In January David Stockton and I completed a one-year transition period at Living Streams. David is now leading our church and I serve on the pastoral team alongside him. This is the first time since 1976 that I have worked in a church led by another pastor. It has been liberating for me to serve the church without the pressure to provide leadership as a senior pastor. I loved leading Living Streams for thirty-two years, but I’m surprised by the relief I feel in this new season of life.
There is, however, one question I get asked occasionally, which bugs me: “How is your retirement going?” I’m not retired and have no plans to retire. I love serving Jesus and doing ministry. Since Kristina and I formed Mark Buckley Ministries to serve pastors, leaders and churches, we are ministering more than ever. In March I preached in central and south Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, San Rafael and Ecuador. I met with leaders from those cities, plus others from Sacramento, Novato, New York, Colorado, Kansas City and Dallas.
My trip to Ecuador included speaking to home group leaders, elders’ meetings, a worship night, a four-hour leaders’ seminar, Taylor University students, a school of ministry, doing TV and radio interviews, and three Sunday services at the Verbo Church in Quito. It was a challenging and fruitful nine days of ministry, fellowship, and conflict resolution.
Bob Calpadi was my translator in Quito. Bob has been a missionary in Ecuador for the past twenty-eight years. He and my friend John Guido established a great church which has grown to thousands of people in Cuenca, Ecuador, as well as churches in eleven other cities around Ecuador. Each of the three Sunday morning services in Quito had hundreds of adults in attendance. As I finished my message in each service and sat down, Bob gave an invitation for people to commit their lives to Christ. My Spanish is limited, but I watched in awe as Bob spoke. He called people to Christ like a gifted fisherman casting his line to catch fish. As Bob spoke, people came out of their seats to stand in front of the congregation and commit their lives to Christ. Over 100 people made first-time decisions to follow Jesus that morning.
I like working as a part of a team to serve the Lord. Whether it’s with David and the pastors at Living Streams, Bob and John in Ecuador, the leaders of the Open Door Churches in California, or my friends in Grace Association in Arizona, we experience joy and effectiveness because we serve Jesus together. I want to thank those of you who have helped Kristina and me establish our new ministry. You are a vital part of our team. Your love and support is empowering us to be more fruitful together than we ever could be on our own.
God bless you for your generosity and prayers.