Old Mission, New Ministry

Susan LaClear grew up in a Christian home in Holland, Mich., and attended Christian schools from kindergarten through high school. But she never understood God’s call on her life until she went to a secular college, the University of Michigan.

While studying there as a music major, she says that God took hold of her heart and changed her life during a mission trip to Haiti. The mission experience, LaClear says, left her “so consumed with God and ministry that there was no turning back.” 

She returned to Haiti for three years, then completed her undergraduate degree at Michigan State University, spent two years at an Assemblies of God Bible college, and took a job as minister of music for a church in Jackson, Mich.

Eight years later, in 2005, LaClear’s step-father in New Mexico told her about Maranatha CRC, a Farmington, New Mexico, Navajo mission church that had been struggling spiritually and financially without a pastor for three years.

“I certainly wasn’t a very viable candidate,” says LaClear. “I had no divinity degree, little experience in preaching, and we were very hesitant about moving to New Mexico. Their classis hadn’t even approved ordination for women yet.”

But in spite of the risks for the congregation and LaClear’s family, everyone stepped out in faith and answered God’s call – just as her great-grandfather, L.P. Brink had done when he established the tiny mission 70 years before. She now serves as pastor of the church.

Today, this old mission is alive with new ministry, thanks in part to a mission-focused church grant from Home Missions. A dynamic worship team integrates contemporary songs, hymns, and Navajo language into the worship experience. An influx of new families continues to revitalize the aging congregation. LaClear’s husband, Michael, works with the youth, and a team of servant-hearted members leads a vibrant children’s ministry.

The church is also recruiting and training new leaders through the new Home Missions-funded Leadership Development Network. 

“We’re being transformed from a spiritually tired congregation into an energetic, outward-reaching faith community,” says LaClear. “We emphasize prayer, and we see the results every day. God is renewing people’s lives.”