A WELL Life is full of Faith, Friends and Farewells
A WELL Life is full of Faith, Friends and Farewells (2 Cor 13:11) Listen to “A WELL Life is full of Faith, Friends and Farewells” Pastor Chris’ last message as the Pastor of River Rock Church.
As we follow Jesus on the narrow road of life He leads us to various places to grow in faith, serve Him and to learn from the experiences. Some people live in the same place all their lives while others move around for new jobs, education, opportunities, or even better weather. Some feel forced to move because of circumstances beyond their control or to stay close to a loved one. One of the most stressful and most spiritually open times in someone’s life is when they move to a new place they are not familiar with. A W.E.L.L. Life centers around Worshiping, Encouraging. Learning and Loving. That kind of life is blessed by the Lord and can lead to great friendships and ministry opportunities. You may share life with a friend nearby for weeks, months or years but even when they must move away you can still stay connected. Farewells can be sad, sometimes they make others glad, but they do not all have to be bad. Pray for that person or family who God is sending out to a new place, on a new adventure, to serve Him in a new way, to possibly help some other people experience that same kind of friendship and a W.E.L.L. Life. Be encouraged to have faith to follow Jesus wherever He leads you or your friends. Pastor Chris
Time for a New Adventure
After 20 years I left River Rock Church and am on a New Adventure seeking God’s will for the church where He wants me to serve next. Since I do not know how long this season of waiting will last and am not currently working for a church I started my own ministry named: ChristWell.life Ministries. I am also offering to do work as a “Skilled Pastor/Ministry Temporary” as I have time. I am looking for an opportunity to serve as a church pastor within a 5 hour drive of Minneapolis so we can easily visit family without the need of motels, airplanes, trains or passports. My resume is easily available on request
A New Beginning
Oct. 1, 2001 I left the Iron Range to move down to Belle Plaine, MN to start River Rock C&MA Church. Oct 1, 2021 I am returning to the Iron Range to be the lead pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Virginia, MN. The Belle Plaine chapter was exactly 20 years of adventure, struggle, blessing, wonderful memories and great friends. We even were blessed to have a new house while we were there. God has been so good to us.
When Covid left River Rock with no place to meet I was concerned about my future. The public school we were renting wouldn’t let us come back and we couldn’t find a place to buy or rent for church. I had been part of Converge (Baptist General Conference) for years before I planted the C&MA church. On October 4, 2020 my friend Mark Bjorlo who planted a Converge church around the same time I planted the C&MA church sent me a Facebook message that said, “Hi Chris, Saw your video. Praying here my friend… Perhaps it’s time to come home (to Converge)” as he saw on the video I was having a hard time securing a meeting place for the church I was serving.
I think it was on March 3, 2021 I was praying asking God what I was supposed to do. Right after the prayer time I opened Facebook the first thing on my screen was this Converge post about Emmanuel Baptist Church in Virginia. When I asked Mark Bjorlo, who was soon to become the district leader of Converge, about seeking an opportunity to serve at that church he said, “Dude. That is a great idea!”
Days later my C&MA District leader was praying about my situation and felt it was time for me to move on to another opportunity. I told Mark about that and he said, “God is up to something, I am so excited for you!”
I inquired about the Virginia church and went through the Converge P3 pastor application process and interview, but didn’t hear back from Emmanuel for a while. I applied and interviewed with other Converge churches and with Evangelical Free Churches during my job search over the summer and met some great people along the way.
September 17-19th we candidated at Emmanuel and the people were so kind to us during our weekend there – we received 98% of the church vote to become their new pastor. I am excited to get moved up there. Another family we are close to said they wanted to follow us up there. We both put our houses up for sale this weekend and got purchase agreements right away. Now we need to find two houses to buy that are big enough for ministry, friends and family in the Virginia, MN area.
Mark was right, God is up to something and this begins a new chapter in our lives.
New Adventure in Virginia, MN
My wife and I are committed to follow Jesus wherever He leads us. We loved our last adventure: planting a church in Belle Plaine, MN and all the friends and church family members we shared our lives with. That Adventure ended July 31st and now it’s clear what and where the next ministry adventure is taking place.
I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday candidating with my wife to be the Lead Pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Virginia, MN and Sunday afternoon the church voted to call us to serve with them starting October 1st, 2021. Emmanuel is part of Converge (Baptist General Conference) denomination.
The people at the church are so nice. On the way up there my wife said she feels like we are foster kids going to see if we will get adopted into their church family. We really felt the Lord helping us be our best during this busy weekend. Sunday morning I was a little nervous and I talked kind of fast during my sermon and presentation (that sermon I preached could determine if I would get the job – I really needed a home run). I apologized for talking fast and an older gentleman said, “That’s alright. We just need to learn to listen faster.”
It’s amazing to me that exactly 20 years ago we moved down from that Iron Range area to plant a church in Belle Plaine, MN and now we are headed right back up there to serve a church surrounded by people we stayed friends with for all those years.
Now we need to find a house to buy in that area that’s big enough to have large groups of people over and we need to sell our house (real estate agent is all ready to list it as soon as we find something). Another family wants to follow us up there and they need to buy a house, too.
Not only does this adventure come with a great church building on 20 acres of land in a prime location on the highway and a new church family to serve alongside, it also comes with a bear that likes to visit the church garbage bin.
Virginia, Minnesota is home of Minnesota’s highest bridge, the world’s largest floating loon and near the world’s largest hockey stick. It is a retail hub full of stores to serve all tourists, adventurers, cabin dwellers and people who live in the other towns in Northern, Minnesota. It’s located 60 miles north of Duluth, MN and 100 miles south of the Canadian border. Now I need to go change my cell phone number to a (218) area code so I fit in up there on the ‘Da Range.
Pray for us as we make this transition and seek God’s provision for housing. And pray for River Rock Church – I am so excited to see who God calls to be their next pastor.
Candidating Weekend in Virginia MN
Honored to have the opportunity to candidate Sept 19th to be the Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Virginia. Already starting to love the people there – including Dan C. in the video here. Pray for Julie and me as the waiting is the hardest part. We are keeping busy getting our house ready to sell (Agent has already been chosen). 21-0919
A WELL Life is full of Faith, Friends and Farewells (2 Cor 13:11) Listen to “A WELL Life is full of Faith, Friends and Farewells” Pastor Chris’ last message as the Pastor of River Rock Church.
As we follow Jesus on the narrow road of life He leads us to various places to grow in faith, serve Him and to learn from the experiences. Some people live in the same place all their lives while others move around for new jobs, education, opportunities, or even better weather. Some feel forced to move because of circumstances beyond their control or to stay close to a loved one. One of the most stressful and most spiritually open times in someone’s life is when they move to a new place they are not familiar with. A W.E.L.L. Life centers around Worshiping, Encouraging. Learning and Loving. That kind of life is blessed by the Lord and can lead to great friendships and ministry opportunities. You may share life with a friend nearby for weeks, months or years but even when they must move away you can still stay connected. Farewells can be sad, sometimes they make others glad, but they do not all have to be bad. Pray for that person or family who God is sending out to a new place, on a new adventure, to serve Him in a new way, to possibly help some other people experience that same kind of friendship and a W.E.L.L. Life. Be encouraged to have faith to follow Jesus wherever He leads you or your friends. Pastor Chris Teien.