"Today we discuss the impact of our style of biblical storytelling at Calvary Chapel Cape May, NJ. Can you see immersive storytelling deepening spiritual connectionswithin your church community?"
Discover the transformative power of biblical storytelling as Pastor Teddy — also known as Fred David Kenney, Jr. — from Plays on Word Theater speaks with Pastors Dave Schenk and Mark Christopher aboutthe stirring impact of his recent play at Calvary Chapel in Cape May. Scriptural narratives spring to life in a tale centered around Peter, inviting the congregation into the heart of the Gospel with an unexpected twist: the audience becomes part of the story. This episode peels back the curtain to reveal the spiritual connection and enrichment that arises from such immersive storytelling, where emotions run deep and the lines between stage and pew blur, creating a profound communal experience.
Have you ever felt a surge of emotion during a powerful worship song or while hearing a touching story? We examine the raw emotional journey through a play that captures a woman's struggle and her healing encounter with Jesus. It's not just about acting; it's about the genuine expression of faith and the art of conversation that fosters true presence and connection. Pastor Dave's reflective insight into the importance of being fully engaged with those we interact with extends beyond the theater, offering a lesson in how to enrich our everyday relationships.
Pastor Dave's path to leading Calvary Chapel Cape May has been marked by moments of divine guidance and meaningful relationships, from his salvation in 1991 to the influential mentorshipofPastor Frank Ippolito. This episode is a testament to the power of spousal support, prayer, and the irreplaceable role of the community in our spiritual lives. Join us as we share these inspiring stories and the joy that personal salvationcan bring to one's family life today.
"Today we discuss the impact of our style of biblical storytelling at Calvary Chapel Cape May, NJ. Can you see immersive storytelling deepening spiritual connectionswithin your church community?"
Discover the transformative power of biblical storytelling as Pastor Teddy — also known as Fred David Kenney, Jr. — from Plays on Word Theater speaks with Pastors Dave Schenk and Mark Christopher aboutthe stirring impact of his recent play at Calvary Chapel in Cape May. Scriptural narratives spring to life in a tale centered around Peter, inviting the congregation into the heart of the Gospel with an unexpected twist: the audience becomes part of the story. This episode peels back the curtain to reveal the spiritual connection and enrichment that arises from such immersive storytelling, where emotions run deep and the lines between stage and pew blur, creating a profound communal experience.
Have you ever felt a surge of emotion during a powerful worship song or while hearing a touching story? We examine the raw emotional journey through a play that captures a woman's struggle and her healing encounter with Jesus. It's not just about acting; it's about the genuine expression of faith and the art of conversation that fosters true presence and connection. Pastor Dave's reflective insight into the importance of being fully engaged with those we interact with extends beyond the theater, offering a lesson in how to enrich our everyday relationships.
Pastor Dave's path to leading Calvary Chapel Cape May has been marked by moments of divine guidance and meaningful relationships, from his salvation in 1991 to the influential mentorshipofPastor Frank Ippolito. This episode is a testament to the power of spousal support, prayer, and the irreplaceable role of the community in our spiritual lives. Join us as we share these inspiring stories and the joy that personal salvationcan bring to one's family life today.
A radio is the best To see the interaction of the people and the way they accepted the play and the way they felt about the play, and when I hear them speaking about the play, I said it's very worth it. It's a Bible study all within itself. It's a visual sermon all within itself, but you went from Peter meeting Jesus all the way through. That's basically the gospel. You know, and you did that, you know, and I think that that's important. So you had an entire Bible study in one night. But it was a big name, your big name, your big name.
Speaker 4:
Hello and welcome to Plays on Word Radio, where we discuss, analyze, work and play on the Word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion. Today let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenny Jr, the founder of Plays on Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.
Speaker 3:
So we are here at Calvary Chapel, cape May, new Jersey, pastor Dave and Mark. It sounds like a bad law firm but it's not.
Speaker 1:
Believe us.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, these guys are dear brothers in the Lord and we have been trying to connect for a while to get the play that they just saw, which is the Pete play, the Pete presentation from Plays Hall Word. So just initial thoughts. So to the top of your head, Rabbi, Dave. I love that.
Speaker 2:
I love that. Yeah, it's like that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3:
Initial thoughts.
Speaker 2:
I thought the play was outstanding. You covered the entire gospel, from soup to nuts. I mean it was really, really incredible. You know what I mean and I thoroughly. It was really, really incredible. You know what I mean and I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was informative. You spoke a lot of scripture, you brought a lot of life to scriptures and you gave a feeling and you gave Pete a lot of personality, which I really like, because we all think Peter has a personality of all himself. You know what I mean. We all think that Peter is a unique person. You know, and I think that all of us relate to Peter at one time or another. I was blessed. I was blessed. To put it in a nutshell, I was blessed, amen.
Speaker 5:
And I think that the Holy Spirit, using your creativity and carrying the gospel and your gifts and talents, both you guys really put it alive on the stage for us, with the factual presentation on top of the personal presentation, that move of the Holy Spirit for us.
Speaker 2:
I think the people connected with you. I think that you had something which I think is hard. I think you have a gift where you connect with the people and even your coming down into the congregation, so to speak, and talking to them individually or ringing them and you were there, don't you remember them? And I think that's really good, that you're drawing them in instead of just being people who are sitting there watching. They became participants of a play and they they took oh, you know what I mean and I thought that's important, you know, because the gospels are for that. Amen, that's what the gospel is supposed to do. They're supposed to make us participants, you know. I mean they're supposed to bring us in, because what we're reading is not only history, but we're reading real events, amen, events that change the world. And as we read it and as we hear it, faith comes. By hearing and hearing the word of God, our hearts are changed, and I think you did that very successfully tonight.
Speaker 3:
Thank you, it's always fun because people they start nodding their heads, like when Pete says you remember that field with all the grass when Jesus taught all day, and I see people going um, and then when once they realize it's the feeding of the five thousand, they're like oh wait a minute yeah I've been there, yeah read
Speaker 3:
it yeah, and so that I see people nodding their heads like, oh, that's right, yeah, that's right, I was there. And so there's a personal level the the fourth in theater, the fourth wall or tv. It's rare when somebody breaks the fourth wall, talks to the audience. Very rarely do they break the fourth wall or TV. It's rare when somebody breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience.
Speaker 2:
Very rarely do they break that fourth wall. Very rarely. But every time. I've seen it where they have talked to the audience and brought the audience in. It worked, yes, and you did that extremely successfully. Amen, and that blessed me being brought in. We were part of it. We felt like we were part of the play. One of the crowd that's the key.
Speaker 5:
I was waiting to take home my leftover fish.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, really, I'm still waiting for my leftover fish and bread, come on.
Speaker 5:
I will say it also strengthens our faith to have that presented in such a way that you include us as the congregation, like we're there. We feel like what possibly could have felt like for that moment in You're there. Yeah, you know, we feel like what possibly could have felt like for that moment in space and time.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I had a guy. I had a guy when Jesus raises Lazarus at a play. A few years back he actually he was so into the play that when Jesus said Lazarus, come out, the guy was sitting in his chair and he went like this he looked back.
Speaker 4:
He was like he was so in it. Wow, yeah, he was like he thought lazarus was gonna.
Speaker 3:
He it was, and that was all I could do to not laugh. I was like, wow, he's really, he's in it, amen, yeah. And then I had this past thursday. Uh, I had this guy. I actually went up to him. His wife came and got me. He was blind, 100 blind, and he said the play was incredible. I, I was there, I loved it, I was so in it and I'm like, I'm thinking to myself, I'm like this guy can't even see.
Speaker 4:
How does that even work.
Speaker 3:
I always thought it was important for visual facial expressions. I say this a lot. We have better special effects than sight and sound because we have the Holy Spirit and the human imagination. The Holy Spirit working with the human imagination filling in the gaps. You didn't see the drum set there, Right?
Speaker 5:
No, no, you know that's right.
Speaker 3:
It's like you found yourself there Right and that's a blessing to me. It is a blessing.
Speaker 2:
It is. I've been fortunate enough to sing in various productions and one of the things that we were taught is to not stand there stiff, singing, but, as you're singing, move your hands and you know, and, and that welcomes people in. You know, and that's what you did so successfully. You know, you welcome people into that world and they became the multitude, they became part of the play.
Speaker 3:
Yes, you know, felt that. That's why I was citing sound times ten, in a sense, because people are there, they're part of it, right, they're part of the play Right.
Speaker 2:
And, as you like you said, when you start giving them cues of remember, when, because they've read the word, because they know the word in some sort, they go, they do remember it and it almost sounds like they were there. That's right.
Speaker 4:
Oh, I was there, you know.
Speaker 2:
I remember that you know and it brought forth, and I think it's an excellent tool that the Lord uses to remember scripture and reinforce what happened there. You know and go ahead, I'm sorry.
Speaker 5:
Oh, just going to say you had a couple of our congregants that wanted to fill in the gaps.
Speaker 2:
Yeah right, exactly, yeah, they were eager to help you out.
Speaker 5:
They were ready to fill in the spaces. Oh yes, that was yeah, I usually.
Speaker 3:
I usually work with it, like I did tonight. Oh that's right you were. Yeah, you were there. Yeah, you were there. Yeah, I was.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think it was important to have them. You know what. It takes a lot of effort on your part to allow them to be a part of the play. You know what I mean, because it's so easy in a play, like if you go to a Broadway play, you know they're, you know. You know what it reminded me of. It reminded me of being in an old melodrama theater, where, in the old melodrama theaters, they would come out and they would start talking to the audience and they would start you know what I mean, and it was cool. The audience would become part of the play. And it reminded me of that. You know what I mean, because it was cool. It's a great technique and I love it. I love it. I think it was really good.
Speaker 5:
I thought the the boat looked pretty good yeah, the boat looked real good yeah.
Speaker 3:
I like the boat Really. Yeah, we started putting lights on the boat.
Speaker 5:
That was a good move with the lights on the boat Some kid came up to me.
Speaker 3:
He said are you going to do Noah? And I said son, we need a bigger boat.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we got to have a bigger boat there you go.
Speaker 3:
So did anything stick out? I know I just hit you with a fire hose right now and to ask you about one drop of water, but did anything in the play, particularly, minister, to you, the woman bleeding for 12 years? Uh, I thought you handled that very well.
Speaker 2:
uh, the, the jarius and the woman, yeah, it all takes place in one blip of a gospel. You know what I mean? It's like a one narrative yes, right, you know, and, and you handled it extremely well. Uh, and I've always liked that. I guess that's what stuck out to me. I've always liked that story, those two stories, how they connect, you know, the child being 12 years old, the, the issue of blood for 12 years old, and you can get in the whole government thing with the 12 and things, and then numerical values and stuff. But just a heartfelt thing, and my heart always, always breaks for the woman. Yeah, if I could just touch this robe. And then when he looked at her and said daughter, oh my gosh, that really stuck to me and that's been, I've taught that before, and it's very, very poignant when he says daughter.
Speaker 3:
And then, like you said, it's in the scripture where he calls somebody.
Speaker 2:
I know it's like you said it had been ages since somebody talked to her in that way. She's used to get away from me. You unclean thing, I know, throw stones at her, or you know what I mean. And here's somebody in a gentle voice says, daughter, and your faith made you well. Yeah, your faith healed you. You know that was a me. That was the most poignant part of the play.
Speaker 5:
And that she hadn't been touched or hugged in 12 years. Yeah, yeah. To have no human touch and to be looked at as unclean unclean, get away from me.
Speaker 3:
She was supposed to be social distancing.
Speaker 5:
Yeah, social distancing for a long time and I gotta tell you that you filling up on stage while you were doing that is a touching, touching thing that you could tell your heart is being touched by the times in the scriptures. That comes out across to real. Yeah, I can relate to that on certain music that we played, for example, goodness of God today. I almost was ready to.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, there are times when I'm on the team and when I'm singing, I well up. You can't sing. Yes, it's so poignant and it's so important, it's so beautiful and, yeah, I agree with Mark that you, I think your emotions and I watched you and I saw you and I was and you weren't acting Right right right, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:
You weren't acting. You were in the moment.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, you know what I mean and you felt what you were trying to exhibit and show to the people and that comes across.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, it does People can relate to that?
Speaker 2:
Yes, People can relate to that the nose running. Oh, yeah, yeah exactly, exactly the nose.
Speaker 5:
And the eyes.
Speaker 2:
You know the whole schmear, you know, and people relate to that because that's how we relate to Jesus. Yes, and we relate because Jesus was a real person, yep, and he was tender and you know, and he was loving and you know. And I love the fact that when you said, oh, you have little faith, I always teach you know. When Jesus said of you little faith, he smiled.
Speaker 3:
He smiled yeah, yeah, teach that. When Jesus said of you little faith, he smiled. It was never a rebuke it was not a rebuke.
Speaker 2:
It was like you guys, when you said that I went. Yeah, I say that.
Speaker 5:
It's a good one.
Speaker 3:
How about when Jesus goes out into the? When Peter is describing Jesus going out into the crowd? And he paid attention. He looked people in the eye, didn't matter if a hundred people were pulling on attention. He looked people in the eye and it didn't matter if 100 people were pulling on him, he was focused. I'm guilty of talking past people sometimes because it's like ADD kicks in and I'm like talking to somebody oh, hey, buddy, don't leave yet. And the Lord's helped me, because of the play, actually to get better at focus on who's in front of you, pay attention and, you know, let the Holy Spirit control how you move rather than you being chaotically like trying to say hey to everybody. Right, you know, and it's helped me greatly.
Speaker 2:
That's almost the art of conversation. Yeah, you know, because when you talk to somebody, like after church, people will come to me and want to talk and there's a lot of crowd and stuff like that, and you have to be extremely careful because they want your time and they need that time. So therefore, there has to be eye contact, like you said, and there has to be. They have to know that you're interested in them. They have to know so many of us and I've been guilty of this too, you know. They have to know so many of us. You know, and I've been guilty of this too, like you said, some of us look around for somebody better to talk to. We don't want to talk to this person, we want to talk to that person over there.
Speaker 5:
You know what I mean. We've been waiting to talk to this guy for weeks.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, because they're more important than this person, but yet this person needs you. You know what I'm saying. So there's conversation that I think we have to master, which is a learned process. Amen, I mean, we learn it through failure.
Speaker 5:
And I like that. You brought it out that the creator of the universe wants to know you personally, look in your eyes and hear what you have to say to him. That's the key for personal relationship in my life.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm glad you guys were blessed. This has been in the making for a long time. We're so grateful to finally bring Pete down here, and it was the Lord's time. The Lord wanted it, the Lord wanted it and you know what?
Speaker 2:
I was extremely blessed with the amount of people that were able to come. Amen, I was very happy with the amount of people that showed up. It's a Sunday night, right and 6 o'clock Now. We normally pray at six o'clock on Sunday night.
Speaker 3:
We have a prayer group, but we don't have near as many that were out there tonight. Well, as senior pastor here, dave, what would you say to other pastors Because it's hard to explain and I can't you know if I go up to somebody and say, hey, you know, the Lord put this play on my heart and I don't. What would you say to another pastor about what you saw tonight?
Speaker 2:
Well, as someone who's drug his feet for a while before getting you out here, which is honorable, actually, I would say. What took me so long? First of all. But I would also tell a pastor that to see the interaction of the people and the way they accepted the play and the way they felt about the play, and when I hear them speaking about the play, I said it's very worth it, it's, it's a bible study all within itself, right?
Speaker 2:
right, right, you know, visual sermon yeah it's a visual sermon all within because, like I said, you went from. You know peter meeting jesus all the way through. You know what I mean and that that's basically from. You know Peter meeting Jesus all the way through. You know what I mean and that's basically the gospel, you know, and you did that, you know, and I think that that's important. So you had an entire Bible study in one night, but it was a visual Bible study, you know, and I think that that was so valuable. Yeah, so I would tell any pastor that they should consider having something like you or you or whatever, to come and do this event. You know what I mean. The price is right, you know, amen, amen to that and that, unfortunately, that does play a game sometimes. You know, sometimes we have to worry about finances, things like that, you know. But but I thought that I think we're now where I'm thinking hmm, when can I get Genesis, joe?
Speaker 4:
You know what I mean. I'm thinking.
Speaker 2:
I need to see Genesis Joe. I need the trilogy.
Speaker 3:
I need it all you know what I mean. Genesis Joe is the same type of type. You go from crying to laughing, back to crying to laughing and every emotion in between. I to crying to laughing and every emotion in between. I can't imagine it's a long. It's a longer format, like pizza longer format.
Speaker 5:
Christmas joe was a smaller play in the concert right, right.
Speaker 3:
This was a full-on yeah almost almost an hour and a half two hours of just straight yeah, you know what I felt?
Speaker 5:
that was also good. The fellowship among the brethren was a little more familiar, a little more comfortable. Not that that Sunday is uncomfortable because we're brothers and sisters in Christ, but it was a little more where we could lay back. We're sitting on the Mount of Olives. It's a different setting. It was a different setting.
Speaker 2:
And what I think about it is is what people need to know. It's non-confrontational, it's not, you know, there's no pressure. You know it's easy to forget someone to come, you know, to something like this, and they would come to see a play and they're sitting there enjoying themselves, not realizing that they're hearing the gospel. You know what I'm saying. So it's beautiful.
Speaker 3:
We've seen people come out to plays actually that weren't going to a church and they were like, wow, this isn't so bad and they made that their home church.
Speaker 2:
They come back.
Speaker 3:
And every play we do. The gospel goes forward and I regret that we're out of Bibles. I normally would be like, hey, whoever prayed that prayer, we have a free Bible for you, but we need to order more because we're out. We have new believer Bibles we're giving to people and we got rid of a case or whatever. So, yeah, we've gone through them. So I have another question how about the bass player?
Speaker 5:
The bass player Smooth Smooth jazz. Smooth Roy, smooth Roy, the Holy Spirit touches you.
Speaker 3:
Roy Larson, who has not been on the podcast. But Roy Larson is on the board of directors of Plays on Word. He's one of the guys that helps to make the ship run smoothly. Any thoughts?
Speaker 1:
He who is silent is deemed wise.
Speaker 1:
Proverbs Proverbs I love it. It's always fun being in a support role. I think God's been gracious with a lot of people and those of us at this table where he's shown us what our roles are. Yeah, and those are the ministries he's given us and we, you know we're faithful to that. We do it to the best of our ability. Whether you're in the limelight or not is totally irrelevant. You're in God's limelight, amen, and you know able to. I'm just thinking what you've been saying about the play. I've seen, obviously seen the play many times, sure, but because it's the gospel that's come to life, there have been things in my memory from the play that I have interjected into conversations with people talking about the gospel.
Speaker 5:
Right right.
Speaker 1:
And I'll give you an example of one. You know when Peter is asking Jesus well, what about John?
Speaker 2:
Talk about that all the time?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, we do. Someone said to me once you know, I saw this person over there. They claim they're a Christian and they're really lousy people and they're cheating and they're no good. I can't deal with God so well, but that's not how Jesus dealt with Peter. What are you talking about? And then I tell that part of the story. And so you know people coming out of your congregation, even if they take one little nugget, put it in the back of their brain. God will use it, amen, amen.
Speaker 2:
I'll say something during a message that don't sit there and poke the person next to you and say this is for you or be thinking of someone who should hear this. No, what you're hearing is for you. You know, peter's almost like. Hear this. No, what you're hearing is for you, you know, peter's almost like. And to go back to what you first said is about knowing our place and knowing what our ministry is. We always like to quote Clint Eastwood in the movie where he said man's got to know his limitations. Amen, yeah.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 5:
Yeah, right I take it.
Speaker 3:
Speaking of that, let's let's just transition into Calvary Chapel, Cape May. How did we arrive here? Tell me about Calvary Chapel, Cape May. Actually, let's go before Calvary Chapel Cape May. When did you meet Jesus, Rabbi Dave Wow.
Speaker 2:
I was blessed to meet Jesus in 1991. Okay, it was late in life. I was late in life. I was 43 years old. I met the Lord Jesus one afternoon after my wife had prayed for me. We were having a very difficult time in our marriage and probably would have divorced. It was a very difficult time in our marriage, Beatrice. My wife decided that she didn't want to be divorced. I didn't realize that she was a backslidden Christian and she went back to the Lord and started praying for me and her prayers took hold. And one day I was walking around my work and I just felt like I got hit by a bolt of lightning and I accepted Jesus into my heart. And that's when I accepted him and began walking to him and I made a promise to the Lord. And I remember the Lord telling me that I'll take care of the marriage. You follow me. And I said okay. And he has. He has made the marriage incredible. He's made it to be something that I believe, what is what I've always wanted in life. So I've been so blessed.
Speaker 3:
Thank God for a praying wife.
Speaker 2:
Amen.
Speaker 3:
How important is it for spouses to pray for one another? Oh, extremely important. Sometimes we don't, you know, we overlook that Exactly. I know I have to be. Take it for granted, yeah take it for granted.
Speaker 5:
Oh, you know.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, and there that's a prime example. Absolutely Wow.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. Yeah, prime example, and I got saved and we started attending a small fellowship in Ocean City called Maranatha by the Sea and it was a Calvary Chapel affiliate and I just wanted to be involved. Amen, I couldn't get enough of it. I wanted to be involved and I started doing all sorts of things, was raised to be an assistant pastor of some sort, but it was great. I just couldn't get enough of the lord so how does?
Speaker 3:
how does vineland come into play? I?
Speaker 2:
left that church in ocean city, okay, and I went to a true calvary chapel in vineland, okay, and under the uh tutelage and pastoral of frank, and he became my pastor, all right and All right, and I was with him, served with him, and I remember talking to him one time we were at Sandy Cove at the pastor's conference in Sandy Cove, and I was talking to him and he basically said, david, you can come here, you can do anything you want. And I did, and I did everything. I mean I taught ministry, I helped paint the church, I sang on the worship team for years I was taught.
Speaker 3:
Bible studies. I did everything you could think of.
Speaker 2:
I did everything you could think of and I just learned and it was good.
Speaker 3:
So when did the Lord give you the green light, or give you to say, okay, I want you to go to Cape May?
Speaker 2:
Well, it was very interesting because I got saved in 91. And in 1993, as I said, I was being raised up in this one church and I was doing the announcements and I would have people come to me and go well, you have a calling. I didn't understand what that meant. I didn't understand what I mean calling. And on WIBG out of Ocean city, they had a new beginning with greg lorry every day. I love it and I listened to that. Well, I felt the lord put upon my heart. I wrote greg a letter. I wrote him a letter and said I don't understand what it means to be called.
Speaker 2:
I didn't I didn't understand it and I wrote that. So I think, lo behold, I got a letter back from Greg it wasn't from Greg exactly, it was from one of his pastors and he said that Greg had given me his letter, or given him my letter, and he was writing back. So, anyhow, he gave me a list of things to look for to see if I was called in the ministry. Gave me a list of things to look for to see if I was called in the ministry and as I read down the list, I was excited because each one, yeah, each one, matched me until I got to the end and it said I had to have peace of God. That surpasses understanding about the calling. I didn't have that peace, so I was somewhat devastated. I didn't understand it. So I went up on the Ocean City Beach, which we live the stone's throw from the beach in Ocean City. I think it was in November.
Speaker 2:
Anyhow I went up on the beach and I cried out to God. I didn't understand what's going on. Why don't I have this peace? If you're calling me, I want to know about it. Blah, blah, blah Came home and I went into my room where I studied and I decided I wasn't going to play Bible roulette.
Speaker 2:
I wasn't just gonna flip through some pages of the point and claim that verse. I said, lord, if you're going to speak to me, you're going to speak to me exactly where my reading takes me. That day I have been reading through the book of Acts. I I was in chapter 26. Paul was standing before King Agrippa and he was saying his testimony. And I was reading down and I got the verse where it says Jesus talking to Paul, stand and I have made you a minister. And all of a sudden I froze, tears streamed down my eyes and I knew exactly what he was talking about. And in that promise I knew, I knew in my heart that one day he would use me in a way that I couldn't dream, that it would possibly be a pastoral. In one day that was in 1993. In one day, that was in 1993.
Speaker 2:
17 years later, 17 years later, I was going to Calvary Chapel, vineland and I had a dear friend of mine by the name of Bob Lambert and we his family and my family were excited. I was trying to set something up in Upper Township. Pastor Frank had wanted me to set something up in Upper Township All right, and he was down here trying to set something up in Upper Township. Pastor Frank had wanted me to set something up in Upper Township all right, and he was down here trying to set something up in Cape May. We became dear friends. My group in Upper Township would meet with his group in Lower Township down here. We would get to know each other and make a long story short. He started Calvary Chapel, cape May. To start at Calvary Chapel, cape May.
Speaker 2:
Sadly, his wife developed cancer and passed away in 2008, july 2008. He tried to continue but he could not continue. I retired from school teaching in 2009. I was a school teacher. I retired from school teaching in 2009. And that was in June. In July I went into Frank Ippolito's office. I said when's the Lord going to use me? And he said it's only been a month since you've retired. What's your hurry? I said I don't know.
Speaker 2:
At one time, beatrice, and I thought that we would go over to Delaware and start some sort of a fellowship. So I said to Frank B and I are going to go back to Delaware. And he sat there and he shook his head and I said okay, where am I going? He said I think you're going to Cape May. I went there's a problem with Cape May. He said what do you mean? I said Bob's there. He said, unfortunately, I don't think Bob's going to make it. I didn't think anything of it, I just prayed about it. This was in July.
Speaker 2:
In October, I get a phone call from Bob. He and I used to meet at Starbucks to have coffee. All the time we were friends. He called me and said Dave, I want to talk to you, I want to ask you a question. And I went well, tell me what the question is. I'll pray about it so that when we meet we can talk about it. And he said I want you and Beatrice to come down and take over the ministry. I couldn't believe my ears. So the next time I saw my pastor, I raised my hand and said hail to the prophet. So in February of 2010, after going through Pastor Frank, after going through Joe Foch, after going through Lloyd Pulley, I came down here as pastor of Calvary Chapel of Cape.
Speaker 3:
May. Wow, that's fantastic. How happy was your wife that you got saved. Oh, she was ecstatic. I got saved.
Speaker 2:
She got ecstatic, she was ecstatic.
Speaker 3:
I got saved. See the prayers answered and then see the change.
Speaker 2:
Oh yeah, it was incredible. It was incredible. She reminds him.
Speaker 5:
I got you saved.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, she reminds me, hey, if it wasn't for me? Amen.
Speaker 3:
Amen. That's all the time we have for today on this episode. We're going to continue this next week, you guys, but until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Speaker 4:
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