Pastor, Politics, Police & Religion?
"Assett to our city!" - Mayor of Montclair
In a scene replicated in thousands upon thousands of churches nationwide, Pastor Joe McTarsney and his team were beating back coronavirus closures by readjusting their ministry outreach, including the launch of online worship services.
“I knew that as a pastor my first and foremost responsibility was to minister to the needs of our congregation,” said Pastor Joe, the lead pastor at Calvary Montclair.
But along the way, his heart beat a bit faster for those in the community who didn’t know Jesus or weren’t plugged into a church home.
“I know in church history, the church always shines greatest during dark times and we need to be a beacon of hope for the hopeless,” he said.
Pastor Joe decided to plant his beacon on Facebook, where he posted a professionally produced offering to pray for anyone struggling in with the COVID-19 crisis.
In a separate Church United video, Pastor Joe said he was overwhelmed by the response.
“It's like I just put a few fishes and loaves before the Lord and he just abundantly blessed it. During this time, people are hurting. They need to know the Lord. May I encourage you,” he said to fellow pastors, “if you have not had an opportunity to engage your city officials, your mayor and the council members, you want to do that and let them know that you're just you're available, that you're there and just to pray for them. Yeah, the doors of our church may be closed at this time, but the doors to being a witness for Christ, to be as light and salt for him, it's wide open.”
Pastor Joe’s outward thinking is not new to him.
After attending a Church United Awakening Tour in Sacramento, the Southern California pastor reached out to his local police department, where he now serves as a chaplain. Since the COVID-19 outbreak he and several other pastors have prayer walked around the Montclair Police department and City Hall. And, during the city’s first-ever online council meeting, Pastor Joe was asked to deliver the invocation. Since then, the police chaplain has texted Mayor Javier John Dutreyto to let the civic leader know his prayers for the city and its trustees are ongoing.
The mayor responded back, thanking Pastor Joe for his leadership, calling him an “asset to our city.’”
“I was really humbled by that,” he said. “It is only by the grace of God, that I could be an encouragement to anyone. I'm so thankful that I've been used by the Lord during this time period.”
Pastor Joe credits the ministry of Church United in giving him the vision to see beyond the four walls of his congregation.
“Being active in reaching out to our community ties back to Church United and going to the tour in Sacramento and hearing from other pastors and other leaders in our nation that are doing that,” he said. “So by me hearing them and watching them, I got the bug. I thought, ‘hey, if you're doing that, I think the Lord can use me to do that in the same way, too.’”
California is grateful for you Pastor Joe!