Three Questions is a semi-regular series introducing individuals across the NAB by asking them about their story, their ministry, and what they are learning. These features on members of our NAB family also provide great opportunities to pray for them as we get to know more of their story. This week, we hear from Melissa Chaffee, the newest member of the NAB’s Women’s Connection Leadership Team and a pastor of Congregational Life at McKernan Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta.
What’s your story?
Growing up in the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA, or the Alliance) ministry as a normal way of life was modelled by both sets of my grandparents and my parents. My grandfathers were ordained ministers in the Alliance. My parents served in several lay capacities in the church prior to my father becoming a full-time minister later in life. I gave my heart to Jesus as a 5-year-old and was delighted to be included in some of the ministries my parents led, assuming that my role in church ministry would always be as a volunteer.
As an adult, I loved the various ministries I had the opportunity to serve in, including leading worship and Bible studies and serving on the healing prayer team. I did not grow up with examples of women in formal pastoral roles, so the possibility had never even crossed my mind. All that began to change in May 2014 when I had a profound encounter with the Lord, and he gave me a specific word: “You’re going back to school. You’re going to be a pastor.” For context, at this point in my life, I was a stay-at-home mom with four sons aged 8, 6, 4, and 2. This calling seemed like an impossibility. But in 2016, God unexpectantly opened a door for me to begin in a part-time role in children’s ministry at my church. In 2018, I went back to school at Taylor Seminary for a master of Divinity degree.
In 2021, after graduating from seminary, I began to apply for different roles within the CMA, coming very close to accepting one that appeared to be a perfect fit. However, it involved a move to another city in the midst of COVID, when job prospects for my firefighter husband, Matt, did not seem promising. In addition, our dishwasher flooded our home, triggering a significant insurance claim, and my mother-in-law was diagnosed with untreatable cancer. (She passed four months later.) All was happening during our discernment time.
Earlier in my application process, I submitted my résumé to McKernan Baptist Church on a whim. A part-time role in Congregational Life ministry was open there, and while it looked interesting, I wasn’t seriously considering it. When my husband and I made the decision to decline the role at the CMA church, I received a call from McKernan. I was offered and accepted the role as one of the Congregational Life pastors in October 2021. I am still in awe of the goodness of God to bring us to a church and a conference that was barely on our radar, but in fact is the perfect fit for my family and me. We feel tremendously blessed to be here.
What’s ministry like for you?
McKernan is an urban church in the university area of Edmonton, Alberta, so our primary ministry focus has been in the discipleship of young people. We also have an inner healing ministry, which involves helping individuals reflect on their personal story and teaching them how to practically walk in forgiveness and repentance. More recently, we have had wonderful opportunities to expand our ministry to include an English language learning program with a Gospel focus for newcomers.
I also recently joined the NAB’s Women’s Connection Leadership Team, which gives me a great opportunity to connect with other women around Canada and the United States.
What are you learning?
My ongoing challenge is to steward well the responsibilities and opportunities God has given me, learning to manage my time and energy in a sustainable rhythm. This includes making Sabbath a weekly practice. This past year, God made it very clear that Sabbath was a command, not a suggestion. I come back to Psalm 23 often. There is never an end to the demands of ministry, and life is very full with a houseful of hungry, teenage boys. Yet God’s heart is for each of us, whatever our current context, to make space for him to refresh our souls and to remind us that he is the Saviour, not us.
What a blessing it is to be part of the great North American Baptist Conference community. Would you please take a moment to pray for Melissa Chaffee, as well as McKernan Baptist and the WCLT?
