.
Pastor Tim
***
GJ - I cannot parse this momentous decision. The official denials are not all posted.
For newcomers, St. Peter Freedom announced at a congregational meeting this fact - The CORE went through $250,000 in its first few months, with a net gain of 15 members, which I assume includes Bishop Katie and the Ski family of five. Exponential growth will get those numbers up to 20 in another year or so.
