John and his wife Sue are wonderful people. When you talk with them it feels like you're talking to an uncle and aunt who love you, are wise, and want what's best for you. It was extremely refreshing for my wife and I to share with them our struggles, our dreams, and to have them affirm that which was good, and to provide guidance on the areas we needed help. As nervous as we were to first reach out to them, that is how excited we are to now meet with them. Not only to receive their wisdom, but also just to fellowship with them and find out how they are doing. I highly recommend their coaching.
Executive Pastor Luke Stapleton
“The therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel.” That is part of a reading that is shared at every meeting of Narcotics Anonymous, a fellowship and a program for those who have a drug problem, or who think they might have a drug problem.
As I muse over those words, I realize how the same sentiment can be applied to almost anything. That is most clear when it comes to those in vocational ministry. “The therapeutic value of one minister/pastor/worker helping another is without parallel.” Enter John Smith. John has labored on the front lines of ministry his entire adult life. He knows the ins and outs, the ups and downs, and most importantly, he knows the fatigue and frustration that so often accompanies ministry. That’s a good start.
Now couple that with incredible wisdom, compassion, and the ability to articulate real-life solutions and recommendations, and you have John. That he genuinely loves those who often feel as if their labor is in vain, is immediately apparent. John has that rare ability to make you feel as if all he cares about is you, while at the same time he probes and questions in such a way as to ferret out the real issues, the real problems, and then offer wise and strategic solutions. Talk about “value!”
As if that were not enough, John also brings a “joie de vivre” to relationships that is compelling and contagious. Far from a “grave and serious” counselor, John overflows with the joy of the Lord. He is just fun to be around! While my own experience with John is far too great to summarize here, suffice it to say that John has been a true friend, a wise counselor, and an incredible warrior in the fight for The Kingdom and its servant-leaders. Without reservation, I would recommend John to anyone who is struggling in ministry, anyone who is looking for practical solutions, and anyone who needs a warm shoulder to cry on and strong arms to help bear them up. The Kingdom of God is advancing and the glory of Jesus Christ is triumphing through his faithful efforts.
Pastor Dave Guerrin
I am filled with Joy to tell you about the real John Smith that I know! I met John while volunteering at PRC (Pregnancy Resource Center). I personally have been volunteering and serving the communities and churches for many years.
There is a real thing called betrayal trauma. Whether this comes from your childhood, home life, community or church. If you haven't experienced it. Hallelujah! Yet reality is at some time you will. Whether or not you recognize it or admit it.
Lately in the past few years, social media is doing everything it can to divide us and blame others for choices. Choices have consequences of it from our own or the choices others have made. Our job is to learn the healthiest way to respond to the circumstances at hand. Will people see Jesus in us as we react to the things that have been said, done or happened to us or our loved ones? Are we going to be a victim or victor? Will we be bitter or better? Eyes are watching us. I say all of this because we all have junk buried because we don't want to feel the pain or emotions of what our circumstances may have been or are in the process of going through. We are not meant to go through our junk alone.
John is one of the best listeners I know. He comes beside you and listens. He asks great questions. As you answer, you realize you are answering your own questions and processing your emotions and thoughts. In a very healthy Christ centered way. You see God never lets us down. People let us down.
John has great one-liners that stick with you forever. You even catch yourself sharing with others those one-liners and the tools he has shared with you to help others process and be accountable for themselves.
John is humble and a gentle giant with a Smile so BIG you immediately feel safe. He will be your biggest fan and biggest supporter as you process and learn to dream again. Learn to trust again. And know healthy boundaries. John weeps with you and celebrates with you.
He is discerning and honors his wife with decisions. It has blessed my husband and I dearly to know John and Sue. You would be surprised to know what they know because of what they have gone through. Eight years later and we are still learning.
Humble, Trustworthy, Honest, Genuine, Compassionate, Empathetic, Discerning and True. He's not like others. He's outside the box and biblically sound to Truth and honoring the Father with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is what you see and what he says. A rare gem these days. My husband and I both highly recommend him to those we meet that need Hope and Encouragement when they are undone, numb, confused, and burnt out.
Please pray and Trust Abba Father to lead you to reach out and take a leap of Faith. Let your Light be restored once again. Father God sees you and hears you. And so does John.
We are to be the hands and feet of Christ. Making one body. We are human and broken. We wouldn't need a Savior if we were perfect. So, walk in humility, reach out and start believing again.
With Joy and Gratitude,
Angela Denison
We praise God for servants like John, a man sold out to serve the King and His people. For the years that I have known John, I have had the privilege to see his compassionate leadership to his colleagues and the willingness to shepherd them any time, any place and whatever is necessary to sacrifice for others. In my case, a Hispanic minister, even with the language barrier, always he was available to help me, to counsel me and walk an extra mile with me. May God keep using John for the glory of God and the blessings of God’s children…to God be the glory!!!
Pastor Lorenzo Miguel
Entering full time ministry in my late 30s was a huge life change. I answered the call to vocational ministry with confidence that God would provide. God has provided in so many ways. An answer to prayer was John Smith. I had prayed for a godly mentor that would be able to lead me through the issues that would surely arise as well as help navigate the change in pace for my family. John's life experience and godly wisdom has been a blessing to me. I am grateful for the shepherding I have received both personally and for ministry.
Executive Pastor Matt Stitt
It was 12:00 noon on a Wednesday afternoon. Mid-day bible study had just started when two detectives walked in the church with badges around their necks. Needless to say, that was the shortest bible study I ever facilitated in my life. Immediately after bible study, the detectives wanted to talk to me in my office. They proceeded to tell me about how one of the members of our church had been murdered.
It took me some time to wrap my head around this information that was just told to me; especially after I had just talked to the victim 2 days prior. I would later find out that she was murdered just a few hours after I talked to her, and the killer was also a member of our church and sitting in the office with me and the detectives that Wednesday afternoon. He was the one who called the police. He was the one who brought the detectives to the church to talk to me.
This was the first time I had ever experienced anything like this in my entire life. I, as the senior pastor, handled the press, the news media, all interviews, and ministerial care. While sitting in my office trying to make sense of all of this and wondering how to handle this tragedy, I began to pray to God for insight and wisdom. That is when I met John Smith. That day I received an email saying “My name is John Smith and I just read about the incident in your church in the paper. I used to pastor on Long Island New York, and I had a similar incident happen in that church. I would love to meet with you and have a conversation.”
John and I talked for a few hours that day and he shared with me a lot of wisdom and insight on how to handle matters of that sort. Also, he began to share with me information about PastorCare West Michigan and all the services that it provided. In this world that we live in, PastorCare West Michigan is a very necessary tool of ministry engagement for all pastors. John Smith travels around the country and throughout the state of Michigan preaching and teaching the word of God. Also, he masters the art of ministering to hurting and injured pastors who have experienced ministerial trauma. John is a skillful counselor, coach, and mentor discerning with the heart of God. PastorCare West Michigan is committed to empowering men and women to reach their full potential and calling in Christ.
Dr. James C. Stokes, Senior Pastor
I am very thankful for the ministry of PastorCare. I had never gone to any kind of counseling before. I was at the end of my sanity for dealing with a long toxic mess of a problem in my church. I had even approached our elders and denomination for guidance and assistance. Nothing. Finally, a friend told me about PastorCare. I had two sessions in a home setting with a wise and caring listening pastor. He pointed out some blind spots and encouraged me to be proactive. I had been passive on this for years. His direction led to a clear decision and ultimately the weight/burden lifted giving way to freedom, relief, and the experience of God’s kindness in walking with me through these past months. Thank you, Pastor John. I am so very grateful for your role in helping me process and walk through this challenge—one of the toughest trials in my life and career.
Pastor Fred DeYoung
I came to John at a time of great transition in both my personal and ministry lives looking for wise counsel and a listening ear from an experienced minister. John is just that. He has pastored many and lived through his own struggles and transitions and used that experience to counsel me well. And not just counsel me, but pastor me. He prayed for me diligently and cared for my soul, always bringing our conversation back to God’s goodness and his will for my life. Practically-speaking, John was a neutral sounding board, able to consider my experience from a variety of different perspectives and help me understand those perspectives, as well. I’m incredibly thankful for his servant’s heart and his wisdom. I’m incredibly grateful for his counsel.
Rev. Robert Hocutt
John has a true calling to help the hurting and give guidance to the recovering. During my times of crisis his counsel was absolutely priceless, and his loving, steady countenance combined with the truth of the Gospel continued to help me grow stronger and focused. Thank you, John.
Business Owner Andy Ponstein
John has been a wonderful friend to me. As a pastor and church planter, the burden of leadership can be heavy. I have really appreciated the way John has come alongside me. He is wise, discerning, and has a heart of gold that is in tune with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Noah Filipiak
My wife Pamela and I were introduced to John at PastorCare in early 2017 through a mutual friend. Our circumstance was somewhat unique as I had been in a career in law enforcement for over 15 years at the time we met. I had also been in leadership at our church community for several years. Our previous pastor suddenly passed away leaving a hole in the leadership within the community. To fill the vacancy of not having a full-time pastor, we as Elders shared the responsibility of the weekly teachings within the community. As time went on, I had the opportunity to leave the career I loved and worked so passionately in for so long and begin a new chapter in full time ministry as the full-time pastor.
The struggle with this decision was weighing heavily on both Pamela and me as we both perceived my role as a police officer as a ministry as well. It was a career that had supported our family of six and I loved going into work every day with the opportunity to be a part of bringing Kingdom principles into the world through that role. On the other hand, I also thoroughly enjoyed studying the word of God and teaching what I learned through that study to the community we were a part of. I was just as passionate about that ministry as I was about my career in law enforcement. This was a very difficult and weighty decision that was going to affect not only myself, but my spouse and our four children in a significant way. Our heart's desire was to make the right decision and pursue the direction God "wanted" us to go. After many months of prayer and seeking God's face in this decision, Pamela and I felt we were not experiencing any clarity at all in which direction to go. This is when we were introduced to John Smith at PastorCare.
Pamela, myself and John met in his office for several hours. John did what he does best, listened! He listened to our situation, our struggle in making this decision, our struggle in a lack of clarity in knowing which direction God "desired" or "wanted" us to go in. Were we missing something? Were we not listening or hearing God in what direction he might be leading us to go in? We were so intent on knowing that we had to choose one of the options and expressed fear in what might happen if we make the wrong choice and not being in God's will for us. After several hours of us pouring out our hearts to John and our desire to make the "right" choice, John gave us some of the most valuable advice Pamela and I ever received.
John challenged us in our perception that we had to make the "right" decision and if we didn't, we would be outside of God's will as we expressed a degree of guilt about possibly making the wrong decision. In that challenge, John made us aware that God's will is not always just one small tiny dot, and that if we are not exactly on that small tiny dot by making the "right" decision, we could not possibly be inside of God's will. God has given us free will, and in that, we may have several choices at any given point in our lives where no matter what choice we make, we can still be inside of God's will. Pursuing the Kingdom of God here in this present world as a police officer, or pursuing the Kingdom of God here as a full-time pastor can both be inside of God's will for His Kingdom. In John's challenge to us, we were able to see that God is much bigger than either of these choices, He is about His Kingdom, and He partners with us, His children, to be a part of bringing the principles of that Kingdom to this world in order to glorify Him and His son, Jesus Christ. We experienced freedom in understanding that no matter what choice we made, we were not making a possible "wrong" choice that would bring guilt upon us if we made it. He challenged us in that whatever decision we made, God is big enough to fill in the gap of whatever direction we chose not to pursue. This was humbling, and freeing at the same time.
Pamela and I ultimately came to the conclusion that I would stay in my career as a police officer, and continue to pursue God's Kingdom in that role. God has been so faithful to us in that decision, both in respect to my role in law enforcement and to the church community we were a part of at that time.
John, through his role at PastorCare was such a blessing for our family. There is no doubt that God has used him and the giftings that he has to give wisdom, perspective, support, and so much more to individuals who are pursing God's Kingdom here in this present world in many different capacities.
Pamela and I have been so grateful to God for connecting us with John and PastorCare and pray that He uses this ministry in His Kingdom to provide the support many in pastoral leadership need.
Blessings, Michael and Pamela