‘If God’s in It, I’ll Do It!’

Cal Rychener is senior pastor at Northwoods Community Church. He and his wife and children came to Peoria from Indiana in March of 1990 so he could pastor the newly formed congregation. The first service was held March 25th at the Christian Center in Peoria. A second morning service was added six months later. Average weekly attendance that first year was 282. In 2008 it was 3,516. Cal can tell you those numbers and many more if you ask, but he doesn’t specialize in numbers. He specializes in people and in helping them find a relationship with Jesus Christ.

“This is what I was created to do,” he says with conviction. “The heart of our mission has always been to help others find a relationship with Jesus. We are a seeker-targeted church. Anyone investigating Christianity will feel comfortable here. And we want you here.”

Church has always been a part of Cal’s life. The seventh of ten children, he grew up believing the Bible was God’s Word and he and his family were faithful in attending church. But he said his family didn’t talk about spiritual things at home too much. “We didn’t have vibrant faith discussions in our home and yet we all knew that our faith in Christ was important and our goal should be to honor him in the way we lived our lives.” Cal made a personal faith commitment at age nine and he says he can remember vividly how proud his dad was at his baptism. “He had tears in his eyes. I saw his heart,” he says of his Dad.

As Cal moved into his teen years, a new youth pastor, Roger Andrews, was hired at Cal’s church and became a special mentor in Cal’s life.

Basketball was a great love, and he played in high school and college. He seriously considered a coach’s life, but other considerations started crowding out that thought. “I’ve had a handful of defining moments where God has let me know very clearly what he wanted me to do. One of the most significant moments occurred when I was 17-years-old. I was a high school senior and really wrestling and praying about what I should do with my life. During a Sunday morning worship service, God clearly spoke to me and called me to give my life to preaching the gospel. That day I nailed it down and said, ‘God, if this is what you’re calling me to do, I’ll do it.’ That’s always been something of my motto: If God’s in it, I’ll do it! That day I began my journey towards preaching the gospel, not because I decided to do it, but because God chose me to do it.”

He’s candid about the difficulties that can ensue when following God’s call. He and his wife Susan have been married 28 years and are the parents of five children. Their middle child, Christopher, was born in November of 1989, and lived just ten hours. “So many difficulties were overcome with his birth. We came all that way and were sure he would live, but he didn’t. It was very, very painful when he died. And we discovered what it meant to be disappointed with God.”

Shortly after that, he and his wife made the decision to move to Peoria so he could pastor the newly formed church. “I went against everything I tell people about how to make a decision,” he says in referring to their personal decision making process on this move, but again, “I knew God was in it, so I felt I had to do it. Besides, I knew I was wired to lead a different type of church.” This new church was that opportunity. “In order to move to something different, you have to die to what is,” he believes. And he gave up the security of leading the church in Indiana to come to Peoria.

The myriad details, developments, and increases in membership in Northwoods Community Church these past 18 years indicate much success. But Cal, like many followers of Jesus, defines success differently than others. “We want disciples, not just decisions,” he says, indicating the real “success” is in becoming a true follower, a disciple. It’s an ongoing process, not just a one-time decision. He says his own convictions stem “from the vision God put on my heart.”

He has seen the church grow and change. “We are much more participatory now. It’s not just about a creative presentation. We want you to participate. We believe we can grow the believer while still being sensitive to the seeker. We want to take people deeper. As followers of Christ, we should grow, not just stay the same. And growing should lead to visible changes in our lives.”

In addition to being a pastor, Cal is a family man, and he’s not unaware of the challenges his children encounter with having a dad who’s also a minister. “All of our kids love our church, and we have told them, ‘Mom and I never want you to feel like you have to be perfect in order to make Dad look good as a pastor. We don’t uphold the standards we uphold because we lead a large church or because dad’s a pastor, but because we’re followers of Jesus. We don’t expect you to be perfect and we’re not going to let other people make you feel like you have to be perfect.’” He says open communication is very important in his family and it has been very rewarding to have relationships with his children where they can about anything. Cal says, “It feels so good to know that my kids can talk with Susan and me about their struggles, their temptations, their failures, their victories and will often ask us to pray with them. And it really feels great to see each of my kids fleshing out their own faith walk with Christ today and none of them resent having grown up as PK’s (pastor’s kids).”

The numerous programs and worship services with their increasing attendance give credence to the fact that people are learning about Jesus and are making the commitment of discipleship. Cal is pleased with the results, but always gives credit to God. “God has given me the ability to be with people who are seeking. If the word of God is made available, the seekers will come.”

Cal Rychener continues working to make God’s word available to all.

For information on Northwoods Community Church, please call (309) 243-1550 or visit www.nwoods.org