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home | how did your church get here? Our Founding Pastoral Family |
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In these times of
instability and rapid change, Caring Community has been
blessed with the same pastoral leadership for over 22
years. From our inception Pastor Steve and Diana Shafe have
provided vision and motivation which has enabled us to keep
moving forward. When the Shafe’s moved to Albion in January
of 1981 with their two young daughters, Nichole and Jessica,
they expected to get the church started, establish
themselves personally and professionally, then move on to a
more appealing or challenging ministry assignment. They
expected all of this to take about five years. With each
passing year new challenges have arisen to keep them growing
and stretching. While the passing of time and building of
friendships has made working in Albion at the Caring
Community Church the most appealing ministry assignment that
they could imagine. Steve and Diana are
highschool sweethearts from Harper Creek Schools in Battle
Creek. He was on the Football and Basketball teams while
she was a Cheerleader. Is that corny or what? They have
been married for 27 years and know the peaks and valleys
that must be conquered to build a successful, enduring
marriage. Much of the depth of their ministry flows from
obstacles they have overcome in their personal lives. They
are privileged to be the parents of two adult daughters:
Nichole (Garcia) living in Jackson, MI with her husband,
Serge and son Owen; Jessica (Barber) living in Battle Creek,
MI with her husband, Jason. Throughout the years of getting
the church started Nichole and Jessica played a vital role
in keeping Mom and Dad sensitive to the needs that all
families face and the importance of great children’s
programming. Now, Owen is trying to fill that same role for
Grammy & Gramps. Even though Steve and Diana are at a much
different place in their life than when they started the
Church, they still desire to maintain a “family friendly”
approach to ministry within the context of the local church.
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