In August, a new cohort entered the GCI Intern Program (for details, click here). Over the next few weeks we’ll introduce you to some of these new interns. This week we want you to meet Jaron Sanders.
Following graduation from Bethune Cookman University in Florida, Jaron returned to his GCI home congregation in Sacramento, California, where he now is interning with Lead Pastor Mike Swagerty (pictured with Jaron at right). Here is Jaron’s testimony:
Though it took me a while to discover, I came to understand that, at the most basic level, our purpose as humans is to glorify God. It was such a relief to discover this—it freed me from beating myself over the head with “What am I supposed to do?” The answer is that I am supposed to trust and follow God—to walk in a manner pleasing to him. The details will come!
In college I studied mass communications with the intent of becoming a broadcast journalist, but it did not fulfill me. At the time, I was throwing myself into extra-curricular ministry activities, and found that this is what makes my heart beat! Eventually I realized that I was called to full-time ministry. I love seeing people experience the loving presence of Jesus.
Jaron is receiving free housing from Tim and Linda Wakeley (pictured with Jaron below), a generous couple in the Sacramento congregation.
Welcome to the GCI Intern Program, Jaron. Our prayers are with you. And Mike, Tim, Linda and the Sacramento congregation, thanks for all you are doing to support Jaron at this important time in his life and ministry with Christ.
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To learn more about the GCI Intern Program, click here.
GCI-USA Regional Pastor Randy Bloom provided this update concerning Stephen Larison, son of Eric and Sue Larison. Eric pastors GCI’s congregation in Syracuse, New York. Randy had the honor of leading a special “blessing ceremony” for Stephen the day he left to enter the U.S. Naval Academy. At the end of the ceremony, all present sang the hymn mentioned below. Randy said it was a particularly moving ceremony (no dry eyes!), since Randy had performed a blessing of children ceremony for Stephen just after he was born.
Eric and Sue Larison pictured with their son Stephen.
It has been a momentous year for Eric and Sue Larison along with their son Stephen, who graduated from high school on June 28 and was inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) on July 1. Steve also had been offered appointments to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a full ROTC scholarship to the University of Rochester. The decision was not easy, but Steve felt he would have the most opportunities by going to the USNA as part of the Class of 2019. Steve started classes there following “I-Day” and “Plebe Summer.” He is now serving as a member of the USNA’s Drum and Bugle Corps (if you watch a Navy football game you might see Steve performing in the half-time show).
An Eagle Scout, Steve has many other accomplishments to his credit. At his high school graduation, he received awards for leadership, community service, athletics, and academics, and his peers selected him to be the honors graduate speaker. Steve also received several scholarships including the Driver/Sweet Scholarship, one of the top scholarships offered to graduates from his high school (his father Eric received the same scholarship 37 years ago). He also was awarded the Lt. Patrick Kelly Connor, USN, Scholarship to help develop new leaders with Christian values in the United States Military.
During high school, Steve was active in his GCI congregation and in a local Young Life chapter. At the USNA, he is part of the a choir serving the USNA Chapel most Sundays during the academic year.
Steve’s GCI congregation in Syracuse now sings the hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” (known as the “Navy Hymn”—click here to watch an excerpt on YouTube). The fourth verse of the hymn is the congregation’s prayer for Steve:
O Trinity of love and power! Our brethren shield in danger’s hour; From rock and tempest, fire and foe, Protect them where so e’er they go; Thus evermore shall rise to Thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
Jeff McSwain (pictured at right), a member of the GCI-USA Church Administration and Development team, is national coordinator for the GCI-USA Intern Program. Jeff and his wife Susan were recently profiled in an article appearing in a Durham, North Carolina newspaper. To read the article, click here.
GCI youth member Trey Carlisle (pictured at right) attends New Hope Christian Fellowship, one of GCI’s congregations in Los Angeles, California.
Trey serves the congregation in many ways, including as a member of the Crimson Tide youth worship band. Trey also is active in serving the community, as shown in the “Cool Kids” TV news report below:
Born and raised within GCI, Jason Frantz, the lead pastor of GCI’s congregation in Kansas City, Missouri, has seen and experienced a lot of growth and change in his journey through life. According to Jason, he had a front row seat to “the wonderful way God was walking with us and working in us the entire time.”
Jason grew up in a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio, and knew from a young age God was calling him as a church shepherd. As he grew, his God-given gifts for working with people and loving them as God loves them were nurtured. In 2011, he began actively working towards becoming a pastor. His wife Julie had heard about the GCI Internship Program, and Pastor Rick Shallenberger (who was pastoring in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time) invited Jason to participate in the program with him.
Jason flourished as an intern in Cincinnati and then as a pastoral resident when the family transferred to serve the church in Kansas City, working with lead pastor Ray Meyer. Along the way, Jason enjoyed “the opportunity to share God’s love and life with people through shepherding, loving and encouraging them in Christ.”
Jason is thankful for the encouragement given him by Pastor Rick and Pastor Ray, who helped him sharpen his God-given gifts and strengths, instead of focusing on his weaknesses. Jason also benefited from the support given by GCI-Cincinnati elder John Halford who encouraged Jason in a way that Jason says was “challenging, fun and interesting!” Within this supportive environment, Jason was able to work on what he refers to as his “spiritual backbone”—remembering that God has a purpose and plan, and he need not let others take advantage of him when he is trying to help them.
When asked what he enjoys most about being part of GCI, Jason said, “I love the humility of the leadership and our focus on genuine and authentic relationships within our fellowship. I love having the strong support system among the pastors that has been encouraged and set up within the denomination. I also appreciate the transparency of our church leaders and their willingness to walk alongside the pastors as they shepherd their congregation.”
As shown above, Jason’s passion is God, family and friends. He loves “relationships, growing deeper with people, and especially hanging out with his wife and children.” His wife Julie plays a significant role in his pastoral ministry—“If it were not for her I would not be the man and pastor that I am. She walks hand and hand with me through the ins and outs of ministry and helps me with many decisions. She does much more than what I can even write about.”
Jason and Julie (pictured at right) met at SEP camp in Orr, Minnesota, in 1993. Their friendship grew into a long-distance relationship in 2001. Julie, living in Oregon at the time, said she would never move to Ohio, but God had different plans. In May 2002 she moved to Ohio and the couple married in December. They welcomed their fourth child, Jocelyn, into the family on November 4, 2014. Her older brothers, Jaron (11), Jacob (9) and Jaxon (6) are definitely in love with and very protective of their little sister.
Jason says he feels closest to God when he is “away from the busyness of life, surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation.” He also says he connects most deeply with God when he has “opportunity to share in genuine and authentic relationships with other believers in a safe and open environment.”
Jason has some advice for anyone considering the GCI Intern Program: “Be yourself—be open to the guiding work of the Holy Spirit through others as God forms you into the pastor that he desires.”
Hillary Irusta serves as a pastoral resident in GCI’s Greensboro, North Carolina church, which is pastored by her father, Joel Irusta.
Hillary felt God’s presence and involvement in her life at age five. “My family was in a terrible car accident. Hit from behind on the freeway by an eighteen-wheeler, we rolled back over front six times across all lanes of traffic. An EMS team saw the accident and told us afterwards that they were positive everyone inside would be dead. All four of us walked away with minor injuries. I slipped out of my seat belt, and told my father that an angel had held on to me and stood me up once it was over. The experience instilled in me a sense of God’s active, loving involvement in my life and in the lives of those I loved as well as a deeply ingrained sense of purpose for life.”
Hillary grew up in Archdale, North Carolina, “in the backyard of Greensboro and High Point. What brought me here today is a loving and supportive family, a strong will and independent spirit, an open mind and a hospitable heart, a strong ethical center, a willingness to question and struggle, a longing for adventure, friends who challenge and embrace me, communities that nurture me, acquaintances that challenge me, and God’s grace and compassion to vivify, sustain and call me onto the path of transformation.”
Growing up in GCI, Hillary became aware of the GCI Intern Program just as she was graduating from college. “I was preparing for my Master of Divinity studies and discerning ways to follow a calling into ministry. The door was open and the opportunity was surrounded by peace and excitement.” Hillary interned with her father, pastor Joel Irusta. She noted that the success of the program was largely due to “a congregation that believed in me, supported me, nurtured me and affirmed my calling.” After the internship was over, Hillary was ordained an elder. “I was installed as associate pastor at Centered Church, Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 17, 2013 (St. Patrick’s Day) after interning there since January 2011.”
After earning her Master of Divinity degree, Hillary had the opportunity to take some time off. “I had the chance of a lifetime to travel to Kona, Hawaii, this past summer! I snorkeled with sea turtles, hiked a volcano and explored the rich history and culture of the island of Hawaii.”
“Learning to be patient with persons and systems,” was Hillary’s greatest challenge during her internship. What she enjoyed the most was, “inviting everyone to God’s table and retelling the story of Christ’s life, death and resurrection every week during Communion.” This ties in with what she loves most about GCI: “The emphasis on God’s grace.”
Hillary’s passion is knowing her calling. “I’m called into the heart of the Beloved, to live a life pursuing wholeness for myself, neighbors and creation while equipping the church for acts of radical hospitality, justice and compassion in the world.”
Hillary says her most memorable moment was “baptizing my good friend’s newborn baby a couple weeks after my ordination.”
When asked what advice she would give to someone considering GCI’s Intern Program, Hillary said this: “Spend serious time discerning your calling, reflecting on your story and the things that give you life. Listen for God’s guidance and expand your theological, biblical and cultural understanding to discover hidden aspects of your calling and new possibilities for ministry.”
Steve Dobritch, pastoral resident in GCI’s Canfield, Ohio, church, grew up near Cincinnati but moved a lot. “My father, being a minister, was involved in more churches than I can remember. I had the opportunity to be a part of many congregations around the Ohio-Pennsylvania area. I’ve been in our Canfield church (near Youngstown, Ohio), for the last 20 years.” Steve said that being a “pastor’s kid” gave him unique experiences. “While it was sad to leave friends and change schools growing up, it was also exciting to experience all of the different churches and communities over the years.”
Steve (at left) and his family (pastor John Dobritch, is second from right)
Growing up in a pastor’s home influenced Steve’s decision to be actively involved in ministry for the past 12 years. Much of that ministry has involved one of the loves of his life: “Music is my favorite thing in the world. When we worship—whether inside or outside the church—music transcends the normal and accentuates the spiritual. For me, music makes the worship experience one of the most important parts of my relationship with God.”
It was in a GCI camp that Steve first heard about GCI’s intern program and he sent in an application. ”In January 2012 I became an intern under the direction of my father John Dobritch, who pastors our Canfield church. Over the years while volunteering in that congregation, I realized a calling to ministry. The moment I chose to enter the intern program was the moment I knew that I wanted to pursue pastoral ministry as my vocation. I have never seen something so simple become so difficult, and at the same time, so rewarding. Ministry is what gets me excited about getting out of bed every day.”
Steve was in the intern program for two years. “The strengths of my experience in the program were the opportunities to work in ministry leadership in youth and worship ministry. The main challenges I experienced were the expectations I placed on myself. It’s easy for me to dwell on the professional aspects of ministry and get caught up in reaching goals I set for myself instead of focusing on where God has me and dealing with the growth he intends for me.” Steve recalls his first sermon as being one of his most memorable experiences. “It was the most terrifying and exhilarating moment of my life.”
After completing the intern program, Steve began serving alongside his dad as a pastoral resident in the Canfield church. “The thing I enjoy most about the residency program is the people involved in it. I have had more support in the church while being a pastoral resident than I could ever have imagined. Countless people have been there for me and continue to support me as I continue to grow in my identity as a pastoral leader in the church.”
When asked about being part of GCI, Steve says he loves our history. “I can’t think of another group of people who have gone through the kind of evolution we have. To see where we are and how far we have come is staggering, in a good way. I think we understand just how blessed we are because we can look back.”
Steve said he feels closest to God when going through a trial. “There are moments when I realize I need more than what I can give and I have to rely on the strength God gives me. While it can be humbling, it also allows me to remember the importance of the role God has in my life.”
Advice Steve would give to someone considering the intern program? “It might get uncomfortable and it will definitely be humbling, but it will change who you are in the best way possible.”
Carrie Smith, who serves as a pastoral resident in GCI’s congregation in Clarksville, Tennessee, is a self-proclaimed “camp-a-holic.” “I’ve had the opportunity to see God’s love poured out in exciting ways at various summer camps around the world. Though I know God works everywhere and all the time, there is something special that happens at camp and getting to witness the personal, intimate ways in which God calls to his children through summer camps has been a precious blessing in my life. To be able to participate in God’s movement towards his children is incredible.”
Carrie grew up in GCI. “My parents, Tom and Pam Smith, have been members most of their lives, and my dad has been a pastor since I was born.” Even though they were transferred a couple times, Carrie said the family somehow managed to stay in Washington, Pennsylvania for 17 years. “I cherish the memories of growing up in one neighborhood.” Carrie earned a master’s degree in counseling and at one time considered teaching.
A couple of years ago, Carrie had the opportunity to teach in Africa at GCI’s primary school in Malawi. Around that time she began looking at career options. “I came to a point in 2011 where I really was wide open as to what I could/would do next in my life. I earnestly began seeking God’s direction for where he wanted me to go and what he wanted me to do. What I didn’t realize until later, was that God had already been nudging me towards the GCI Intern Program through various people since at least 2008, when I first heard about it from Greg Williams (associate director of CAD) and Anthony Mullins (national coordinator of GenMin). I remember my initial excitement was not for me personally, but simply excitement that GCI would have a program to develop leaders and pastors.
A couple years later, my dad first asked me if I had ever thought about being a pastor, leading me down a path I hadn’t considered before. As I thought about this possibility, and asked for input from those around me, the idea began to develop roots. Anthony helped bring my thoughts and wonderings to the surface in early 2011 when he asked me if I had ever considered joining the GCI Intern Program. That is when I knew God was answering my prayers and showing me the next steps in my journey with him.”
Carrie’s willingness to move and go where God leads her opened an opportunity for her to intern in Southern California with Mark and Anne Stapleton. “My internship with them began in April 2012, in San Diego. My experience with Cornerstone Community Church and my previous background in education and counseling allowed me to grow and blossom into more of who God made me to be.”
After almost a year in California, a new opportunity arose for Carrie in Kentucky. “I had the opportunity to interview with the pastoral care team in Pikeville in January 2013, though it was more like a divine appointment than an interview. By the end of the weekend, there was no question that I was being called there and so I said tearful goodbyes to my Cornerstone family and moved in March.” It was in Pikeville that Carrie’s status changed from intern to part-time pastoral resident. Nine months later, she interviewed with the Clarksville, Tennessee, pastoral care team for a full-time pastoral resident position. She is now serving in that capacity there, focusing on community outreach.
When asked about the strengths of her intern experience, Carrie said, “I got 2-for-1 and then some in California! Being able to work with both Mark and Anne was fantastic because they were like an open book. They invited me into their home (literally) and got right into looking at how best to help me learn and grow. I ended up living with Cornerstone members George and Marguerite Casey. I was surrounded by a community of people ready and willing to support me, grow with me and encourage me.”
The intern program also had some challenges. “I was far from home. As much as I appreciate technology, there were times when being away from my family was harder than I expected. I went to college, then worked at two colleges about an hour from home, so getting together with family had been easy for many years.” Another challenge was “learning to build meaningful relationships with members in your congregation and the community, even though you know your time is temporary. I realized that even when you wholeheartedly embrace a relationship with someone, time is still a factor in the development of the relationship, and that’s okay.”
Though Carrie is thankful for her intern training, she is enjoying her full-time employment as a pastoral resident. What she enjoys most is “connecting with the members and getting to know them. As I hear their stories and see how God has led them through the years, I am encouraged and grateful for this time in life where our paths are joined. I also enjoy learning alongside fellow pastoral residents and other church leaders. As we learn together, we share together, and we encourage one another. It’s a blessing to be connected in Spirit even when there are miles between us.” This ties in with Carrie’s passion, which is “helping others see and understand who they are to God. Helping them experience God’s love regardless of their circumstances, heartaches, or hang-ups.”
What Carrie enjoys most about being part of GCI is that we are a family. “We grow together, we learn together and we embrace one another through the love of God. I rejoice when I am with my brothers and sisters at various events, whether I have known them for years or we just recently met.”
Though she has been in the Intern Program and then served as a pastoral resident for only a couple of years, Carrie already has many fond memories. “Each connection with someone is special. Whether through late night chats, making sauerkraut, eating frozen yogurt, or drinking coffee, I cherish the moments of sharing ideas, dreams, stories and life.”
Carrie says she feels closest to God “when I am in tune with his movement—speaking his words of love, life and grace into someone’s life, or receiving those words from someone into my life.”
We asked Carrie what advice she would give to someone considering the GCI Intern Program: “Be honest with yourself about your fears, worries, doubts and uncertainties. God’s got you covered and has so much to give to you that holding on to any of those things means your hands won’t be fully open to what he has to give you. Let God mold you, bend you and continue to refine you into the beautiful vessel of his love he has created you to be.”
For a video with Carrie discussing her community outreach experience, click on the link under “Church Development,” above, left.
Many of us have heard the stories, “When I was your age I used to walk to school, two miles each way, barefoot.” For Emmanuel Okai, GCI pastor in Accra Ghana, this was his way of life growing up. “My early life was typical of many children in a developing country like Ghana. I lived in a village where there was no electricity, no pipe-borne water, no paved roads. There was only one radio in the community and all of us would cram around it to listen to football commentaries or to popular music. Every day for the first ten years of my educational career, I walked two miles each way to school in the nearby small town of Akwadum.”
Emmanuel was born in a cocoa-farming village in central Ghana in a hamlet so small it’s not on any map. “My parents were both peasant farmers. My father was a renowned linguist (spokesman) for the chief of Anum-Toseng, our ancestral hometown, a herbalist and well respected elder of his community. I was only four when he died. Therefore, most of my growing up was under the care of my mother, an enterprising woman who would do any odd job to take care of me, her only son. I grew up in the eastern part of Ghana in my maternal grandfather’s village, where I enrolled in elementary school when I was seven.”
Emmanuel has one biological sister and three stepsisters along with several cousins, all who made up their African family system. “It was a period when I had a lot of fun as we learned many survival skills such as farming, swimming, setting traps to catch game, playing several types of games and learning to live in community and dealing with boys and girls who would tease each other. There were a few reckless moments though: One such led me face to face with a spitting cobra ready to strike at me – I was about 10 years old – when we went chasing lizards around our village! That early experience showed me how much God protects his little ones. The snake just recoiled and ran off when I shouted in despair. My early life experiences gave me the confidence to take care of my life, to be independent, to think for myself, to find ways to survive, to become enterprising and to believe in God. I developed a very optimistic positive outlook to life during my teen years as a result of my avid reading habits. I almost always look at the ‘doughnut’ and very rarely the ‘hole’ in any situation.
Those reading habits brought Emmanuel’s attention to The Plain Truth magazine. Emmanuel’s parents were originally practitioners of African traditional religion, but his mother became a Pentecostal Christian—a faith she held until her death in 1997. “I was a first year student in a teachers’ college supervised by the Presbyterian Church. I had a lot of interest in reading and so when one of my friends brought old copies of The Plain Truth that his brother received, I devoured everything in each copy. Eventually, I subscribed to The Plain Truth, The Good News and requested several church booklets. I still recollect the impact on my youthful mind of such booklets as “Why Were You Born?” and the “The Seven Laws of Success.” I began to take Christ more seriously.”
Emmanuel did well in school because of his mother’s support. “She saw so much potential in me and she, along with my step-father and step-sisters, supported me at the most critical periods of my life.” At age 20, Emmanuel started work as an elementary school teacher. “Since then I have been independent. I also owe a lot to the famous Pan-Africanist first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who introduced free education in Ghana in 1960, when I was in second grade. As a result, I had free tuition throughout my education career, including earning a degree from the University of Cape Coast. Without this policy of free education, I doubt if I could have reached where I am today.”
Margaret and Emmanuel with their son Nana Yaw.
Emmanuel was 16 when he first met Margaret, the cousin of one of his childhood friends. “The very first time I saw Margaret, I told my friend, ‘This is my wife.’ Those were teenage fantasies. However, several years later, during my first year in university, when she had also completed high school, we met again; we became friends and later got married on June 30, 1979. We had challenges with regard to having children. We prayed, counseled and saw many doctors in Ghana, Nigeria and the US. In 2004, God blessed us with our only son, Nana Yaw, who is now in fifth grade. We have many ‘grand-children’ through the many young people we have taken care of as part of our traditional extended family obligations.”
Emmanuel became part of GCI in September 1975 when he was baptized at the Feast of Tabernacles held in Ghana at the University of Cape Coast. A few years later, he and Margaret migrated to Nigeria to work as teachers. “We joined the church in Lagos where we supported the pastor Lateef Edalere and his wife Yvonne in the children and youth programs of the church. Eventually we assisted in running a few youth camps in Nigeria during our six years there. Partly due to this involvement, Pastor Edalere recommended and we were given scholarships to attend Ambassador College in Pasadena from 1986 to 1989. The experiences at AC were some of the most life-changing in our lives because we saw how real leaders lived their lives as true Christians—humble, selfless, charitable leadership.” After graduating from AC, Emmanuel served as a ministerial trainee in Los Angeles under Pastor Abner Washington for a year. He then returned to Ghana and served for 10 months under Pastor Melvin Rhodes. He was ordained an elder in 1990 in Accra, Ghana.
Emmanuel says this of Margaret’s role in ministry: “Margaret is very much central to my ministry. She is the sounding board to all ideas I generate, my biggest critic and my greatest encourager. She does almost all the background work at home and during many programs of the church. Her feminine sensitivity has enabled me to grow a balanced ministry, which is gender-sensitive. She is my adviser, encourager and friend in the vineyard of the Lord.”
When asked what he enjoys most about being a pastor, Emmanuel said, “Seeing members overcome challenges, as a result of our support and their obedience to God. When I see a young child grow, mature and develop in the Lord, when I see changed lives; those bring me joy. Also, sharing the joys of our members in such incidents of life as marriage, child naming and blessing and other similar celebrations.” This fits in with Emmanuel’s passion which is “teaching and finding creative ways of doing the work of God; and in training/mentoring the next generation of leaders, including the youth and children.”
Emmanuel also loves being part of GCI. “There is a close bond of friendship within GCI that I enjoy very much. Right now, most of those I consider to be truly friends are in GCI. There is a sincere warmth and love among fellow members of GCI.”
His most memorable moment as pastor took place recently. “Successfully hosting the large delegation of visitors, including my mentors, the Washingtons and Mrs. Yvonne Edalere, during the recent 40th anniversary celebrations of GCI Ghana in August 2014. Hosting three families in our home for that occasion was a dream come true for Margaret and me.”
Emmanuel chuckles when he thinks about where he is in comparison to all he’s done. “Over the 62 years, I have been a teacher, trader, farmer, tour operator, school owner, bi-vocational pastor among other jobs. However, as a young person, I swore never to do three jobs: policeman, teacher and priest. God had other ideas and now the two jobs I love and enjoy most are teaching and being part of the priesthood of Christ.”
Emmanuel says he feels closest to God “when reading the Bible or commentaries on aspects of the Bible that deal with the nature of God. Also, when I am in the natural environment.”
Here is a video that profiles Celestine Olive, a GCI elder who serves in the GCI home office in Glendora, California, and in a GCI congregation in Southern California.
