InTouch Newsletter
sEPTEMBER 2009
Evergreen-Bloomington, Evergreen-Lakeville, Evergreen-New Hope, The Rock and The Urban Refuge are one church with many locations. Together, we are stronger than we could be apart. InTouch brings you a snapshot of news and events within our church family.
BLOOMINGTON'S NEW PASTOR
By brent knox
Jon Shelkoph was ordained in February. He is the first bi-vocational pastor at Evergreen. He is working as a civil engineer full-time and volunteering as a pastor at Evergreen-Bloomington. He has been married to his lovely wife, Terri, for five years and they have three children; Selah (4), Avery (3), and Noelle (1). He is now the young guy on staff at 31 years old. Welcome to your new role, Jon!
What is your favorite food?
Anything ethnic and spicy
What got you interested in becoming a pastor?
My dad was a pastor in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Although I admired him, I really didn’t have any desire to be a pastor. It just looked like a lot of work, and I never saw myself serving God that way. In 1995, when I was 16 years old, my sister and I joined the Evergreen teens for a High School Leadership Training (HSLT) in Myrtle Beach, SC. I remember the emcee at the conference inviting anyone in the crowd to share a story of what they wanted to believe God for during the conference. I sensed a huge tug to get up there and speak.
I fought it at first, but eventually I pushed myself out of my chair and walked to the front of the auditorium. I had never done anything like it before. I was literally trembling with fear. My knees were knocking and my hands were shaking as I spoke a few God honoring words with a nervous and scratchy voice. But when I saw how my few words really encouraged people that night, something shifted inside my heart. I greatly desired to be used like that again.
As the week continued, God used me in ways I never even imagined. A spiritual awakening occurred in my soul. God could use a simple boy from Grand Forks to make a difference in people’s lives for all eternity! This caught my imagination! And from that week on, I desired to be a pastor. At times I wondered if it would ever happen, but I have wanted to serve God and his people and I saw the pastoral role as a place that God wanted to take me. But as I look back, I really believe it all started with a step of faith, and seeing God come through that night back in 1995 as a high school student in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Is it awkward to be a bi-vocational pastor?
Yes. I am a very busy guy! But I hope that many more unsalaried men become pastors. This will help foster among our people that real ministry is for everyone and not just for paid professionals.
What has surprised you about being a pastor?
Even though many people have been very supportive, the past six months have been surprisingly lonely. People see me differently now, which is understandable and healthy. But even with Christ’s presence and the love of my wife and fellow pastors, I’ve felt the ache of the relational change. I’m so thankful for our core value of plurality in leadership. It’s such a comfort to have fellow pastors who love me and are committed to me. God knew what he was doing when he led Paul to appoint elders in each church.
What’s your favorite verse and why?
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. “2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
This verse has been a great encouragement to me throughout my life.
First, it reminds me that the “headwater” of my ministry to others is the grace of God. God’s abounding grace is what causes me to abound in every good work. It’s not my gifts and abilities, faith, nor my knowledge of God’s word. It is God’s grace, poured out in various forms. Only by walking humbly with my Lord and staying intimately connected with Him, will I be able to bear fruit and abound in every good work.
Secondly, God’s grace isn’t just what I need; it’s all I need. If God’s grace abounds to me, then in all things at all times I will have all that I need. All I need to abound in every good work is God’s grace. No matter what God calls me to do, by His grace, I’ll always have enough.
What journey would you embark on if you knew that God would fully fund it with abounding grace? Seek that road, and you will find a life that is truly worth living.
About jon
Jon has been involved with Evergreen for five years. He came from our sister church in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 2004 where he spent the first 26 years of his life. He has a heart for building leaders, both in the church and in the family. He is passionate about strong marriages and he is heartbroken about the dire statistic that the church in the United States is losing 80% of their young people shortly after high school. He has a passion to help parents at Evergreen “beat the snot out of that statistic”.
2009 hslt northlands recap
By mike langlois
High School Leadership Training (HSLT) has been considered the highlight of the year by many of our senior high students and leaders, and 2009 proved to be extra special. As in 2008, we met on the beautiful campus of St. Olaf Collage in Northfield, Minnesota. The dorms we stayed in were cool, the weather was perfect and the food was great. The Great Commission Churches represented included Bloomington, Lakeville, and New Hope from Minnesota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We had a total of 85 students with another 45 parents and leaders.
The theme for this year was, “The Path… will you choose it?” The theme verse was Matthew 7:14 ESV “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few”. The messages and activities centered on helping the students understand God’s specific plan for each of them to choose to do hard things as a Christ-follower.
The message topics focused on helping the teens choose the path that is outside their comfort zone, goes against the culture, and doesn’t always offer an immediate payoff.
Saturday was dedicated to Servant Evangelism. Each church location divided into teams and tackled projects in the cities close to their church location. One team blessed Nancy Solomon, a woman whose husband has been serving in Iraq since September 2008. With two toddlers, two dogs and a full time job, Nancy has not been able to spend much time keeping up on her yard work. The team tackled two main projects-the cleaning of her deck and the planting of a new flower garden. Below is an excerpt from an email from Nancy:
I just wanted to send a big THANK YOU to the group for coming and doing so much work for me this past Saturday. Everyone was so awesome, and I couldn't believe how much they got done. It really eases a lot of stress for me to have had this help. Please tell Jodi especially that it has become my evening wind-down time after the kids are in bed to go out and water my new beautiful flower garden. Thanks for everything!
On Sunday morning we checked out of St. Olaf and headed up to join the Lakeville church for praise and worship. We then took our group and headed across the street to the YMCA Camp Streefland for the final message from Mark Darling. Mark put the exclamation point on the week by challenging us to stay committed to Christ.
Sunday afternoon, as always, was the time the students got a chance to put their faith into action. Going out in teams, they boldly engaged people in spiritual conversations and had opportunities to share the gospel at the local parks, lakes, and malls. Some even went door-to-door offering prayer as a way to bless them. All of the students did an amazing job in sharing their faith despite many rejections. Many seeds were planted and over a half-dozen people gave their life to Christ. God was honored in a huge way!
Sunday evening we came back together to the Lakeville church for a meal and our “Closing Ceremonies” - a time to share what God had done during the conference. It is always a joy and a blessing to see the growth in the students and the parents together. It’s what HSLT is all about!
god sightings at mission-to-bloom.
By jeff groen
Evergreen’s Mission-To-Bloomington (MTB) is a 9-day investment of service and love to East Bloomington. The “backyard” mission trip occurred during the first week of August, 2009, and it included many God-sightings:
- 31 Evergreen adults & 13 teens served full-time… and another 17 volunteered for the neighborhood National Night Out on Tuesday night or the BBQ Bash on Saturday… About 60 total missionaries & volunteers! Again, thank you to everyone who committed a week of their vacation and raised support – and thank you God!
- Our Kid’s Kamp had a high-water mark of 40 children, 18 were not from Evergreen – and 12 of those did not have another church connection. Many of these kids came to other events with their friends & family – including the Single Mom’s Oil Change or the Kickball event or Kids-Against-Hunger or the BBQ Bash!
- We prayed for 250 people at Saturday’s BBQ Bash – and 251 came!... in spite of a downpour of rain 15 minutes before the bash began!
I was particularly encouraged by attendance at our BBQ Bash… Here are some MTB observations:
- “an ethnically diverse group came to the BBQ.”
- “a Somali girl attended the BBQ.”
- “A young man who has been coming to church for a long time, who I have had trouble reaching out to because he leaves so quick after church – he was at the BBQ Bash… And I was able to have a really good conversation with him finally.”
- “My neighbors came – were very impressed!”
We also made 10 collapsible picnic tables & benches for the BBQ, which will be very useful for any future event on our Evergreen Campus!
Other God-Sightings:
- “Taking the Gospel on the offensive in a winsome manner – especially ‘prayer on the porch.’”
- “For the 1st time, I actively went out to ask to pray for people. Even though no one wanted to pray, it was truly a personal growth experience.”
- “Bible Bayou (at Kid’s Kamp) was a blast!... very, very creative & fun!”
- “I found that I REALLY love to work with kids – and reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!”
- “Stepping out of my comfort zone & growing in the Lord.”
I’m soooo glad we are using our Evergreen campus and church family to serve – Christ’s ambassadors of love and care to our surrounding community. Thank you – all of you – for your investment of prayer & money & time toward MTB! On behalf of your pastors, it is a joy to serve our community alongside you in Jesus’ name!
