Here is the letter:

I have been serving the Lord at Calvary Chapel North Phoenix for the last 29 years as its Founding and Senior Pastor. We began as a small home Bible study in September of 1981. From simple beginnings we have watched the Lord grow our congregation spiritually and numerically.  Many have gone out from our church to either plant or help other churches throughout the country and around the world. Looking back it is easy to see that the Jesus has used this church to be a discipleship center as well as a sending church.

During this past year I have continually been prompted by the Holy Spirit to expand my ministry beyond our church family. There currently is a great need for older, seasoned pastors to make themselves available to younger pastors within our Calvary fellowship of churches, to come alongside and just encourage, help, provide perspective and counsel. There are many church pastors and their wives that need this kind of help.  My wife and I have prayed long and hard about this new venture. It has been confirmed so many times during the previous months, both by Scripture and by word of mouth.

Seeing the potential of Pastor Jesse to fill the role of Senior Pastor at our church in the future, I have asked him to pray about this opportunity. He and his wife, Michele, have been in prayer over this since last November.  The board of Calvary North has been in prayer over this as well.  Now, it is official; Pastor Jesse Claycamp will be the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel North Phoenix effective Jan. 1, 2011.

Although I will still be on staff at Calvary North as an associate, the board has allowed me great flexibility to reach out to other pastors and churches around the country as the need arises. Last June, I joined the Poimen Ministries group of pastors in this regard (www.poimenministries.com). Poimen is the Greek word for ‘shepherd’. This ministry has been set up to offer seasoned pastors to help, encourage, fill pulpits or as mentors to the younger pastors within our fellowship of Calvary pastors, and even beyond.

Jeanne and I ask for your prayer coverage in this new step of faith for us. Prayer is the most important work that can be done. The Lord Jesus is our Helper. He knows what we will be needing as each month goes by, should He tarry. But as we look at the opportunities before us, here are the needs we see:

**We need continual prayer coverage over this new venture. Spiritual warfare is real and we need all the protection and confidence that He will supply.

**We see the need for wisdom and discernment on when to step into a situation, and when to hold back.

**We need finances to cover our travel expenses for most of these small churches that cannot afford to bring us out there, but still need our help. This also includes being at regional pastor’s conferences around the country to be at the Poimen Ministry table, sharing this ministry with the local pastors.

**We will be needing family financial support as the months go on. I have made arrangements with our church board to take a decrease in salary on a gradual scale effective immediately so that finances can be freed up for Pastor Jesse to slowly build up the staff at the church.

**We will be needing family logistical support to care for our dogs, our home and other communication issues while we are out ministering in the opportunities that present themselves.

I will be putting together a monthly newsletter of all that has happened during the previous month. This will keep you updated on just how the Lord is using us in this new venture of faith.  If you would like to be on the mailing list, please sign up on the sheet provided in the foyer. All support monies will go through Poimen Ministries (see address below), with our names placed separately from the payment.

Thank you for considering joining us in this new ministry.

People are the number one priority when it comes to pastoral ministry. After all, if there are no people, there’s no church to gather! And most people have stories of their own, their life stories, but too often no one will listen. When it comes to personal evangelism, hearing other people’s stories (that is being willing to listen) often brings the opportunity to share our own story (our testimony), and the best story of all, God’s story.

We see this with Jesus when He was a young man in the Temple in Luke 2:46. It says He was both listening and asking questions. There are several other places in the Gospel where we see Jesus listening and asking questions before actually teaching or responding to a situation with the truth. Listening is often an important part of ministry, even the part where we do end up speaking.

With blessings,
Trip

Today marks the beginning of what should be an interesting and challenging season. As most of you know, my beautiful new wife, Pam, is also a family medicine doc for the US Navy and has just begun her final tour of duty before retirement – on CVN 76 The Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier. As the ship is ported in San Diego, she’ll be able to go back and forth to work each day as a normal job. But carriers aren’t designed to sit for long and there will be times, some short and some long, when she’ll be out to sea. Please pray for her and I as we adjust to interruptions in our family life. Also, Pam’s daughter, Haley, left for college this past Saturday. She’s an incoming freshman at TCU (Texas Christian University). That’s also a big change for Pam and Haley as well!

Ministry wise, I’ll be heading out to Albuquerque, NM later this week for a Regional Mission Pastor’s meeting at the Shepherd’s Staff offices. We’ll be discussing our schedules for the next few months and evaluating the work we’re doing. Pray for wisdom concerning decisions that need to be made – specifically, if I’m to attend the Hong Kong Calvary Chapel conference next month.

This Saturday morning, I’ll be speaking at the Calvary Chapel Escondido Men’s Ministry breakfast – hope you men in the area will be able to make it – they always put on a great spread and the fellowships pretty decent too

Love to all of you – and thanks again for your encouragement and prayer!

In His Arm’s,

Pat

P.S.: YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRIES BY GOING TO http://escorev.blogspot.com/

Over the years, Jeanne and I have had the opportunity to minister to people in many different countries. Even though we may not know the language of the people, it is fascinating to watch how the Holy Spirit brings such a connection between brethren who have the same relationship with Jesus! The gospel is good news to any and all people.

I’ve been able to publish some of my songs through Tunecore.com. They handle the distribution to internet music stores. Anyone around the world who has an internet connection can now access these songs. Unbelievable! Here are the links to check out those songs:

http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/artist/bob-claycamp/id385447644

http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/album/over-the-years/id385885382

I’m almost finished with the book I’ve been writing called TRUE LOVE BEGINS WITH GOD: A Fresh Look at 1 Cor. 13. It takes the 16 attributes of God’s love listed in that chapter of 1 Cor. and makes special applications to our marriages, our families and all of our relationships with others. I’d like to self-publish the book by the end of the year and also put it in ebook format. Keep checking in to see the latest on how it’s doing.

To check where I will be teaching and ministering in the coming weeks, go to http://www.bobclaycamp.com/html/my_schedule.html

You can check out my Poimen main page at http://poimenministries.com/?page_id=258

May the Lord watch over your life . May He bring to pass all He is desirous to accomplish in you and through you.

Pastor Bob Claycamp

To call it a good time would be a huge understatement. The word that comes to my mind is tremendous.

What made it tremendous for me, and for many others, was the freshness of the Spirit. In every session I was part of, the Holy Spirit was present to remind us to depend wholly upon Him. He pointed us to Jesus, and Jesus pointed us to the Spirit’s ministry, and to the Word of God. There was a symmetry of balance that only the Lord can provide.

Vision happened.

Conviction occurred.

Worship took place.

Jesus Christ was exalted, in and among His people.

Poimen Ministries has been organized (we believe) by the Chief Shepherd to come alongside of you, in partnership with the Holy Spirit.

We are seasoned (30+ years as senior pastors), we are safe, we are confidential, we are servants, and we care about Calvary Chapels and their pastors.

We consult, train, counsel, comfort, stimulate, strengthen, pray, advise, mediate, and help.

Give us a call or drop us an email. Check out the video statements by each Poimen pastor. As the Lord directs, we’ll be of whatever help we can. God bless you.

For the latest on Pastor Bill’s blog, go to http://pastorbillholdridge.wordpress.com/

For details regarding how Poimen Ministries is set up, link to SUPPORT using the link at the top of this page.

Our heart and desire is to serve you, our peers in ministry.

These four men—Bill Holdridge, Gillett Doggett, Pat Kenney, and Trip Kimball have served faithfully as pastors in small and large churches for over 30 years each. They are known as men you can trust as sources of sound Biblical counsel.

They are loving, and after many successful years in ministry they understand what it is like to be on the firing line as a pastor. I would like to submit my endorsement and wholehearted recommendation for these men and their ministry. Call on them and you will be blessed.”

Ken Armstrong
Calvary Chapel, Bakersfield, CA

The approach of Poimen Ministries is to connect experienced pastors with any pastors that need or want help and/or encouragement.