In our Beyond Our Walls interview for June I interview Carl Willis, he is a legend. After 30 years Pastor Carl is retiring from his CLA pastoral position with Bus Ministry and entering a new stage of ministry, working with Metro Kids as an Elder and key volunteer. For decades the Willis family; Colleen, Ashley and Carl, have worked so hard in this important outreach. They stand out as people of dedicated service and hard work. They have been captured by a vision to reach children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have loved well, been patient in affliction and brokenness (they deal with some very challenging circumstances) and have always advocated for Bus Ministry. On June 30th we will be honouring them for their outstanding ministry (and it continues).
For a couple years Pastor Carl and I have been discussing the various pathways to succession. During this time, it became clear that a partnership with Metro Kids would be the preferred option. These two outreaches (CLA Bus Ministry & Metro Kids Society) have worked closely together for many years. Together they have reached kids and teens in Aldergrove, Langley and Surrey. Together they have used CLA as a hub for gathering children. Together they have integrated their leadership development and retreats. Together they have worked in tandem to coordinate summer programing. Metro Kids, led by Mike and Lynn Brownlee, has also been a partner of CLA missions for years. This transition makes sense and gives us an opportunity to continue to see children of Langley reached on a weekly basis for Christ.
The Board of CLA and the Board of Metro Kids have been working together for many months to iron out a ministry memorandum of understanding for the next five years. This embraces our ministry partnership, access to CLA, its building and people, and support for Pastor Carl and a new Assistant Director for Metro Kids. More will be shared on Sunday, June 30 as the “keys to Bus Ministry” are entrusted to Metro Kids. Please pray for this important transition. Change is never easy and there will be bumps along the way. Key to this agreement is our strong trust for each other and for the ongoing work of Christ in outreach. You will continue to see “Bus Ministry” represented in hot dog sales, special announcements and in networking our people towards this important ministry. Pastor Carl, though “retired”, will continue to be an important liaison to Metro Kids and will continue to raise funds for them.
Thank you for your support of CLA missions as we support 30 outreaches and missions just like Metro Kids. Your financial contribution to CLA General Missions helps us to give monthly support to each of our partners. This month, specifically, we hope to help Pastor Carl hire a couple students for summer outreach as we did not receive any student grants from the federal government this year. This was a shock after a couple decades of consistency on this front. You can give here. Thanks again for your prayer and support.
