The Benefits of Life Group.

This sounds like a life insurance sales pitch.  It's not.  It's more of a life assurance pitch.  See what I did there?  I know, I know, I’ll keep my day job.

A life group is a small gathering of about eight to twelve people. The focus of the group is to encourage  and pray for each other.  It’s also an opportunity to discuss the  Sunday morning message and dive a bit deeper in to how that message specifically applies to you.

There are many benefits of belonging to a group,
I will only touch on two.

First, a life group puts getting to know people and being known by people on the fast track.  Foothills isn’t a mega church, but it’s big enough that you can remain fairly invisible if you wish.  During a Sunday morning service, you  will be greeted at the door and maybe a few people will say “hi.” If you’re not feeling especially social however, you can walk into the auditorium, find a seat, sing some songs, listen to the message, and leave.  You can’t do that in a life group.  Actually, you could, but that would be awkward.  By virtue of being a small gathering, your participation and interaction is welcomed and encouraged.  That’s a good thing.

Truth sticking in your brain.

The second benefit of belonging to a life group relates to how people learn. Information you have an opportunity to talk about, sticks in your brain longer.  When you passively hear information and don’t respond to it, write it down or talk about it, there is a good chance you won’t retain that information.  It will be out of your mind in a week or two.  Probably a day or two.  I was being charitable.

No life insurance.  Honest.

There are many more benefits, but I think I’ve given you enough information for you to decide to join a life group today.  Why not? Click on this link right here:  Life Group, I’m Interested!  Once you do that, Discipleship Pastor Rob Baddeley will contact you about what the next step is. I promise, he won’t try to sell you life insurance.  

Glorifying God Every Day

I spoke with long time Foothills family member, Darren Shryock, to get his perspective on how to achieve the church mission to Glorify God, Make Disciples and Reflect God’s Love.

Darren, an Elder at Foothills Church, is also an educator.  He taught high school English and coached boys basketball for 25 years until 2014 when he took the position of Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Stayton High School.

Darren is daily faced with the task of reflecting God’s love in challenging and often intense and volatile situations. “What I’m dealing with this morning,” Darren said,  “are parents who were ejected from a football game Monday night, a coach who was ejected from a game last night and a kid who yelled a racial comment from the stands.”  Darren shared that this was uncharacteristic, “It’s not who we are; it just all happened at once.”  To intensify the matter, the parents, who were ejected from the game, came to his office a couple days later to let off steam.  “They came to my office, very upset." 

The number one thing I try to do is stay composed.

How does he handle the anger?  “The number one thing I try to do is stay composed.  I’ve had people standing over me screaming at me.  And I always try to keep my voice calm and stay as composed as I can. I hope that is a reflection of God’s love.” Darren said he recognizes that this ability to be even tempered isn’t because he’s just a “cool customer” and really disciplined but because he is depending on God’s strength.

Darren shared that avoiding angry speech means rejecting the verbiage that comes with it.  “I never swear.” He said, “That’s an anomaly in today’s society -- to never engage in profanity with anyone in any  circumstance; you very rarely see that.”

Stop you’re making me feel uncomfortable.

Darren has light hearted tricks to keep conversations from becoming demeaning or inappropriate.  “Early in my teaching career, I was at a training seminar and they had a rule that if someone was saying something or doing something that made you uncomfortable, you were instructed to put your hand up and say ‘stop you’re making me feel uncomfortable.’ People make fun of me, but jokingly I still do that today.”  He does it in fun, but it gets the point across.

Daily interaction with colleagues and students keeps Darren constantly vigilant to be a reflection of God’s love.  Darren has found that his involvement in service at Foothills has also been a strong motivator to personally grow and to make disciples.  “One of the reasons I’ve stayed an Elder all these years is because it helps me grow and I’m able to help others grow in Christ.  Over the years, people have come to me to ask for counsel on matters because of my position as an Elder.  That keeps me centered.”

I’m too busy not to pray.

While his job demands much of his time, Darren still feels committed to be involved in small groups and mentoring relationships.  How does he make it work?  “Obviously I have shortcomings and need to get better.  We all need to get better, but it starts with personal devotional time.  If I’m grounded and focused on God’s Word, things seem to go better.  Like the old adage says, ‘I’m too busy not to pray.’”

The danger is when we lose relationship either with others
or with Christ.

Darren feels that small groups are important to fulfill the mission of Foothills. “As long as we are grounded in a relationship with Christ and with each other, then much of that [Glorifying God, Making Disciples and
Reflecting God’s Love] will play out.  The danger is when we lose relationship either with others or with Christ.  That’s when people become isolated, and get offended, thinking, 'No one cares about me.' But as long as we keep connected to fellow believers and to Jesus, we should grow.  If my relationship with Christ is strong, I’m going to want to spend time in the Word, spend time praying.  If my relationship with people in the church is strong, I’m going to want to spend time in a small group and will want to take steps to be in a servant role.”

"All creation points back to Christ."

The mission of Foothills Church is to glorify God, make disciples and reflect God’s love.  I sat down with Jacobe Croff to get his perspective on this mission.

"I’ve been going to Foothills pretty much since I was born."

Jacobe might be considered a “lifer” as it relates to the church.  “I’ve been going to Foothills pretty much since I was born, besides a couple of years in Montana,” Jacobe said.  “I went to children’s church and then attended youth group with pretty much the same group of kids, which was kind of cool.”

You might not see Jacobe on a regular basis on Sunday morning, but you definitely hear his drumming skills, as he plays regularly in the worship band, tucked behind the drum set.  Volunteering his time to serve was instilled in Jacobe as a child.  “Growing up under the influence of my family and watching other adults in the church volunteer their time was a big reason I serve.” 

"All creation points back to Christ."

Jacobe loves the outdoors.  His passions include hiking, biking, and rock climbing. His love of the outdoors is how Jacobe identifies opportunities to glorify God.  “I did an internship this last summer with Youth Dynamic Adventures,” he said. “It was a lot of taking students on rafting, rock climbing and ropes course trips and being able to use those experiences to share the Gospel and talk about life and how all creation points back to Christ.”

As it relates to reflecting God’s love, Jacobe talked about his commitment to stay in regular contact with his non-Christian friends.  “There is this one friend in particular that I am in contact with a lot,” Jacobe shared.  “I want to keep a conversation open with him about who Christ is and what I believe.  I want to reflect God’s love to him so that maybe some day he would see it.”

As a Foothills family member, Jacobe is definitely making a big impact to advance the mission of the church.

A Note From Pastor Rob

When I came to Foothills in 2015, I was given the auspicious title of “Pastor of Discipleship.” I had never been called that before! I had several pastoral titles, youth, worship, associate, but never…Discipleship Pastor. It was a great time for me to settle in and really think about what it means to help shepherd people, to help people “follow Jesus.”

We have all been focusing on what I have been pondering the last couple years.

During our current sermon series we have been investigating what it means to glorify God, make disciples and reflect God’s love.  We have all been focusing on what I have been pondering the last couple years.  If you’ve been in church for any length of time or have ever committed to following Jesus and trusting Him for salvation and the forgiveness of your sins, then whether you know it or not, you have been discipling and have been discipled. What do I mean?

Once we step forward as a Christ follower, that changes things.

Once we step forward as a Christ follower, that changes things. Our relationships change. For one thing, our relationship with the Bible changes! It goes from being a mysterious, time-honored book to being the living, active Word of God (Hebrews 4:12).  When Jesus calls people, “follow me,” He shows us what and how to follow with His Word. Our response to and affection for that Word is key to how we go forward. I know people often have mixed feelings when it comes to the Word of God. I get it. My feelings for God’s Word vacillate as well – I want to do what it says, but I don’t always like what it asks me to do.  

I want to pass along a couple key ideas about the Word and discipleship.

A disciple must master the Bible.

First, a disciple must master the Bible. That’s a tall order.  Personally, I’m humbled by how little I know and have internalized! By “master,” I don’t mean we  totally figure it all out, and then move on to the next challenge. What I mean is that we have to continually wrestle with it and learn what it is saying— about me, about God, about sin and my world. Then we have to figure out how we’re to navigate all that together. The more we wrestle with God’s Word, the more we grow in our mastery of it. God’s Word is alive — a new challenge awaits us with each reading.  Our task as disciples is to read the Bible and then let the Holy Spirit show us how to apply it to our life.

While we must master the Bible, we must also be mastered by it.  

While we must master the Bible, we must also be mastered by it. Often our only focus is wrestling with God’s Word, but a disciple submits to God’s Word, recognizing that God doesn’t bow to our opinion or our will.  As we meditate on God’s Word seeking His guidance, we are made wise. “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” Psalm 19:1. That type of wisdom can be defined as someone who knows how to apply God’s knowledge to their life accurately. This takes a supernatural infusion of humility. Unfortunately, we are often better at collecting wisdom than applying it. It’s for this reason I am so excited about Life Groups and the opportunity they present to discuss the application of God’s word in small group settings. The teaching we get on Sunday morning certainly offers us challenges from God’s Word, but doesn’t it make sense to spend some time with our fellow disciples to apply those challenges? Sunday mornings don’t give us that opportunity – so we make time to do it in smaller groups. 

Don’t let it pass you by! Master and BE mastered!

A Note From Pastor Andy.

I love to see people engage with God in worship. There is something supernatural that happens when we yield our hearts to Him and give an offering of praise. As we are emptying ourselves for our King, we reorient our attention and affection off of ourselves and toward Him. As we open our hearts and glorify God in song, we put Him in His rightful place and our hearts are in a posture to receive. As it says in James 4:6, “…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

My heart for Foothills Church is that we would be known as people who are worshippers. That when we gather every Sunday, we would be a church of people that worship our God freely and deeply, people, that if you were to take away the instrument and microphones, would still be fully sold out, in worship.

For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.
2 Chronicles 16:9

He brought down the walls of Jericho with the blowing of trumpets and a shout of praise. He changed Saul’s heart through worship, as he hunted David. He defeated the enemies of Jehoshaphat and Judah without lifting a spear, as the army sang praises to Him . Paul and Silas were supernaturally freed from their prison chains, in the midst of singing and prayer. I firmly believe that God still moves in worship today.

I can’t wait to worship with you this Sunday!

Missions Update: Tessa Brizzolara

Foothills family member, Tessa Brizzolara will soon be heading to South Sudan.  To learn how Tessa began this journey, I asked her to tell me her story.  I told her she could go as far back as she could remember.  “It’s funny,” she said,  “but I remember when I was in kindergarten being asked to draw a picture of what I wanted to do when I grew up.  I drew a picture of myself handing out Bibles to people.”

She felt more at home in Africa than in the United States.

Tessa grew up in a Christian home.  It was also a very academic home.  As a result, her early ambitions focused on architecture and engineering.  But God slowly worked on her heart through a series of missions trips in high school.  “Serving others made sense for me.” Tessa shared,  “I really felt a strong presence of God leading me to missions work.” 

While at Corban University, Tessa majored in Intercultural Studies.  During the summer months she did several internships in Africa.  She noticed that when she returned from those trips, she felt more at home in Africa than in the United States.  This was an indicator for Tessa that her future was going to be full time missions work in African.

The perfect fit to launch her career in missions.

Tessa learned about African Inland Missions during a World Outreach event hosted by Corban University. “Something that stood out about Africa Inland Missions,” she said,  “was a team they called TIMO which stands for training in missions outreach.”  TIMO brings teams of 3 to 12 new missionaries into places of engagement with Africa’s unreached people groups. With the guidance of an experienced team leader, and national church partners, each team sets out to learn language and culture as they work through TIMO’s specialized curriculum.  Tessa feels that this team will be the perfect fit to launch her career in missions.

When Tessa heads over to Africa, she and her team will be partnering with a local church in Torit, South Sudan.  She will spend two years there learning the language, understanding the culture, training and equipping the local church people to reach out and serve the needs of the community.  “This is just really exciting,”  Tessa said. “Because I think ultimately African believers are going to be more effective at reaching Africans for the sake of the Gospel.”

“Prayer is the biggest support I can get.”

Foothills Church is supporting Tessa in her South Sudan mission.  She is humbled by all the support she has received.  “Something I’m realizing too,”  she shared, “is that prayer is the biggest support I can get.”  She has created a blog for people to follow her journey and pray specifically for the needs and challenges that arise.  To go to Tessa’a blog click HERE. You can also sign up for Tessa’s newsletter by clicking HERE.

A Note From Pastor Tyler

I’m very excited that we are spending 6 weeks preaching on the mission of Foothills. Let me give you 3 reasons why. 

Pastor Tyler Butenschoen

1) We need clarity. When we are clear with our words we are able to state our intentions in the most compelling way. There’s an old church saying, “when there’s mist in the pulpit there’s fog in the pew.” We desire to be crystal clear with our mission so our people are freer to join in with certainty.

2) We need focus. Stating a mission and living it out will cause us to focus on what’s most important and will lead us to exhaust our time, energy, and gifting in all the right places. Consider this axiom- When I’m focused on the wrong thing then I’m blind to what’s most important. It’s time to take off any blinders and focus. 

3) We need direction. God provides direction to His church. Until we state what that direction is we’ll never get there. Without direction we’re similar to a lost group of people in the woods with each group member having a different belief of which way north is. That group needs the correct direction to know which way forward is best. As a church, we need similar direction to move forward together. 

It’s my prayer as we journey together as a church that we’ll embrace this newly stated mission of Foothills and live it out more fully each and every day. May we together- Glorify God, Make Disciples, and Reflect God’s Love! 

"I wanted to give back."

Last Sunday, I asked Foothills member Chad Storey to talk about about how he became a Christ follower. A common theme in his story was his persistent determination to understand the Bible and its application to his life.

”I listened to the whole Bible.”

Growing up, Chad had good role models for a work ethic, but he had no examples of what it meant to seek after God and live a life dedicated to serving Him.  In spite of this, God was at work in Chad’s life. While attending Western Oregon University, he met Vicki and began dating her.  Chad said, “I would go to church with her in Sweet Home, which was my first experience with Protestant Church.”  The teaching he heard there challenged him. He had never heard it before. “So,” Chad said, “I got the Bible on cassette tape and listened to the whole Bible.”  

Through listening to the Bible on cassette tapes and talking with Vicki’s family, Chad made the decision to accept Christ. Shortly after that, Chad and Vicki were married and moved to Stayton. They looked for a church to attend and made the decision to attend Foothills. 

“I felt the joy of what God did in my life.”

While at Foothills, Chad attended a Sunday school class taught by Matt Lucas on the subject of discovering your spiritual giftedness.  Chad came away from that class wanting to give back to the church. “I felt the joy of what God did in my life,” Chad said, “and I wanted to give back to Him.”  As a result, Chad has served the church in a variety of ways: working with youth, serving as a deacon, ushering, setting up chairs and preparing coffee on Sunday mornings.

Chad finds serving the church rewarding. “It’s like I can have a cruddy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at work and be exhausted Thursday and go to youth group and when it’s over, feel better.”  It encourages his soul.  Rather than just one more thing that drains his energy, he gets encouragement from the experience.  

“God is going to gift you.  He has gifted you already.”

When serving others, you might think you’re not good enough.  “When you’re saying, I am not good enough, I want to be better before I help, it’s a bit of a selfish thing. If you just humble yourself and say you’re just here to do what you can, you’ll be surprised.”  Chad’s belief: “God is going to gift you.  He has gifted you already, and He is there to help you with those things.  God is working with you; you’re putting in the time, and he’s not going to hang you out to dry.”

Do you have the time to serve others?  “One thing that people complain about in life is time.” Chad said, “I think once you make a priority to do something, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to meet that.” He continues to tell how when his small group planned to meet on Friday nights, He thought Friday evenings were for socializing and fun not Bible studies, but soon he realized that the group time was more important.

I enjoyed talking with Chad about his journey.  What impressed me the most was Chad’s commitment to live out his Christian faith. 

“Giving back is way bigger than getting.”

That was just one of the many insightful observations Gary Woelfle, made when I sat down with him at a local coffee shop to talk about his long history of serving and sharing his talents with others.  

Gary became a part of the Foothills family around the year 2000, and served in many capacities.  His love of people motivated him to serve in children’s ministry, in youth ministries,  and on missions trips.  Gary talked about the connections and relationships that were made while serving on a three week missions trip to El Salvador.  The team had just wrapped  up an evangelistic rally, seeing many people saved and baptised.  When the time came to part ways with the people they had been serving, Gary said emotions were running high, “Those connections we made were amazing.  You just never forget an experience like that.”  

When I asked Gary how he felt about the impact he makes on people he serves, he answered with another story of service.  “We did the church cookout a couple weeks ago,” Gary said, “My role in the cookout was to tell the church how much food they needed to buy and then show up on Sunday and make it happen.  One of the guys who showed up to help was Shawn Taylor.  I told him one of the first things we need to do is cut up the seven watermelons.  Shawn told me he didn’t exactly know how to do that.  I showed him how to quarter the watermelon and cut it up into wedges, making it easy for people to handle.  In the end, Shawn told me that he hadn’t planned on helping with the cookout because he doesn’t really like cooking, but this wasn’t cooking, it was learning.”  Gary’s observation was that he wasn’t just working at food preparation; he was passing along a skill to make someone else more efficient in their ability to serve.  

Why has Gary dedicated most of his life to serving others?  His answer was simple, yet profound.  On that same missions trip to El Salvador, the team had a busy schedule, but sometimes things would come up and nothing would happen for two hours.  “I learned that serving people mattered, not the schedule.”  I asked Gary what he would say to someone who might be thinking about serving in the church.  “I think the giving part is way better than just receiving.  You get way more back than you ever give.”  While Gary has plans to retire in the near future from his work as the food manager at the Oregon State Hospital, he has no plans to retire from serving others.  “I want to go wherever God wants me.  That’s top of the list.  I want to be willing and ready to do.  I’ve seen some amazing people at church who are older than I, do some really great things, and I don’t want to quit.”   I’m fairly certain that quitting just isn’t in Gary’s vocabulary.  I for one, am very grateful that Gary is a part of the Foothills family. 

Brenda, in her own words

Foothills Church welcomes Brenda Gesher as the new Office Assistant. Brenda shares her story of growing up and raising a family in this community.

I was born and raised right here in this community and have lived here all my life. I always thought I’d move one day, but why? I love where I live! I’m a country girl at heart.

My husband Todd also grew up locally, and we will soon be celebrating 30 years of marriage. Together we have raised four children, Nikki, Tara, Jackson and Charlie. Not counting our two dogs, we are now empty nesters. At last!  Together we like to run, travel (sometimes we combine those two things) hang out with our adult kids, play pinochle, and spend summer time on the lake. As for me, I also like to paint, spend way too much time planning my next travel adventure and dreaming of what’s next.

I grew up attending church locally and I always believed in God and that Jesus is who He said He is. But it wasn’t until my late 20’s that I came into understanding about His grace and what it means to be in relationship with Him. His word became alive to me and I grew in understanding. There is still plenty of room for growth and thankfully he’s still growing me. Foothills has been our home church since 2005.

I’m excited taking on this role as Office Assistant at Foothills. I have spent the last 23+ years being a full time stay at home mom, and part-time school and/or church volunteer. When Tyler asked me why do I want to work here, at Foothills, my answer was, “I love Foothills; I love the people here; this is my home and I am personally invested in the future of Foothills”. It’s more than just a job. I am eager to serve using the skills I have been given. It’s really a natural progression of what I have already been doing. 

David, in his own words

Foothills Church welcomes David McGinnis as the new Communications Director. David provides a brief background of his life experiences.

I was born in San Fernando, California.  When the highway department decided to pave over our house, we moved to Northwest Washington. We lived on a 40 acre farm in Ferndale, Washington.  After about five years, packed up and moved to Lyons, Oregon, by the Santiam River. 

I accepted Christ at an early age, and kept active in youth group and Bible studies.  I was interested in exploring a music ministry and  chose Western Baptist College (now Corban University) in Salem, Oregon. It was at Western where I met my wife, traveled with a music team for three years representing the college and  refocused my attention on psychology rather than music.  In 1983, I graduated with a degree in Biblical counseling.  

I accepted the  position of Youth Pastor at Nooksack Valley Baptist Church (now Christ Church) in Nooksack, Washington.  My wife and I served the church and community there for about five years before heading South to Salem, Oregon, where we built a house on a 3 acre property.  I served as the worship pastor at Stayton First Baptist (now Foothills), and my wife taught at Corban University.  We left Stayton First in 2000 to enter full time self-employment in my video production business — daVideo (now Capitol City Video.)  

I try not to take it too personally, but many places I associate with tend to change their name after I leave.

One of our greatest joys was to bring home two incredibly precious children from India, Mariah Moshkan and Michaela Ghazal.

I enjoy playing guitar, writing songs, cartooning, photography, traveling, and a host of other things, but that’s enough for now.

As the communication director at Foothills, my desire is to ensure that the message of Jesus Christ and his saving work for us on the cross, is clearly communicated to all ages. I also desire to maintain clear lines of communication within the church family as they serve one another and reach out to the community with a message of love, acceptance and hope.

Andy, in his own words

Foothills Church is excited to have Andy Ulrich on board as our worship pastor. Here, Andy shares with us how God’s grace is evident in his life and his hope for Foothills.

I was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, in a loving, Christian home. When I was 4 years old, I was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer in the nervous system with a 96 percent mortality rate. By God's grace, He spared me in a miraculous fashion, turning the malignant tumors benign.

Aside from cancer, I had a fairly normal childhood. I played baseball and loved fishing. I realized at a young age that my sin separated me from God, and I put my trust in Christ as my Lord and Savior.

My teenage years were very formative to my faith. I changed schools many times and I had to rely on Christ and His strength. In my junior year of high school my cousin invited me to his youth group and my eyes were opened to a new world. I experienced modern worship music for the first time. I was intrigued, as it was so different from what I was used to, and I got involved. Over the past 20 years I have been blessed to lead worship in a wide variety of settings from large conferences to small churches.

I attended Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. I got connected with Cru (a ministry to college and university students) and began playing and leading worship in their weekly meetings. I had another experience that lit a fire in my heart during my time at WSU. I started meeting with a Cru staff member for weekly discipleship. As God worked in my heart and life, He also grew a passion in my heart for discipleship.

I graduated from WSU in December of 2005 with a degree in Hospitality Business Management. Shortly after graduating I married Kate, my college sweetheart. We have three amazing kids: Gracie, Sadie and Judah.

My hope for Foothills Church is that it would be a place of authentic worship, rooted in spirit and truth. A place where people engage God in a real way and the gospel is lived out in our daily lives. I desire that prayer would be a foundational element of our church as we grow in faith and dependance on God.

Meet Our New Worship Pastor

We are happy to announce the hiring of our new Worship Pastor, Andy Ulrich! Thank you for your faithful prayers over the past few months. God was very gracious to us in the process and in many ways it went about as well as we hoped. 

Since I last wrote to you, Andy became our top candidate which resulted in him and his family visiting Foothills August 3-5. We were able to have him interact with elders, staff and worship volunteers. Also, they came to church as a family and were able to participate in our gathering. Afterward, Andy mentioned how much they enjoyed Foothills, how warm a church body it is, and that “this is the type of church we’d be excited to invite friends to.”

Andy comes to us with many years of experience leading worship. He has led worship in small and large churches, for established churches and church plants, for startup student ministry programs and for Cru conferences with over 1,000 students. Along the way, while part of a church plant, Andy became an Ordained Minister in the Southern Baptist Convention. Andy loves Jesus and has a heart for worship ministry. It jumped off the page when he first inquired of the position and communicated, “My passion is to see God glorified and His people engage Him in passionate worship rooted in spirit and in truth. I firmly believe that worship, in addition to glorifying God, is one of the most important discipleship tools in the church today.” We are excited to have him lead us in this! 

On a personal note, Andy was born and raised in Spokane, currently residing in Cheney, Washington, a city of roughly 10,000 people. He & wife Kate have been married 12 years & have three kids: Gracie (9), Sadie (6), and Judah (4). They are in process of packing up their belongings, selling their house, and saying good-bye to family and friends in order to move to our community. They will be with us by the end of September. 

Obviously, please be in prayer for them as they have many tasks to complete to get here including finding housing in a very limited market. Also, be in prayer that Foothills would be a place where they plant their roots deep, where they are loved, and where their faith grows.

A trip to Oaxaca brings Mexico mission into vivid focus

I had been dreaming of going to Oaxaca with Ilene Nagle since my first trip to Papalote, in Baja California, for a church mission trip.

On that trip, in 2011, we met a woman named Nati, who was planning to move to Oaxaca with her husband Beni and plant a church there. Now, Papalote is a three-day bus ride from Oaxaca, so I was curious about the reasons for going to Oaxaca. I learned that Beni and Nati were among the students and spouses who attended the Bible institute in Papalote, but had moved to the Baja from Oaxaca and were returning there to start church plants. I learned that this represented a huge leap of faith for these families as they had left Oaxaca years ago and some had left abusive family situations and difficult living situations (limited resources in terms of work, money, water, electricity, and most things we accept as “normal” living).

As I heard some of these stories, they made me want to go and see the people and villages for myself. So when (seven years later) Ilene Nagle called and asked if I would accompany her as a photographer, I jumped at the chance.

I learned so much on this trip, but one thing that keeps coming back to me is the urgency our Mexican brothers and sisters have to share the gospel. From Junior's aunt in the hospital, to our hotel keeper in Chalcatongo, opportunities abounded to share Christ's love with others.

Among my favorite things on this trip was traveling with Pastor Francisco (Junior) and Maria Campos, who I met on my 2011 trip to Papalote. They had planted a church in a nearby community that met on a bus. The bus church eventually turned into a church building and home. Those two are not ones to sit on their laurels, however. Since that first church plant, they have planted a church in Oaxaca. Currently, Junior is the back in Papalote and is pastoring the church there. My guess is they will plant more churches in the future. They will be in my prayers for a long time.

I made many new friends on my travels. You'll see their photos in the slide show. What amazes me about the Papalote mission, the student and pastors is how easy it is to start a relationship with strangers who speak a different language. This is because we are knitted together through Jesus Christ and his saving work on the cross.

I also loved getting to know Ilene. She and her husband Don are missionaries (with Northern Light Ministries) who, among many other things, help make trips to Mexico possible for our church. Don wasn't able to take this trip, so it was up to Ilene and me to be the estadounidenses. We had a lot of fun together and she was always pushing me (in a nice way) to go a little bit out of my comfort zone. She speaks wonderful Spanish. I have promised myself that I will learn some more Spanish before my next trip to Mexico. I'm practicing now because I hope that trip is coming soon.

Not long after landing in Oaxaca City on June 25, we drove to the home of Junior’s relatives. His aunt was in the hospital throughout our visit. Here, the family prays before Junior’s uncle takes food to the hospital for the staff there.

Ilene hugs Junior’s grandmother. She said in a text to me before the trip that she often travels alone in Mexico, but “the people know I love them.”

In Mitla, Oaxaca, at the home of Diego and Luz Elena. The building in the background is the beginning of a church. It also contains a small apartment where Chuey and Marisol live.

The group meets for a meal at the home of Diego and Luz Elena.

Marisol

On June 27, Ilene, Junior, Maria, Manuel and I traveled to another part of Oaxaca. Here, Junior tries shoes on in a market where we stopped along the way.

Here we are arriving on the outskirts of the village Barrio. Junior and Maria lived here and planted a church before being called back to Papalote.

The Barrio church is now pastored by Beni and his wife Nati.

Nati shares with Ilene some of the health concerns she and her family encountered. They all have a mysterious rash that Ilene will try to diagnose.

The church in Barrio.

A view of the Barrio countryside as seen through Nati’s kitchen.

Praying with Beni and Nati.

From left, Beni and Nati’s son, Ilene, Junior, Maria, Beni, Manuel and Nati.

A neighbor in her kitchen, making a luncheon for all of us. In the villages, women cook over open fires in rooms separate from the homes.

Nati

Another Barrio kitchen.

Junior stops along the Barrio road several times to chat with people and relatives of his. He found out after being called to Barrio that a lot of his mother’s relatives are in the area.

The beginning of a local river in Barrio is shown here. Similar to the Metolius here in Oregon.

The town of Chalcatongo, where twelve of us caravanned on June 28. Ilene and I spent four nights here, spending the majority of our trip with the Ruiz family and their church body in the village of nearby Chapultepec.

Our reason for taking this trip: to spend time with and minister to the family that planted this church nine years ago. The church building is brand new and we will celebrate with a dedication.

The road up to the home of Senen and Bernardita Ruiz in Chapultepec, Oaxaca.

Maria snaps a picture with her phone of the new church.

The Ruiz family home is on the left; the church is on the left.

Luz Elena

Inside the room where the church met before building the new two-story structure on the hill.

On the wall is a drawing that represents their dream of building a new church.

Lots of food prep for the celebration. The chickens are all from Bernardita’s flock.

Setting up in the sanctuary. A worship team from another nearby church volunteered to lead worship for the celebration.

Counting out tortillas. All of the families who came brought cases of soda and stacks of tortillas. The church will repay these donations as needed by the families.

Maria, Chuey, Diego and Junior in a lull before guests start filling the sanctuary.

Senen told his congregation that they are the true church being celebrated. The building is part of the ministry, but they, the people, are the real church.

Bernardita

A packed house. Many of the families that Senen and Bernardita invited have expressed an interest in the church, but are not considered Christians.

Junior and Diego present Bernardita and Senen with flower necklaces.

Ilene is overwhelmed when Senen and the other pastors present her with a plaque of gratitude. It is no small feat for them to honor her in this way, in a village where items like this are not made locally.

Senen and a church member sing at the end of the service.

Flowers are brought in from the nearby town to decorate the tables.

Marisol brings out bowls of chicken mole to serve to guests.

Pastor Diego and Luz Elena Gutierrez

Chuey and Marisol Sanchez

Manuel Ruiz

Francisco (Junior) and Maria Campos

Pastor Senen and Bernardita Ruiz

The celebration was on a Friday. On Sunday, July 1, Manuel gets to lead worship and preach at his father’s church.

Ilene brings medicine and other items on her trips. She has met many people over the years, such as these women, and is familiar with their needs.

The trip isn’t over without some planning with Senen for future needs of the church and his family. The churches connected with these pastors don’t pay them a wage, although the mission is trying to change that. Their pay currently comes through the support of individuals.

A birthday cake is served in Bernardita’s kitchen for one of her daughters. It’s our last night in Chapultepec.

Hover over the photos to see the captions. I hope you enjoy them! And if you'd like to hear the audio of me sharing last Sunday in front of the church, you can tune it in here.

A letter from Tyler

Dear Foothills Church Family, 

Below is a call to prayer, information about our plans in the transition from Bart to our next worship pastor, and some details about our worship pastor search.  

Prayer

First off (no duh) we encourage you all to join the staff and elders in prayer in our time of transition. Pray for: 

• Patience, wisdom and guidance for our church leaders as we receive applications and interact with candidates.

• The Holy Spirit to lead, prompt, and direct each applicant.

• For our whole church during this time of transition.

• For the Hodgson's as they work hard to pack up and move, and also as they say goodbye to deeply rooted relationships.

• For Rob Baddeley and Myron Jones as they provide interim leadership for our worship teams and lead worship on Sunday mornings.

****Please don’t skip over or breeze through the call to prayer. In fact, why not pray now before reading further?****

Transition

• We have two veteran worship leaders in our church who will bridge the gap: Rob and Myron. We have them scheduled out from July 1 through September 2 for now but will continue to add more dates as needed.

Pastor Search

• If you haven’t seen it yet, we posted the job in mid May- see it here.

• We’ve had several qualified applicants and will be taking applications until the end of June.

• Rob Baddeley, Troy Croff, Bob Croff and I will be narrowing those applicants down to the top 3-5 to have the Elder Team consider in early July.

• When we get it narrowed down to one candidate:

  • Our staff will get a time to interact with the candidate and provide insights into how the candidate would fit at Foothills.

  • We’ll introduce that person to several volunteers that Bart worked with (musicians, sound techs, projectionists, lighting, etc). They will be given an opportunity to interact with the candidate and provide us with feedback on the person we are pursuing.

• Eventually, with God’s leading, we’ll extend a job offer to our next worship pastor. Our hope and desire is to have our next worship pastor in place in the Fall but we are trusting ultimately in God’s timing in all of this.

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions. I’m sure there are a few. It’s a great joy to journey together with you all as a church. 

Tyler Butenschoen
Lead Pastor
Foothills Church