Trusting God and His Plans With Pastor Amber Baker

Home Groups: Bringing New Friends Together

From Bob & Sharon Densford

Discovering Jesus The Story of Janelle Rivera

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Transformed is a magazine publication of First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena (PazNaz). It is designed to highlight the Church’s stories of personal transformation. For a complete overview of PazNaz, their beliefs, and ministries, please visit the website www.paznaz.org. TRANSFORMED Issue #16—August 2012 The Magazine of PazNaz 3700 East Sierra Madre Boulevard Pasadena, California 91107 626.351.9631 Fax: 626.351.5160 www.paznaz.org

Welcome to Transformed Under the Pepper Tree. In this monthly magazine, you will read stories of how God is changing people’s lives at PazNaz, transforming them into the image of Jesus Christ by the power of his Spirit! You might be asking, “Where can I find information about a specific PazNaz event?” Some information about specific events on campus is found within these pages, but each month Transformed is focused on relating stories about what PazNaz is really all about. Rather than programs or events, there are stories about changed lives, stories about people coming in contact with the Savior, and people exploring what it means to become a follower of him. It is exciting to hear what God is doing in the lives of people!

Years ago, Pastor Earl Lee and a group of staff members gathered around a pepper tree located on the northern-most point of what was to become the site for First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena and dreamed and prayed that God would provide a place where more people could find power for living through Jesus. What began then has been going on for over thirty years as men and women, boys and girls have come into relationship with Christ in significant ways under the shade of that old pepper tree. The mission of the church hasn’t changed. May it continue to flourish as people experience the transforming power of Christ.

Blessings,

B. Scott Anderson Executive Pastor

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mind. I had to learn to trust him all over again, every day and in every situation.

Trust step #2: January 4, 1997 – I walked down the aisle to an amazing man, Joshua Baker. My life would be forever changed. The Lord provided a fantastic man that has been my encourager, lover, provider, helpmate in ministry, and always my comic relief. It was never in my plan to be married at 21, but God’s plans are not our own. I am so glad that I trusted God and married my best friend!

Trust step #3: August 13, 1999 – My mother had been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer the year prior and the thought of my children never knowing my parents was overwhelming. That Friday in August my life changed as

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I find it amazing how God directs our lives. At a young age the Lord told me that I was not to plan out my life; he was in charge. I know you are thinking, “of course he is.” But you see, I am a planner, and it is very easy for me to want to plan out where I should be at different stages of my life. I have had to learn to trust God and His plan through many different trials, seasons, and events. One thing I have learned so far is that God’s plans are always greater that I can ever imagine. There have been many times I have had to trust God no matter what the situation looked like around me. Come journey with me as I walk you through some of the “trust steps” that have lead me to PazNaz.

Trust step #1: October 8, 1995 – My sister and I were home from college for the weekend celebrating my mom’s birthday. It was Sunday morning and dad had just made us breakfast, like he did every Sunday morning before church. He reached out a hand to help my mom off the couch so they could get ready, turned around like he was dizzy and then collapsed on the floor. At that moment he entered eternity at age 46. My world was rocked. I had an amazing relationship with my dad. He was an awesome man. In the weeks following his death, I began the process of understanding that God sees the big picture and has my best interest in

W i t h Pa s t o r A m b e r B a k e r T r u s t i n g G o d a n d H i s P l a n s

babies growing inside me, not one like I originally was told. TWINS! Really God? How am I going to be a children’s pastor and a mother of newborn twins? Again, His plans are not my own. There was no way I could be a mother of four small children and work full-time. My little guys, Josiah and Daniel, were born seven weeks early. At that moment, I stepped out of full-time church ministry to focus on my full-time ministry at home. Twin newborns, a 2-year-old, and a 6-year-old keep a mom busy. I had to let go of a

passion of mine (children’s ministry) to take up another passion (motherhood), and again trust God in his plans.

Trust step #6: December 2007 – Another transition. Hearing God’s voice is so exciting and so scary at the same time. We knew we had heard God say loud and clear that we were supposed to step out of full-time ministry. My husband was the youth pastor and I was helping part-time in the children’s department. But, we took the step of faith, resigned from our positions, and found jobs that could pay our bills and provide insurance. We were so excited that God had called us to the next season of our lives, not realizing that this next season would be a desert season. The next couple of years were the most difficult years of our married life, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. We had to re-find ourselves, find a church to call home,

Ashley was born. It gave my mom a new sense of hope for her future, and it gave us a new focus for our life. I was now trusting God for my future and my daughter’s future as well.

Trust step #4: April 23, 2001 – At the age of 50 my mother stepped into eternity. She fought hard for two and a half years and was ready to spend all of eternity worshiping our creator. Here I was, 25 years old and an orphan. I struggled with why God would allow both of my amazing parents to die at a young age. What was I to do? How was I going to live

life without them? Once again our gracious heavenly Father reminded me that he sees the whole picture. I needed to trust him. What other option did I have? I could turn from him, be mad at the world and sulk, or I could have faith that His word is true. Through his word I knew that he had a plan to prosper me and give me a hope and a future and that he would never leave me.

The next four years I continued in children’s ministry, spent some time in counseling working through my grief, enjoyed the birth of our son Samuel, and was given opportunities to speak at kid’s camps, and leadership conferences. This season of our life was fun and peaceful.

Trust step #5: January 2006 – I was sitting in the ultrasound office to see whether our third child was going to be a boy or a girl. Much to our surprise the ultrasound technician informed us that there were two

even find new friends. Through it all, God was so faithful, always providing our needs and sometimes our wants. By the third year, we began to turn a corner of hope. We felt a renewed sense of hope and excitement, knowing that our journey with him was not complete and that he would soon be leading us to the next season of our life.

Trust step #7: July 2011 – We heard God telling us that the summer was when we were to pack up and leave Corona. Corona had been home for 14 years, all my babies were born there, and most of our married life had been spent there. But we knew that God was calling us to Glendora. We trusted him and moved. We began waiting on God and asking him to direct us in this new season of life. I sure loved my new commute to APU where I had been working in the Graduate School of Theology since January 2008. Little did we know what God had planned for just a few months later.

Trust step #8: March 2012 – Starting as the children’s pastor at PazNaz. Crazy to think that God placed me at APU for many reasons, one of them being so I could meet Pastor Scott and eventually come to work and do life with the people of PazNaz. What a step of faith! This is the first time I have been in full-time ministry where I didn’t know anyone before coming onboard. I am so glad I trusted God.

My life has been one step of faith after another. It has not all been easy, but trusting in God’s plan has provided an amazing journey. I am so thankful that he knows what I need and what my family needs, even if it doesn’t always look like I hoped or wanted it to look.

I am excited for you to get to know my crazy family. We love God’s house, we love how our church has always become our family, and we love serving him through working with people. Even when we can’t see the big picture, our gracious and loving Father always takes care of us.

I can’t wait to live life with you, and see what trust steps God asks us to walk together.

- Pastor Amber Baker

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Amber and Josh Baker with Ashley, Sam, Josiah, and Daniel

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study immensely. And, I greatly appreciate your continued prayers for my dear husband that he might seek the Lord. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met, with a kind heart. But there is such blockage about seeking the Lord. I think some of it is from his father who is an atheist. And yet, his mother was a practicing Catholic!” So now, we are another group of friends who can join her in prayer for the needs of her family and for her husband, Gary.

Eddie Potter rounds out the group in a unique way. There is only one Eddie in the world with his sense of humor that keeps us all chuckling through the evening and we all benefit from his wealth of experiences. Eddie lost his wife,

Kay, two years ago and has been drawn closer to God in learning to cope with his loss. Now he has a home group who love and pray for him specifically. Eddie recently bought a dog that we are certain was a result of his spending time with our little dog, Oatie.

So now, on Sunday evenings, we open our doors wide at 5:30 pm and anticipate the arrival of our new friends. We’re anxious to see what God has planned for each evening. We enjoy food and great fellowship, study and conversation, prayer and support for one another as well as extended family and friends. Somehow the week goes better as a result of sharing life with our new brothers and sisters.

- Bob and Sharon Densford

now beginning to feel a real connection to the body of believers at PazNaz, and it is a real comfort to know that her small group is praying for her and David each day.

David and Bobbi Gregorich have lived life with the Lord for many years. It is good to share past experiences with the young folks and hear about the challenges they face that we have also faced in our lives. We can be a source of encouragement and prayer for them. David travels the world lecturing and, as Bobbi has shared, had never been drawn to participate in a small group setting. However, in this group David feels very comfortable to share his thoughts.

Lilas Smith, a single lady facing many of life’s challenges, says that

although the Acts study is beneficial, gaining new brothers and sisters to share and pray with is the highlight of her week. Lilas deeply appreciates the prayers and support of the group that sustains her in this difficult time of her life.

Marge Hullinger was not a small group person, but this small group has a wonderful age span from graduate students to the two of us who have been at PazNaz for four decades. Marge agrees the study of Acts is more enjoyable each week, a wonderful way to meet new people from different areas of the church.

Our next door neighbor Denese Beilke is a believer who loves studying the Word, and although she attends another church fellowship, she is a gracious member of our Home Group. Denese adds, “I'm enjoying this

The commitment to open our home for a 10-week study of Acts on Sunday evenings was a little overwhelming because we lead busy lives throughout the week and look forward to time off on weekends. Adding one more meeting on a Sunday evening was a bit of a stretch, but as we prepared our home for the first session we began to feel excitement and anticipation about meeting new friends and the opportunity to share a study in the book of Acts as a follow-up to Pastor Scott’s messages. Coming together each week has been a rewarding experience as well as stimulating spiritual growth and closer ties within a multi-generational group.

On the first Sunday evening, Caleb and Sarah Wood were the first to come. They are brand new at PazNaz, visiting for the first time the very day an announcement was made about small group sessions. Caleb and Sarah had been looking for a fellowship where they could link into a small group and the timing was perfect. They recently married and are now involved in graduate studies at APU.

Diana and David Thornton are also fairly new to PazNaz. We learned shortly after we began to gather as a group that David has a malignant condition that brings health challenges each and every day, and he is often in pain. We quickly surrounded this young couple in prayer and love and now carry this burden with them. Diana shared that after attending the church for a few years, she is just

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A typical day in youth group

when Janelle began attending

in Junior High consisted of

her running throughout the

youth room after boys. After

she quit doing that, she would

run some more. Today if you

talk to her about being a High

School student, somehow she

has forgotten about this

experience. Such is the case

for most of these students.

It is the hope of every youth pastor to be able to journey alongside students and get to see God take a hold of their lives in ways that bring transformation. Then you can sit back and enjoy seeing the changes take place and thank God for it. Janelle Rivera happens to be one of those students in my ministry.

Over the last few years she has gone from being a student who just goes to church, to a student actively engaged with her faith, wrestling with it in every area of her life.

It is not uncommon for you to see her hanging out with her dad on Sundays, helping him with his usher duties, and showing up to Youth Group early with the question, “Is there anything I can do to help, Keegz?” She is the kind of student who takes notice of the new kids in the ministry and who doesn’t know a stranger.

As a pastor, when I teach I tend to look for people that take genuine interest in what I’m sharing. I generally see this through their body language, eye contact, and facial expressions. Janelle is one of those students I look for.

She gives me permission to speak into her life regularly and also to ask her the hard questions that force her to do more than just say, “Because that’s what I believe.” She is willing to ask these hard questions of her faith so

Discovering Jesus

The Story of Janelle Rivera

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that she can grow, and this is a dream for pastors.

This year for her birthday she wanted to have a birthday party at PazNaz. She asked me to show up and say a little something for her, but what impressed me most about her is that she asked her parents for a purity ring as a statement of her desire to live out her faith and remain pure until she gets married. More often than not, it’s the parents that give a purity ring to their daughters, but in this case Janelle took the initiative.

On the day of the party I thought it was going to be a few people from her family, but I was surprised to see many of her friends from school. Sometimes it’s easy for students to be different people when they are around different groups, but when it comes to Janelle, she’s consistent across the board.

For Janelle, her faith is more than just in her words, it’s in her actions. She’d be the first to admit that she doesn’t have it perfect, but after talking with her for a few minutes, you’ll see her desire to love Jesus with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength.

There really isn’t a cookie-cutter approach to youth ministry. There are no guarantees that what I do as a pastor will stick and help mold a student into someone parents can be proud of. For this reason, it is extremely important for youth ministries to use families and help the entire church community to understand that faith development in the life of a student involves everyone. Their time spent within the church is

important, but their home life is important, too.

There is a tension in youth ministry that needs to be worked through in order to move forward. Pastors have assumed it is their job to help students grow in their salvation because there has been a sense that parents aren’t doing it. The flip side is that many parents want to help their students grow, but the church has not given them the resources to accomplish it. I’m thankful this tension is being noticed and approaches to youth ministry are changing, but the partnership has a long way to go.

When it comes to Janelle, her parents have partnered with the church to help with her spiritual growth. From time to time we break bread together, ask questions, and establish trust. This relationship helps ensure that what we do in youth ministry has a positive effect for Janelle and for her family as well.

If I were to ever try and pass legislation, (fear not, I’m not running for office in 2012) I would seek to make it law that students would need to spend 2 weeks in a

third world country before graduating from high school. I have heard Pastor Scott say over and over again that in order to find yourself, you need to go and give your life away.

With the trust that her parents have gained in our approaches here at PazNaz, I am proud to say that in a few weeks Janelle will be going with an inter-generational group to Nicaragua to give her life away. This trip will help Janelle find

herself even more and place her on a trajectory to have a faith that lasts deeply beyond her high school years.

So perhaps for the first time in a transformed article, I’m leaving a homework assignment for the readers. At the end of the month, everyone needs to ask Janelle where she discovered Jesus in Nicaragua.

Asking this question will help Janelle’s faith increase as we realize as a church community that we are in this together. The good news is that Janelle is just one of about 140 students in the life of our youth ministry that need PazNaz to help them in the process of their faith development. This means that we all need to spend time with students. It means that our welcome time on Sunday mornings includes learning their names. And it means that as we build relationships one at a time, we will recognize and see that a church community develops and grows in ways that model what the Body of Christ can do together.

- Pastor Keegan Lenker

So perhaps for the first time in a transformed article, I’m leaving a homework

assignment for the readers. At the end of the month, everyone needs to ask Janelle where

she discovered Jesus in Nicaragua.