God Story: Michael Ford

Michael Ford is an accomplished drummer, life-long Milwaukeean, businessman, father to Amanda and John, and husband to Carol. Beginning in June, he stepped into the role of Executive Pastor here at Eastbrook Church.

My wife Carol and I grew up in the neighborhood that lies in the shadows of what was to become Eastbrook Church. In fact, my paper route was the next block on the South side of Villard Ave. We have been married since 1982 and lived in California for 9 years. Since returning to Milwaukee we have lived in Brookfield, Shorewood and now Fox Point. We have two wonderful children: Amanda (17) and John (14). Both have attended Eastbrook Academy for the majority of their school years. Amanda started in rst grade and is now a senior at EBA. She will be graduating soon and plans to attend Valparaiso University in Indiana. John started at K4 and attended Eastbrook Academy through 8th grade. He is nishing his freshman year at Nicolet High School.

We officially came to Eastbrook Church 13 years ago seeking a body of believers that taught from the Bible and had a strong youth program. However, my first experience at Eastbrook was as part of a visiting worship team from Parklawn Assembly of God, where we attended for many years. Parklawn provided a Praise & Worship team for an event where Eastbrook hosted multiple local pastors. Our pastor Walter Harvey was one of them. When we first started attending Eastbrook I did not serve for about 1 year as I had been serving for over 10 years with few Sundays off. My first service to Eastbrook was as a member of the Audio team under Dane Barber. I think that lasted for about a year before I was introduced to [former Worship Pastor] Georgine Wenzler as a musician by Linda Wade, a former member of Parklawn. Georgine recruited me to start playing and I have been serving since that time.

Last December, I was elected to the Church Council. After one of our meetings I received an email from [council member] Manuel Rosado, asking if I would be willing to discuss taking on the role of Executive Pastor. After prayer and reflection, I agreed to meet with Manuel to talk about the expectations of the role in detail. Over time and many conversations, it became clear that God has been preparing me for this role for quite some time.

I have been working in business for over thirty years. More than once in my career, I have left wonderful jobs that I enjoyed for promotions into management. I never quite understood that at the time, but now I see how I was being prepared for my current role as Executive Pastor. As a manager, I had the privilege of helping to direct and guide the roles and careers of some really good people, as well as be involved in strategic decision-making.

For the last 15 years, I have also been serving the community. I have served on the boards of some small and large organizations. Approximately 14 years ago I helped start an Alumni Association for my High School here in Milwaukee, which had seen many undesirable changes since my graduation. That organization has had a big impact on the lives of the current students and faculty in a much needed challenging environment.

Throughout this time, in addition to my business and community experiences, my walk with the Lord has been shaped by an increasing desire to seek Him. I have never really had to time to serve Him satisfactorily due to the demands of other responsibilities. At this time I feel a strong calling on my life to make the time.

I believe God has pulled all of these things together at the right time—His perfect time!

The role of Executive Pastor can take on di erent forms depending on the needs of the church and senior leadership. At Eastbrook, the Executive Pastor’s responsibility is to ensure that the vision of the Senior Pastor and direction of the church is implemented consistently and graciously in the entire church. I look forward to working closely with staff to bring greater unity and coordination among all departments including: Worship, Prayer, Communication, Administration, Finance, Adults, Students, Children & Family, Pastoral Care, Local Outreach, and International Outreach. It is an honor to be serving in this role, and I will continually do my best to humbly seek God’s wisdom as we make decisions for Eastbrook Church. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) ■