Greetings, the Elder Team would like to introduce what we simply call “Elders Updates”. We hope to offer these updates as a way to keep folks informed and up to date on what our team is prayerfully working through, as well as, inviting you in prayer for our church in these areas. 

Dear Calvary family,

We have experienced many changes in the last few months which have been challenging for all of us.  We are in a season of being stretched and challenged as a church body, but I hope this is leading us to trust and rely deeply on God who is our rock and our strength.  Moving forward into the new year, there are many things we are eager to share with you.

First, moving ahead you can expect to see Pastor Mark preaching 2-3 times a month as he is working back into his full time role.  Mark is continuing to work through some health issues but he is making progress and the Elders are continuing to support him as he heals.  Please continue to pray for and encourage Pastor Mark.

On December 14th we were able to celebrate the ministry of Pastor Jarrod and Sarah with a night of music, tacos, stories, and prayer.  It was both a sad, and joy-filled night saying goodbye to the Norvold family.  We will miss their smiling faces in our church but we are excited for them and bless them as they follow the Lord into a new season of ministry!

The Elder board, with the help of Ben Tande, is currently searching for an Interim pastor that can come and serve here at Calvary as we go through transition.  We have been working with Bryan Farone and the North Central District as we begin this search and identify what our needs are.  The hope is that this pastor could serve here from 6 months to 2 years if necessary while we seek the Lord’s direction for the future.  Please be in prayer about this, as we trust the Lord to work out His will and bring the right person!  Any of the Elders would be happy to answer questions you may have as well. Our current Elders are Pastor Mark Widman, Joel Elavsky, Scott Gustafson, Bernard Weidenborner, and Tim Kastenbauer.  

For the past year, the Elder Board has been working on restructuring our leadership team and staff at Calvary.  Tina Peterson and Sandy Pence have done a tremendous amount of work helping with this, and we are excited to share with you what this structure may look like.  It will come with some new staff positions at Calvary.  We will be presenting details on this January 23rd at our annual business meeting.  We encourage you to attend in person or on Zoom!

Last but not least, we are excited to share that 3 new men will be joining the Elder Board as part of our EIT (Elder in Training) program.  If you’re not familiar with our EIT program, it’s a year of training, serving, and praying to see if serving as an Elder is a good fit.  After a year, if this person and the Elders choose to move forward they are voted in by the congregation as an Elder for a 3 year term.  These men are Chris Cox, Steven Ware, and Bill Marshal.  Make sure and encourage them when you see them!

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.  And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures.  We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.  He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.  Titus 2:11-14 NLT

In Christ,

Tim Kastenbauer, Elder Chair