"Pastors who fell frequently admitted feeling alone and abandoned...even though they had invested themselves in the lives of others. Often they lamented prior years where wrong habits were formed as struggles were kept secret. They had no 'city of refuge' to which they could turn and in which they could repair. Of special concern to them was the lack of hands-on support, the absence of a safe, confidential and compassionate place where they could have gone to gain new strength, to get a fresh perspective, to learn how to be accountable, and to discover a new joy of serving others. From everything that I read and hear, the mission of Hilltop Renewal Center addresses these and many other very real needs. The goals of prevention , enrichment, and restoration are right on target. Therefore, I applaud the hopes and vision of Gene and Judy TenElshof, who are not only my friends, but a caring and maturing Christian couple, committed to being a part of the answer to problems that won't 'just go away' if ministers would simply 'try harder.'"
Charles R. Swindoll
Chancellor
Dallas Theological Seminary
"One of the most expensive, unmet need for Christian ministry today is providing support for pastors. There is a tremendous price paid by the churches as the ministry loses its strategic direction when pastors burn out, blow up or fall down. The results are often devastating. People are confused, disillusioned, left wondering if what they been told over the past years is even true. I believe the single most important asset to a ministry is to have pastors and ministry leaders who are able to stay at their work over a number of years, not blowing up, but constantly being refreshed and renewed. There is a critical need for creating a place where pastors can renew, reflect, and be reinvigorated."
Kenton Beshore
Senior Pastor
Mariners South Coast Church
"I heartily endorse Gene and Judy TenElshof's vision for Hilltop Renewal Center. We have been doing crisis counseling for clergy for the last 23 years and see a growing need for the kind of intervention Hilltop will provide. We have seen an increasing awareness of the extent of collapse of ministers but nothing specifically available in Southern California. It will be gratifying to a have a reliable program to which we can confidently refer...Astonishingly, the church at large has chosen to deny the economic costs of clergy attrition, not to mention the spiritual and emotional devastation."
Louis McBurney, M.D.
Founder and Medical Director
of Marble Retreat, Colorado
"Forty years of pastoral leadership in three very challenging parishes gave me first-hand experience of the pressures of being a pastor...the danger of spiritual burn out, schedule demands on the family, multiple roles, time management, and staff relations. This creates the need for pastors to have a place of renewal which they can go for refreshment, counseling, and vision for their ministries."
Dr. Lloyd John Ogilive
U.S. Senate Chaplain
"I give my strongest encouragement possible for the development of Hilltop Renewal Center. I...can state without wavering that the single greatest need of the church today is the restoration of ministers. What is required is a quite different approach to their life and work. It is a matter of leading them into a massive shift of the dynamics of their personality under God, and one that cannot be done by more books and conferences. They need to be taken out of the circulation for a sufficiently long time to re-vision and re-structure their lives in communion with Jesus and his kingdom."
Dallas Willard
Department of Philosophy
University of Southern California
"We must have places where clergy can get away, and under the watchful care of professionals, begin the road to wholeness. When this happens the pastor can achieve his potential and then the church can become the 'bride' that God intended it to be."
Wendell A. Morton
U.S. Field Director
Promise Keepers
"It was good to hear of your vision for a pastoral renewal center in the Los Angeles area. The need is a reality as evidenced by the response we have had for clergy care at Gray Fox Ranch. Healthy leaders produce healthy churches and hurting clergy become severely limited in shepherding their flock."
Walter W. Becker
Francoise M. Becker, MFT
Directors of Gray Fox Ranch.
New Mexico
"We are convinced that the tragic waste in human and financial resources caused by failure, discouragement and burnout in the leadership of the American Church has reached unacceptable proportions. A quality ministry such as the Hilltop Renewal Center can help conserve these resources. It has the potential to deeply enrich the lives of countless pastors, missionaries and leaders."
Dr. Sam Metcalf
President
Church Resource Ministries
"Pastors' challenges are often diminished or swept aside as they endeavor to meet the needs of those around them who are hurting. In many instances, these discouraged leaders simply need a sanctuary, a place they can retreat and discuss openly their conflicts and receive encouragement and resolution."
Dr. Tim Clinton
Executive Vice President
American Association of Christian Counselors
"In a day when the stresses on pastors and their families seem to be escalating with each passing day, Hilltop Renewal Center is just what is needed to offer spiritual and physical renewal and restoration to our colleagues who live their lives on the front line."
H.B. London, Jr.
Vice President
Ministry Outreach/Pastoral Ministries
Focus on the Family,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
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