Parkview s new pastor has come home
Steve Schroeder wasn't born here but lived in Hillsboro for seven years. He graduated from college and was an admission counselor at Tabor, bought his first home, and met and married his wife Penni here.
After completing his degree in contemporary church ministries in 1979, Schroeder also volunteered as a youth sponsor at Parkview Church.
Not only does Schroeder have a connection to Hillsboro, but the Schroeders have a host of relatives here and his great-grandfather, John J. Friesen, was the pastor at Parkview Church from 1910 to 1937.
Schroeder grew up on the West Coast where his father was a pastor. A youth pastor at his church inspired Schroeder to the ministry. He loved what he did and presented the Bible so that the kids could understand. It made Schroeder want to do the same thing.
After graduating from Tabor and working as an admissions counselor, Schroeder moved to Visalia, Calif., where he worked as a youth pastor for five years.
He then attended seminary at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif., working part-time at Bethany Mennonite Brethren Church as youth pastor.
While in seminary, Schroeder became friends with Tim Sullivan. They both graduated in 1990, Schroeder with a master of divinity degree in pastoral ministries.
Following a calling from the Lord, Schroeder moved to Bellingham, Wash., where he planted a seed church.
Bellingham, with a population of around 80,000, is about 90 miles north of Seattle.
The Schroeder family lived in Bellington for 14 and one-half years while the church grew from its infancy and became strong.
"I wasn't looking for a new job," said Schroeder. "It was very hard to leave."
Schroeder received a call in June from the Parkview pastoral search committee. He and wife Penni prayed about the position, unsure if this was something they wanted.
In July at a conference, Schroeder ran into Sullivan and some Parkview congregation members who asked him to send a resume, which he did.
In August, they were in Hillsboro for a wedding, and Schroeder had an informal interview with the search committee. After a formal phone interview, Schroeder sensed God was calling them to come to Hillsboro.
"This was a God thing," said Schroeder.
In October the family came for a visit and met with about 40 Parkview members at a dinner meeting. There was a vote, and Schoeder was asked to return to candidate.
When they returned to Bellingham and shared this with their church, there were some hurt feelings.
"People were broken," said Schroeder. "Some of them were mad. We had some rich relationships. They felt abandoned by their pastor."
On Halloween weekend the Schroeders were in Hillsboro. They met with lots of groups, went to business meetings, and Scroeder preached on Sunday. Following the weekend, the church voted to call the pastor to come to Parkview.
When they returned to Bellinham, the Schroeder family put their home on the market and started making preparations to move. The day they unloaded their trucks in Hillsboro a buyer made an offer on their house.
The Schroeder's have three children. Caleb is 18, and a freshman at Azusa-Pacific University in Calif., Carrie is a junior at Hillsboro High School, and Heidi is in eighth grade at Hillsboro Middle School.
The Schroeder family arrived in Hillsboro Dec. 28, and according to Schroeder, the family has been warmly welcomed.
Parkview youth managed to welcome the Schroeders even before they arrived. The youth pastor had the kids make a video welcoming them and introducing themselves to Caleb, Carrie, Heidi.
According to Schroeder, last week when the power was out, some girls walked over to the house. They spent the day, had lunch, and played games.
Although they were apprehensive at first, Schroeder says the kids are settling in to Hillsboro.
The move was easier for Schroeder and his wife.
"Coming in I already knew a good number of people," said Schroeder. "I had some connections."
The family bought a house on west B Street.
Schroeder sees some challenges ahead in his work at Parkview. The congregation here is larger than at his church in Bellingham. Parkview has an average of around 375 people at Sunday service. He also expects to have a job ahead of him learning all the family connections of his congregation.
His largest challenge as Schroeder sees it is the same here as anywhere.
"How to motivate people to change in a community where stability is a high value," he said. "In general, I've grown to understand, I have to be open to change all the time. As soon as you stop changing, you stop growing, and if you stop growing, you start dying. That can happen to a church too."
Schroeder doesn't know what changes are ahead for Parkview, but expects that working to be modern in order to attract the next generation will be a part of it.
He says the need to stay contemporary while not neglecting the traditional will be one of the challenges he faces, especially with music.
Coming to Hillsboro and Parkview Church won't only affect Parkview, according to Schroeder
"I have a sense in my heart that part of this move is not just for Parkview but me. To grow in this setting," he said.
For most of the time he was pastor at Bellingham, Schroeder was the authority on the Bible with few or none of the congregation having the biblical knowledge he has.
"Here there are pastors and college Bible professors in the congregation," said Schroeder. "People I can learn from. I feel I'll have some mentors here that I didn't have in Bellingham."
As pastor of Hillsboro Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church, Schroeder is enthusiastic.
"I'm excited because of my sense that God has sent me here," he said. "So whatever is ahead, I'm ready to take it on. With God's help we can do it."
