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Irrepressible faith leads to 'Epic Life'
It been a roundabout trip, but Rob Shaffer finally made his way home in 2011, following his passion to bring the good news of the gospel to anyone and everyone.
"When I was first saved," Shaffer said, "I was like, 'Wow! Jesus loves ME! And he loves you, too!" His enthusiasm knew no bounds and he well remembers a more mature Christian encouraging him with the words, "Don't worry, it gets better."
"I guess she meant I'd settle down, the fire would die down and my faith would become more manageable. It hasn't. I still love Jesus and I still love to tell people about him!"
That sustained passion brought Rob back to Southwest Nebraska, in the company of his wife, Susan, who he met in Virginia, and their 16-year-old son, Tristan. Rob grew up in Edison, where his parents still live.
Rob studied at Rhema Bible College and continued to pursue his pastoral ministry degree at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Susan also attended Rhema Bible College where she obtained a degree in children's ministry. Both have an irrepressible faith that God is directing their steps as they establish "Epic Life," a new fellowship that meets at the Heritage Senior Center each Sunday for worship at 10:30 a.m.; Children's Church at 10:30 a.m.; and Off the Wall Youth, at 6 p.m. They offer a vibrant worship service, a children's ministry and youth ministry.
"The vision is to reach people who wouldn't necessarily be comfortable in a more traditional church atmosphere," Rob said.
"We're not here to reshuffle the Christian deck," he said when asked "Why another church in McCook?"
Noting that there are many churches in McCook, Rob noted that there also are a lot of restaurants in McCook.
"We're not here to compete with the other churches but to complement them."
Rob has a special heart for those in the world who may think that God isn't interested in them. They've gone down a hard road, made some bad choices and they can't get past the message that it's too late, they're too far gone.
"That's just not possible," Rob said. "If it were, I would have no place in the kingdom, because I've traveled that hard road. I've made some bad choices."
Susan's heart is for children. "I love babies. I love children. I want to make church something that they look forward to, a place they want to be."
The couple also is thrilled with their volunteer youth ministers, Andrew and Cassie Browning of Indianola.
"They've stepped right up and have even provided the materials for their ministry out of their own pockets," said Rob.
They were equally as complimentary of the generous hearts in and around McCook.
"We needed nursery supplies, so we posted them on facebook, and we got a simply tremendous response," Rob said.
The Shaffers are very tech savvy and frequently utilize social media to reach out to people, yet they remain very approachable in person.
"There's nothing like a good face-to-face discussion, especially about faith in the Lord," Rob said.
For more information, go online to http://epiclife4.me/ where the website advises:
"This is a church for skeptics, seekers, doubters, drop-ins, drop-outs, bikers, risk-takers, scaredy cats, punks, lifers, quitters, junkies, fans, artists, lovers, haters, freaks, geeks, jocks, nerds, students, jokers, whiners, posers, alcoholics, addicts, winners, losers, saints, sinners, cynic, believers..."