Craig Neuschwanger
Outreach Pastor
If you'd like to download Pastor Craig's sermon from September 26, 2011, click here (24.2 MB mp3).
My wife Dionne and I are blessed to have the opportunity to serve at Columbine Hills Church of the Nazarene.
I was born in Oklahoma City, in 1970. My parents were attending Bethany Nazarene College. When I was born, I did not have a breast-bone, and my chest collapsed every time I took a breath. The doctors told my parents that I would never be able to do physical activity, and that I would have to have steel plates inserted in my chest every six months until I was an adult. However, God had a different plan. Thanks to the earnest prayers of a lot of people, God healed me!
I came to know Christ as my Savior in March of 1985. I attended San Diego First Church of the Nazarene at the time. To be perfectly honest, I went to the youth group because they played basketball every Wednesday night. As I made friends in the group, I started going to more events. Then came the weekend that changed my life. The youth group had a retreat in Julian, California. On Friday night, there was a singer/evangelist who talked about how Jesus can be your best friend. I had always heard the Gospel from the approach of "you need to be saved, or you will burn in hell". The idea of having a personal relationship with Jesus touched my heart. I did not get any sleep that night. At sunrise I went for a walk and climbed on top of a large rock. I prayed the sinners prayer, and asked Jesus into my heart as my Lord, Savior, and friend. I am thankful for my relationship with Christ. He is truly my best friend.
In August of 1991, I experienced a second definite work of grace in my life. Dr. Jim Diehl preached a sermon on entire sanctification, and the blessing that comes from fully surrendering your free will back to God. The following day in the cafeteria at the University of Colorado at Denver, I let go of all aspects of my life and put my trust completely in God. From that time to now, I’ve known that I have a calling on my life.
During college, I taught pre-kindergarten Sunday school at Denver First Church of the Nazarene. That was the most rewarding ministry experience of my life. In that setting, I was always the second teacher. I was the person who took the kids who did not want to be there, and I made it my job to help them become a part of the group. It was awesome to take them from crying to playing with the other kids and becoming a part of the group. Unfortunately, I had to walk away from that ministry when I started traveling extensively for work.
For the last twenty years, my ministry has been to improve the quality of worship through the use of technology. I have been blessed to be able to help many church building committees through the exhausting process of designing a state-of-the-art worship facility.
I am currently enrolled at Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs. I have finished about half of the course work towards a degree in Pastoral Leadership. As the outreach pastor at Columbine Hills, I plan on pursuing four definite areas of ministry. First, I plan on preaching in nursing homes to shut-ins. These saints of God have often been forgotten by the church, and I hope to make an impact on their lives. Second, I want to be a chaplain. I want to spend my days reaching out to people in crisis. God has always been faithful to answer my prayers, and I know that I can be a comfort to people when their world is upside-down. Through the loss of my daughter, God has put a burden on my heart to help people survive the moment. During the darkest days of my life, I felt God's mercy and grace at every turn. Third, I want to do short-term missions. I want to be a part of Work and Witness groups. Fourth, I plan to organize concerts and events at the church to reach our community for Christ. However, I am open to God's will for my life wherever He leads me. Like Isaiah, I am saying, "Here am I Lord, send me."
