Rev. Frank Baresel was approved at the congregational meeting on Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010 as the designated pastor at Lake Forest Park Presbyterian Church.
 
Rev. Frank and his wife Teresa will be moving to the area soon. Congrats!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FROM REV. BARESEL

I was born in Toronto, Canada, but my folks moved to Southern California when I was three. I made the journey in the back of a VW bug tucked in the space behind the back seat. I cut my teeth on Baptist hymnals and count it a privilege that I grew up in a Christian home. I came to personal faith in Christ in the fourth grade although I never remember a time when I didn’t feel connected to Christ and His church. I experienced a “Leave it to Beaver” childhood (seriously dating myself here!), and had the opportunity to excel in a few non-Southern California sports such as short-track speed skating, ski racing on the Junior circuit, and I took up fencing in college (swords, not bricks!). Currently I’m an avid cyclist, and my favorite sports season is Fall when college football reigns on Saturday. My wife, Teresa, is a bigger football fan than me (guys are now green with envy), and loud cheering (and coaching) is usually coming from her side of the room. We enjoy parenting 7 children, though four of them are married and scattered across the globe. Of the three remaining, two are in college, and the youngest is a junior in high school. Teresa and I enjoy cooking for friends, exploring new places, gardening (Teresa is a master gardener—I am a master mower), the symphony, and photography (Teresa is a professional photographer). We enjoy serving together in local mission opportunities, and have enjoyed mission trips abroad (Panama, Nicaragua). The perfect start to the day is a great cup of coffee with toasted sourdough bread and a touch of butter.

MINISTRY EXPERIENCE

It’s been my joy to serve in a wide variety of ministry opportunities. Yet the most formative experience came prior to any professional ministry. I was invited to lead a home Bible study by a group of co-workers who simply wanted to gather regularly around God’s word. What began as a handful of people in a living room, God grew into a group of around 40 folks from a number of cities. We met at different places every week, but in the space of a year and a half, we saw lots of people come to initial faith in Jesus Christ, we saw faith strengthened in others, and we experienced God’s presence. I had tasted ministry, and I longed for more. As God led me through education and provided opportunities to hone skills in volunteer positions, I developed a passion for seeing changed lives—and that has been my goal in ministry as a Christian Education minister, a youth pastor, a discipleship/evangelism pastor, and it remained as I began leading as Head of Staff in the Midwest. For the last ten years I’ve had the privilege of teaching and serving students at a Christian University in Southern California. God has rekindled that passion for changed lives in me as we anticipate coming to join you in ministry. My prayer is that we are drawn deeper into God’s life, to experience the fullness God makes ours in Christ Jesus, and that more and more people in Lake Forest Park and its surrounding communities hear and receive the gospel of Jesus.

Read more about Rev. Frank Baresel.