Lead Pastor, Terry Gugger of
“Allowing Him to transform our
lives,” an interview with Pastor Terry Gugger
By Alannah Allbrett
Terry Gugger is no stranger
to churches. He was a PK (Preacher’s Kid) and moved around a lot as his father
ministered to various churches. Terry said that by the time he was in the fourth
grade, he wanted to have a medical ministry. In college, at
In 1995, Terry met Jennifer,
his wife-to-be. His parents and hers knew each other and spent time together.
The two young people had been introduced to each other a couple of times.
Then, in college, Jennifer’s parents let her drive back home from spring
break. Her parents had Jennifer give Terry a ride home too. During that four
hour trip home they were able to get acquainted. Terry says “We got married 53
weeks from our first unofficial date.”
By Terry’s senior year in
college in 1997, things changed for him. His wife was away on a week-long
mission’s trip, and he decided to enter into a week of fasting and praying and
wound up in the church sanctuary where he and his wife attended.
While praying there, Terry said he had a
sense that this was where he was “supposed to be.” He decided to go ahead and
finish his chosen degree and then pursue more theological courses afterwards. He
went on to study another two years or so, part time at
Terry was mentored by his
pastor – who taught him the ministry through participation. He taught Sunday
School, helped with services, and later on became an Assistant Pastor.
In 2001, the Gugger family
consisted of himself, Jennifer, a little boy named Kaleb, and “one on the way.”
Feeling confidently led by God, the family made the decision to move to
Prior to moving to
Terry was contacted by his
church headquarters (The Christian and Missionary Alliance) which had a vacancy
for a pastor in a church in a little town called
Tribune: “What is the biggest
thing that has happened to you in your ministry here in Orofino?”
Gugger: “It was life
changing, taking on the role of lead pastor, in that it increased my dependence
upon God. It is a staggering responsibility, and I have no desire to be
independent of Him. He has shown me His immense power through the transformation
of people’s lives, including my own.”
Tribune: “How has He shown
you these things in your life?”
Gugger: “One significant way
is God has shown spiritual healing power in people’s lives around me. At one
time, there were up to five men in our church who were former pastors. Some had
had extremely negative experiences [from the past] which needed healing. I got
to see God work in their lives. Although my years of ministry in
“People have found this
church a place of healing and restoration. In ministering to believers, over the
past three and one half years, we have envisioned the church as an E.R
[emergency room]. However, one can only remain bandaged and lying around
recovering for a certain period of time. The next step in healing is to begin
exercising those body parts which were injured.
Having had physical surgeries
in my own life, I know doctors want you to get up and get moving around to aid
the healing process – not lying around in bed all day. Spiritual injuries are no
different. Perhaps the greatest challenge now is for us, as individuals, to
become invested in the personal relationships God has given [us], using these to
share the incredible love of God for each person – sharing with each other the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Tribune: “What are some of
your church’s goals?”
Gugger: “Our church’s mission
is to move people into a life-changing, ever-growing relationship with God,
through Jesus Christ. What this means is, we desire to show people the love of
Jesus and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It also means living our lives
intentionally, in relationship with Jesus Christ – allowing Him to transform our
lives into something far better than we are.”
“We desire to see this happen
in a variety of ways: from meeting the felt needs of people through: food banks;
Celebrate Recovery/Damascus Road; Vacation Bible School; small groups, worship
services; FUEL (Adult Sunday School); house repairs; gathering firewood; etc.,
to speaking into their lives spiritually. As we continue to experience the love
of God in our personal lives, we want to share that love in an increasing manner
with our community.”
“In addition, we believe we
are called to work for the
Tribune: “What does faith
mean to you?”
Gugger: “Well, of course,
Hebrews 11:1 comes to mind. ‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.’”
Tribune: “Some people have
trouble with that definition; it can sometimes seem vague.”
Gugger: “I can understand the
difficulty in grasping hold of that definition. It is difficult to offer a
concise, easy definition of faith. I think of Jesus’ encounter with Thomas.
Thomas needed to see the scars and the wounds. Jesus said, ‘Because you have
seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed’ (John
“In a culture where
independence is pushed, faith says ‘I rely on communion [with God] and community
with others.’ The world says ‘I can only do it on my own.’ Faith says ‘I can
only do it through God.’”
“Faith says there are more
than the five senses. What I experience isn’t the end-all, be-all. There is
something supernatural – a spirituality that exists. The reality is everyone has
faith; the debate is in what do we place our faith? The atheist has faith there
is no God. In contrast, I believe there is an all-knowing, all-powerful,
all-existent God to whom someday I will have to give an accounting. My faith is
based then in the [finished] work of Jesus Christ.”
Tribune: “What is the work of
Jesus Christ?”
Gugger: “In my faith, I am
going to have to give an account to God. I realize that, even the smallest
[wrong] things I have ever done in my life disqualify me from meeting God’s
standard. So, the work of Jesus Christ, in his death, burial, and resurrection,
offers me forgiveness of that disqualification and ultimate acceptance into the
family of God.”
Tribune: “Do you have any
specific goals for the church?”
Gugger: “We are striving to
be the authentic church of the New Testament – recognizing our shortcomings as
people, but attempting to fulfill the true mission of Jesus Christ.”
Tribune: “By that, do you
mean there is one true church?”
Gugger: “When I refer to the
mission of Jesus Christ I think of Jesus’ instruction to love the Lord your God
with all of your being, and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40),
and also the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). These two [teachings] are
interrelated and inseparable from one another.”
“As far as the question on
‘one true church,’ yes, there is one universal Church, the Bride of Jesus
Christ. Within that one universal Church of Jesus Christ, there are many
different denominations/affiliations: (The Alliance, Baptists, Assemblies of
God, Vineyard, Pentecostals, Independents…to name a few). In fulfilling the
mission of Jesus Christ, our desire is to maintain our uniqueness as