Joey VanDeusen
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"Looking forward it's difficult to see God's hand in things, but looking back it's like passing through sliding glass doors into a room, it is only when you turn around and see the sunshine on the glass that the hand prints are visible. Looking back over my life I can see the hand of God working. He was using everything, good and bad, to prepare me for His call on my life." |
| Pastor Joey was born near Livingston Manor, NY in 1959, but has lived the majority of his forty years in North Carolina. Growing up in Fayetteville, NC as the second of three children of a military family, Pastor Joey's home was relocated in 1971 when his father retired from the US Army. From age eleven to twenty-one, he lived in Wake Forest, NC where he graduated from high school and worked briefly with NC Department of Corrections, participated in the birth of a small home improvement business and then in 1981, joined the Army, enlisting to become a Special Forces Medic. In 1984, he left the military to pursue a Bachelor's of Science. Early on, his desire was to proceed on to medical or veterinary school, but plans changed and in 1987, after graduating from Campbell University, Pastor Joey began teaching high school science in his hometown of Fayetteville at Pine Forest Senior High School. In August of 1989, after a whirlwind romance, he was wed to Robbin (formerly Robbin Elaine Dain of Phoenix, AZ transplanted to NC) VanDeusen, his lovely better half. Until several months later, Pastor Joey would have said that meeting Robbin was the best thing that had happened in his life. But today he will tell you it was the "second best that led to the first best" because God used Robbin to lead him to Jesus Christ. Shortly after his rebirth, God blessed him and Robbin with a new birth and their first daughter Charlotte Joy arrived in December of 1990. Twenty-two short months later a second precious gift arrived daughter number two, Molly Rae was born in October of 1992. By this time, Pastor Joey had taken a new teaching position and a new position on teaching. Convicted by the Holy Spirit of the need to be true to God's Word, as a science teacher he could no longer teach evolution…and the Lord allowed him three years of spreading the Gospel through science. In April of 1994, God directed Pastor Joey and family to Calvary Chapel of Fayetteville. In Pastor Joey's words "The first Sunday service we attended, we knew that the Lord had brought us here and our hearts were knit together with this part of the body of Christ. I remember telling Pastor David (Senior Pastor of CC Fayetteville 1979-2000) after that service that we wanted to become members and serve in anyway that was needed." In June of 1994, he resigned his teaching position believing that God was directing him and his family to Raleigh, NC where a new job, and the potential for planting a Calvary Chapel awaited. Reflecting back on that time, Pastor Joey says "Looking forward it's difficult to see God's hand in things, but looking back it's like passing through sliding glass doors into a room, it is only when you turn around and see the sunshine on the glass that the hand prints are visible. Looking back over my life I can see the hand of God working. He was using everything, good and bad, to prepare me for His call on my life." In November of that year, Pastor David asked Joey to come and work with him as an assistant pastor and on Thanksgiving weekend 1994, Pastor Joey moved back to Fayetteville. Pastor David and the elders affirmed Pastor Joey's call to ministry and he was ordained as a Calvary Chapel pastor in January of 1995. Beginning with serving as an Administrative Assistant Pastor, then as the pastoral oversight to the CC's ministry of Fayetteville Christian School, serving in Belize with his family as missionaries sent out by CC Fayetteville from June of 1996 to March of 1997, and upon returning served as Superintendent for the school while Pastor David was serving CC Westminster in London. When Pastor David returned from London, he felt the Lord was opening a door to work with Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta Hot Springs, California and so in January of 2000 he resigned his position as Senior Pastor. Pastor Joey was nominated by the Elder Board and confirmed by the congregation as the new Senior Pastor of CC Fayetteville on February 13, 2000. His desire is to see the Lord glorified through the continued ministry of Calvary Chapel with heartfelt worship, balanced teaching of God's Word, and witnessing centered on reaching Gospel destitute areas both locally and around the world. |
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