The Reverend Matthew Foreman and his wife, Elizabeth, are shown in the parking lot of their new church in Ohio. The couple will leave tomorrow to begin their lives as the minister of the Ankenytown Grace Brethren Church. Elizabeth’s brother, Nathan Bramlett, is the minister of Grace Baptist Church on Butler Road in East Franklin Township.
A young couple will be leaving tomorrow to begin life in pastoral ministry near Mansfield, Ohio.
The Reverend Matthew and Elizabeth Foreman, both 27 years old, will be serving the congregation of the Ankenytown Grace Brethren Church. This will be the Foremans’ first ministerial position.
“Ankenytown itself is more like a farming village, but within five minutes in three different directions are several other larger towns,” Pastor Foreman said. “It’s only 30 minutes from Mansfield. It’s very rural, but close to some areas as well.”
The couple has already moved their meager belongings into their Ankenytown home last weekend, but chose to stay with family through the holidays and move into their home officially on New Year’s Day.
Pastor Foreman said the church has been in existence for more than 125 years. It has had more than two dozen ministers during that time.
Elizabeth said this is the first time they would be living away from their families since they were married three years ago.
“I’m excited. It’s going to be different, but I’m definitely going to have family come out to stay for sure. If not, we’ll come and bring them over, whichever,” she said.
Although Pastor Foreman has taught himself to play the guitar, he sees himself as doing more of general leadership of the church, preaching sermons, and some counseling.
“I will be doing every aspect of pastoral ministry that would come in a small church,” he said. “The current pastor is retiring, but he’s going to stay a member of the church. He wants to be freed up so that he can do some other things, teach in other areas, fill some pulpits, and that sort of thing. So, they need a pastor to take his place. So they’ve asked me to come to be their pastor. While I will help them rebuild their sidewalk, which they’re planning on doing, cleaning toilets, talking to people on the phone, family crisis, meeting people in the hospital, the main thing is to preach the Word in any way I can to that meet them where they are and helps them to grow to become a better Christian.”
Pastor Foreman said that although they are beginning their ministerial vocation, they will always consider Armstrong County as their home.
“Our family is here and everything. We’ll always look back to Kittanning as being home, but we’re moving on to somewhere that we believe the Lord is sending us to do a work for Him. We want to do that in order to benefit the church out there. Our main goal is to hear Him say “well done”, so that we are being pleasing to Him. Our home may be Kittanning, but it says in the Scriptures that we are citizens of another place - we are citizens of Heaven. We long to be in Heaven ultimately; but until then, we want to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He allows us to be in and whatever place He sends us. That’s what it’s about.”
In Pastor Foreman’s particular denomination, preparation for ministry is through the local church and not necessarily through Bible College.
“It’s called the ‘Practorium’ and I’m a part of the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International,” he explained. “It’s seminary courses that are taught in the local church under the guidance and supervision of the pastor who facilitates discussion and testing and grading and such. Originally, it started back in the ‘80s with some professors that retired from Grace Seminary, where they taught the same courses in the local church, and it’s just spread to the entire Conservative Grace Brethren Fellowship. I grew up, at the North Buffalo Grace Brethren Church. Upon feeling God’s calling in my life to be involved in ministry, the agent through which God did that for me was the Practorium.”
Pastor Foreman went through six years of classes at North Buffalo Grace Brethren Church. In September 2018, he was ordained after passing the national ordination exam in July.
His congregation consists of approximately 50 members, but he hopes that will grow during his tenure there.
“The Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy Chapter 4 – preach the word in season or out of season. So that’s my objective, that’s my goal,” he said.