 |
Associate Pastor
Rev. Paul Offhaus
Beginning in June of 1998,
Pastor Paul Offhaus served as the
pastor of Community of Hope, a new church for the people of and around
Macomb Township, Michigan especially the unchurched.
Macomb Township is an ‘outer ring’ suburb that has been the fastest
growing part of Michigan each of the past four years.
He knocked on about 5000 homes prior to the first worship service in
April, 1999. Pastor Paul found real joy in seeing God gather and develop a
genuine community of faith-filled people who are seeking to Know Jesus and
Make Jesus Known in their own respective communities. In the course of his ministry, Paul identified three areas of
passion: discipleship, small
groups, and outreach.
Pastor Paul grew up in Wheaton, IL, a western suburb of
Chicago. He’s the youngest of
four kids—with six years between him and the closest. In response to a question asking him to describe important
influences of ministry, Pastor Paul writes, “The single most important event
that has shaped my approach to ministry occurred in early December of my 8th
grade year, while I was visiting my older brother Carl who was then a
student at Purdue University. I
distinctly remember sitting in his dorm room, thinking how much fun and how
cool it was to be hanging out with my older brother in his college
surroundings, when all of a sudden he brought up God and the idea of
following Jesus (rather than my own agenda) with my life.
One thing led to another and transformation was the end result.
Some would call it conversion or becoming a Christian; others would
call it returning to the waters of my Baptism and responding to God’s call
and work in my life. Whatever you choose to call it, from that point on I
knew I was a Christian—and my life
began to show it.”
Pastor Paul graduated
with honors from St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota) in 1990, with a
Bachelor of Arts in English. It
was during college that Pastor Paul began to wonder whether or not he was
called to the ordained ministry.
After graduation, Pastor Paul worked
for three years as the Minister for Youth and Young Adults at Epiphany
Lutheran (Dayton, OH), reasoning that full-time ministry was a helpful place
to be while seeking to discern God’s call.
Through the encouragement of the congregation and the example of the
pastors, Pastor Paul felt affirmed in his sense of call.
His family also affirmed this direction.
One evening while visiting his parents, he asked them, “What would
you say if I told you I was going to be a pastor?”
He recalls his mother saying, “I’d say our prayers would be
answered,” and his father saying, “Why do you think we named you Paul
Andrew?”
Pastor Paul spent a year as a residence hall director at
Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa) before enrolling at Trinity Lutheran
Seminary (Columbus, Ohio) in the fall of 1994.
Pastor Paul’s internship year was spent at Cross Lutheran (Clinton
Township, MI), under the supervision of Pastor Barry Osterbur. He graduated
in June 1998 from Trinity with a Master of Divinity and was ordained in
July.
Pastor Paul enjoys reading, card and game playing, movies,
racquetball, basketball, softball, and especially his wife Heather, whom he
married in October of 1998.
Heather works in Ann Arbor for the University of Michigan processing grants
in the Medical School. She
enjoys teaching french horn to junior and senior high youth, playing horn in
a local symphony, and helping with the church praise team.
Together,
Pastor Paul and Heather enjoy taking walks, working on home improvement
projects, and spending time with their two daughters, Abigail Grace and
Hannah Faith. Abigail, almost eight, is a delightful and very happy
little girl whose smiles and other doings bring much joy to her parents and
others, while Hannah, born October 27 (2005), has lots of energy, love, AND
words, not to mention the occasional mischievous look.
Several years back Pastor Paul developed a
personal mission statement, which reads as follows:
“The journey of transformation occurs when I ENJOY the life God has
given me, LEARNING, LOVING, and RISKING along the way.”
He is excited about what the future may holds in terms of working
together to both be and make disciples of Jesus Christ.
|