Month: October 2021

In October, a team from CTR traveled to Clarkston, Georgia to serve people who are refugees to the US. The team worked with our ministry partners at Envision Atlanta. Over the years, Clarkston, Georgia has received over 40,000 refugees. Envision Atlanta focuses on helping refugees “thrive, not just arrive.” Over the years, adults and children from 90 different people groups have all arrived and lived in Clarkston.

On this trip, the CTR team started by being educated about the circumstances that bring refugees to the US, and typical difficulties as they adapt to living here. During their trip, our volunteers helped with a variety of projects.

Team members spent time organizing donated toys for Christmas, and helped run a gymnastics camp outreach for children in the neighborhood. They also joined refugees for worship, and attended a French African church service,  The CTR team also blessed one of Envision Atlanta’s long-term ministry families by cleaning their apartment.

We are thankful for each person who served and shared the love of Christ — and for work Envision Atlanta does all year long to welcome refugees and share the Gospel and love of Jesus with them.

Don’t mistreat any foreigners who live in your land. Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. ~Leviticus 19:33-32

I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. ~Matthew 25:35

On Sunday, October 17, Christ The Rock attenders and our Elder Team prayed over our new Lead Pastor, Joel Zeiner. While his staff position as Lead Pastor is new, Pastor Joel has been part of CTR for more than 20 years, first as a new Christian, and later as a staff member.

Pastor Joel grew up in Appleton. When he was a teenager, he accepted Jesus Christ while attending a family camp at Green Lake Conference Center. He started attending Christ The Rock with his family when he was in high school.

After graduating from Appleton West, Pastor Joel earned a degree in Comparative Religion from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001 then went to seminary at Yale Divinity School, where he received his Masters of Divinity in 2005.

Joel first joined the church staff as a Youth Pastor in 2005. Then he became our Missions Pastor in 2014, and as such, became part of our Senior Leadership Team. In 2019, his ministry focus shifted, and he began serving as our Teaching Pastor and Weekend Services Director. Joel accepted the role of Lead Pastor when it was offered by the elders in early 2021.

Joel and his wife Jenn have been married for 12 years, and have three children, Finnleigh (10), Ainsley (8) and Bode (5). He loves spending time with his family, and also enjoys golf, fishing, biking, canoeing, and reading. He also serves on various boards for the YMCA of the Fox Cities, where he is a life-long member.

In addition to his educational qualifications, Pastor Joel’s ministry is fueled by his love for Jesus, and his love for this local church and the Fox Valley. He is passionate about introducing people to the Gospel, and seeing them grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.

We are excited to see what God has in store as Pastor Joel begins serving as our Lead Pastor — and as always, we invite you to pray for him, our Senior Leadership Team and and our Elder Team as they lead us.

Honoring Pastor Curt

During our October 10 services, we honored our Lead Pastor Curt Drexler on his final Sunday before retiring from staff. It was an honor to celebrate his leadership, which started in 1988 — and was hallmarked by integrity, faithfulness and a shepherd’s heart. He and Marian have blessed so many people in more than three decades  serving our church family. It was an incredible time remembering and worshiping God for all He has done through Pastor Curt’s life and ministry.

We invite you to watch this recap of his ministry, and the profound impact he’s had on the life of Christ The Rock, and on so many individual lives:

Click here to watch “Honoring a Legacy: Pastor Curt Drexler.”

Earlier in the week, the CTR staff had a fun surprise for Pastor Curt before his retirement. After cheering him down the back road to the church, there was a ceremonial unveiling: the road is now officially named Drexler Drive in his honor! Staff shared words of thanks and blessing, and had a time of prayer under the gorgeous blue sky.

In this new phase of life and ministry, Pastor Curt plans to continue pursuing two of his passions. He will keep volunteering with Catch A Dream, which offers hunting expeditions for terminally ill children, and shares the hope of Jesus with them. And he will continue another passion: designing and creating custom log and wood furnishings. If you’d like to know what he’s building, you can see his latest work at Dry Creek Custom Log Furniture on Facebook.

Note: If you’d like read transcripts of a few messages Pastor Curt has shared over the years, we have published six of them here.

This weekend will be my is my last “official” Sunday with you before I retire. I can hardly believe that this time, which we’ve planned for years, is finally here.

It seems when we start out, life is a series of “firsts.” First day of school, first dance, first car (and first car troubles!). First job, house, child.

I still vividly remember my first day in the church office in 1988. There were only a few of us on staff, and I felt overwhelmed. With a small business background, what did I know about being in ministry? And there were other firsts – the first time Pastor Bill asked me to speak on a weekend, my first elder meeting, and being ordained.

In the fall of 2020, I began a new phase: a series of “lasts.” The last weekend I shared from the pulpit, my last elder meeting (at least for a few months), my last staff meeting. And Sun., Oct. 10, will be my last time speaking to you as your Lead Pastor.

But not all lasts are bad – a few weeks ago was an amazing “last.” I had the privilege of facilitating my last baptism: baptizing a 70-year-old man in the beauty of the Wolf River. Hearing him proclaim his commitment to Christ in full view and hearing of all creation was an honor I will carry with me for the rest of my days!

While I am retiring my position from the church, I’m not retiring from life! After a time of sabbatical, you’ll still see me around CTR. And I will continue doing things I love. For 16 years, I’ve had a side business building log and rustic furniture. I will be able to expand that business in retirement. If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m doing, feel free to follow Dry Creek Custom Log Furniture on Facebook.

It seems fitting that God, the Alpha and Omega, gives us beginnings and endings. I am deeply grateful that God gave me the opportunity to serve Him and to serve you these past three and a half decades! I can’t thank you enough for your patience, grace, and mercy. My wife Marian and I consider you as much family as our own blood brothers and sisters.

Christ The Rock is and always will be God’s church, so please continue to pray for Joel Zeiner, the Elders, the Senior Leadership Team, and staff as they work with you to fulfill the calling God gave us so many years ago. I do believe that our best years are still to come!

I am and will always be “in it with you.” With much love,

Pastor Curt