New Position, New Friend by Paul Boeker


My favorite coffee cup is a relic from my ancient past. It is a black cylindri- cal mug with “Gateway 2000” em- blazoned over and over diagonally in graphite on black. On the facing side is a large stylized gold “G” and the golden words “Gateway 2000.” As I bring the mug to my lips, small gold


letters inside the rim shout out to me “You’ve got a friend in the business.” We need friends. Tat’s probably why I used Gateway 2000® computers for a decade or two until the company went the way of all tech. Plus they were cheap.


Pastors also need a friend. For many years Fellowship leaders


have had a dream of having a person on staff who could focus on ministering to FEBC pastors and churches. Tat dream has a history.


In the 1970s Rev. Frank Wiens, the “Circuit Rider,” as he


called himself, took on the role of encourager to pastors and church leaders. Rev. Wiens was a pastor to FEBC pastors. He visited churches, preached when needed, sometimes even served as interim pastor for a few months. He helped churches find new pastors and facilitated conflict resolution. And he was a link between the FEBC commissions and the churches.


From 1994 until 2010 Rev. Harvey Shultz was the ministries


coordinator (See Fellowship Focus, September/October 2010, p. 4). One of his lasting efforts was to organize retreats for pastors and wives. Te retreats he began in Manitoba and Saskatchewan continue to bring pastors and wives together annually. Te re- sulting friendships provide year-round encouragement for FEBC clergy couples. Troughout Rev. Schultz’s tenure, he discovered or developed many useful resources for FEBC churches and pastors.


Now for the past year Fellowship leaders have been looking


very seriously at the position of Ministries Coordinator and have been actively recruiting a person for this position. Te job position summary states “Tis position exists to ensure that each FEBC pastor is aware of FEBC services available to them and to provide pastoral care and services in a timely manner.”


Te International Board of Directors recently announced


that they have found a new Ministries Coordinator. Turns out he was hiding in plain sight! Rev. Gary Krehbiel has been hired to fill this position. Pastor Krehbiel has been on staff at Crosspoint Bible Church of Omaha for the past 22 years! Beginning as youth pastor in 1997, he transitioned to campus pastor for Crosspoint’s Bennington Campus in 2014. When that campus closed in 2018, Gary returned to the Omaha campus to direct adult discipleship and fellowship.


Gary has been part of the Fellowship forever — his forever,


that is. When students from FEBC churches throughout the United States and Canada began to accumulate at Grace Bible Institute in the late 1950s, Fellowship leaders decided to begin an FEBC church in Omaha to keep students plugged into the Fellowship. Florence Bible Church was begun in 1960. Gary was the first baby born to that congregation! Florence Bible Church morphed into Community Bible Church and Evangelical Bible Church, now Crosspoint. So except for a few years teaching out of state, Gary has been with the Fellowship all his life.


Originally trained as a school teacher, Gary has continued


to hone ministry skills through various conferences and seminars such as Sonlife and DiscipleShiſt. He is certified as a premarital and marriage counselor through FOCCUS and PREPARE/ ENRICH.


Tis job change comes at a good time in Gary’s life. He and


his wife, Christi, have been married for 28 years. Tis spring their youngest children, twins, graduated from high school. Tis allows Gary to be more free to travel. His job description calls him to visit churches, but to be home at least two weekends each month.


Gary’s main goal is to establish strong relationships with


Fellowship pastors. He intends to, in his own words, “be a helpful connection of vitality” between FEBC leadership and churches.


FEBC president Kevin Stone describes the position of Minis-


tries Coordinator as adding value to our Fellowship. Someone will be available to respond quickly to church needs, to develop resourc- es for churches and to provide general encouragement to pastors. Pastors and church leaders, you have a friend in the ministry!


Fellowship Focus, July/August 2019


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