Spring 2025 Incoming Students
I first became acquainted with Faith Chapel (Cranston, Rhode Island) when Pastor Mike Natale was invited by a mutual friend to join the community music ministry I was leading at my former congregation. My wife and I were quickly adopted by Pastor Mike in his characteristically caring manner. His pastoral care and friendship have been a blessing to us beyond words.
I had been praying for Faith Chapel since Pastor Natale’s departure, so I was pleased to hear that a candidate was about to be called to their pastorate. When I was asked to fill the pulpit for a Sunday last July, I was deeply saddened to hear that the candidate felt called in a different direction.
During those preceding months, I had been in a period of significant reflection myself, as our previous congregation was moving in an increasingly unbiblical direction. Never would I have connected the dots between my prayers for Faith Chapel and my prayers over my own life. After that service, one of the elders asked whether my wife and I might consider serving Faith Chapel on an interim basis for six months. I didn’t know what to say. At that point, I had just accepted a university position, was moving into the final semester of a degree program, and had planned to spend the next year deep in research for a dissertation in music. I told him that we would pray about it.
I didn’t sleep for the next two nights.
When I first met my wife, I told her I would likely be heading to seminary and asked if she would be comfortable as a pastor’s wife someday. Meanwhile, our music ministry has been wonderfully fruitful. Now, with an actual, local call on the table, the sense of the Lord’s nudging was too strong to ignore.
After the second sleepless night, my wife woke up around 2:00 a.m., turned on the light, and said, “What can I say to get you to sleep?” I asked, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” We talked for hours about the possibility of a call, the implications for our family, present and future, and the opportunity to serve as a partnership in ministry―something that, looking back, I think we have been doing for some time now.
I give thanks that, since stepping into the pulpit of Faith Chapel in September, all other work has paled in comparison to the great privilege of walking alongside, leading, and serving in ministry with and for the members of this congregation.
My name is Tony Schmid. I currently live in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, serving as lay pastor at Salem Lutheran Brethren Church. I was issued a call to serve as lay pastor last July and was accepted into seminary in August.
I have lived in the Grand Rapids area for the past 16 years. Before that I lived in Park Rapids, MN. After high school I moved to Grand Rapids where I obtained an AA degree in elementary education. Then I went to Hibbing Community College in Hibbing, Minnesota, enrolled in the law enforcement program, and obtained a diploma.
I suffered a permanent back injury during school there and was unable to complete the Peace Officer Standards Testing. Since then, I have worked many different odd jobs. I am currently a school bus driver for a local school district and the lay pastor at Salem. I have been married for three years to my wife Angie, who works in a restaurant in town. I have an 11-year-old stepdaughter Emily, who is in 6th grade at the local middle school and keeps us busy. My hobbies include singing and theater, where I have directed plays, taken on lead roles, and done everything in between.
I was raised as a Missouri Synod Lutheran. One day my wife approached me and asked why I hadn’t gone to seminary yet. It was then that I realized what the Lord was calling me to do. I researched and found the Lutheran Brethren, and felt the Lord pushing me here to seminary. I am so thankful and grateful for all the support I have received from everyone here. Thanks be to God!
While searching for a pastor for our church, Community in Christ in Arvada, Colorado, the characteristics they described seemed very similar to my family. I was on the call committee for 2023-2024, and our pastoral search was nationwide within the CLB. At first it wasn’t obvious to me, but my wife said, “So, they are looking for you.” I replied, “No, someone like us.” But it felt as though God was calling me. It was constantly on my mind.
A year later, feeling restless, my wife and I visited a church three miles from our home. During the service, there was a call to stand if you needed more faith. I stood, whispered to my wife, “We all need more faith,” and I suddenly felt a man’s hand on my shoulder as the pastor prayed for us.
On June 2, 2024, a dove appeared in our backyard (something I had never seen in our area) and made me think. Then, on July 11, I met with Pastor Gary Witkop, longtime pastor of Community in Christ, who asked if I’d ever thought about becoming a pastor. I said, “Yes, when I was young.” I felt unworthy, but agreed to think and pray about it. My wife, who had always felt she might marry a pastor, supported me in this journey. Even my mom said, “James, that’s amazing!”
By the grace of God, I started seminary at the beginning of January. I also attended the Exponential Conference in March, connecting with other CLB church leaders who attended, and learning from the speakers and seminars at the conference. I have already put my other businesses aside, but I am trusting that God will use my past experiences to build his church.