My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings and peace be to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church!

It is with great humility, after prayerful consideration and seeking godly counsel from brothers and sisters in Christ, that I accept the Divine Call extended to me to serve Mount Olive Lutheran Church and Preschool as Pastor.

I am looking forward to beginning my service in the Lord’s name among you. While my exit plan from Redeemer is still in the formation stages, it is my plan to preach my final sermon at Redeemer on April 26 and be peacefully released from my Call to serve Redeemer, effective either May 24 or May 31. I will be consulting with President Woodford to schedule my installation date for the soonest possible Sunday after my arrival in Anoka in June.

As we begin working together, I look forward to reflecting the love of Jesus with you to all we encounter on a daily basis as we, together, engage in our Lord’s mission to reach the lost and strengthen the saved. As we join Jesus on His mission to Anoka and the surrounding communities we are trusting in Him and the influence of the Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us, and direct us where we may serve Him best.

Please keep the people of Redeemer in your prayers. While I am confident the Lord will raise up the lay leadership Redeemer needs at this time, as well as the pastoral leadership of an interim pastor, this is a difficult time for your brothers and sisters in Christ as they are seeing both their pastor and their school’s principal depart for other fields of service. We know that our gracious God always has a plan, and we trust that He will reveal His plan for Redeemer just has He has revealed His plan for Mount Olive.

In the meantime, I am keeping all of you in my daily prayers as I transition from my service at Redeemer to my service among you. I look forward to meeting all of you, learning your stories of faith, and finding how we may best serve the Lord together.

May Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church, be with you always!

In His service,
Rev. Paul Frerichs, Pastor-elect,
Mount Olive Lutheran Church

As a Mount Olive Family, may we pray this together:

Gracious, Loving and Faithful God,

With excited hearts, we come before You with gratitude for the gift of Pastor Frerichs who has answered Your call to shepherd our congregation. We are filled with joy for his willingness to serve, guide, and lead us on our journey of faith. We are grateful for the wisdom, compassion, and dedication that have already blessed us, and for the vision and hope that we trust he will bring to our church family. Thank you for preparing his heart and for bringing us together according to Your Divine purpose. Bless Pastor Frerichs with strength, encouragement, and discernment as he prepares to lead us. May Your Holy Spirit surround and uplift him each day.

In our elation we are mindful of our brothers and sisters at Redeemer and the multitude of emotions they are experiencing because of this decision. We are confident that You are already there and ahead of their need as a congregation. Just as you have provided for us in this season, we pray and have faith that You will bring them assurance of the same. Your timing is without flaw, and we thank and trust in Your promises.

Lord, we thank You for our call committee, our church and school staff and leadership that have devoted immeasurable time, prayer and understanding to this call process. Their efforts have been successful and honored through Your Sovereign plan. We are grateful for our church family and their dedication to our mission of Living to Love People to Christ. Please continue to prepare us for this new chapter in our church’s life. Give us humility and grace as we welcome Pastor Frerichs and his wife Debbie. Let us be open and ready to embrace the new and exciting changes that he will bring. Let it renew us and grow us as a church family. Help us as a congregation, to support, love, and pray for him, working together in unity and faith to serve Your mission for us.

Thank You, Lord, for this new chapter in our church’s life. With humble hearts, we trust in Your guidance and celebrate Your faithfulness.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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