Ministry couple branches out with new outreach called The Way

A veteran Christian ministry couple has left their traditional pastoral roles to reach out to nonbelievers who might be less likely to visit a church building.

The Rev. Tony McClendon, pastor of Faith Ministries in Columbus since 2015, and his wife Pat, a longtime leader in area women ministries and more, stepped down from the church on agreeable terms Sept. 1 to launch the outreach. The ministry called The Way has begun with a simple Facebook page titled Walk In the Way.

“We’ll continue to show people outside the brick-and-mortar places the love of Jesus Christ,” Tony McClendon said.

Part of the new venture was spurred by their realization that many people in today’s world do not or will not visit a church to investigate questions about God. In fact, the pair mentioned three years ago in a Republic story about their leadership at Faith Ministries that many younger people do not feel a strong need to attend worship services regularly.

Yet, part of the outreach will be encourage people they interact with to become an active part of an area church if they can.

“The traditional church still should be an integral part of our Christian lives,” Tony McClendon said. “It’s vital and important.”

Tony McClendon also recently sent out an email message from the ministry to a group of people inviting them to discuss their favorite Scripture verse. The ministry’s email is [email protected] with a mailing address of P.O. Box 223, Columbus, IN 47203. The couple is working on establishing a website for the ministry.