New pastor has 'connected' well with Hartland Center Community Church

HARTLAND TWP. — Hartland Center Community Church has been a good match for Pastor Matt Van Gorden and his family."We love Huron County and the area. For me, it's like coming home," said the ordained minister who grew up in the Marion and Delaware region.Van Gorden has been the full-time Hartland Center Community pastor for about 10 months. He previously served in Colorado for six years."This has been a good fit for us. We have connected from day one. They forget I haven't been here for years," he said.Hartland Center Community Church had a part-time pastor for about five years. Assistant Pastor Roy Wallace retired in the spring after 40 years with the church. He was part of the pastoral staff, but focused on the music ministry."The unique thing is they haven't had a full-time pastor for 10 to 12 years," Van Gorden said.While Wallace did some visitations with parishioners, Van Gorden said the church had become used to not having someone available for pastoral counseling. A church member recently informed him of someone being in the hospital, but told him he didn't have to go."What do you mean I don't have to come? That's my job," said Van Gorden, who said the response to his pastoral visits have been "100-percent positive."Hartland Center Community Church partnered with Village Missions in order to find its pastor. The organization serves about 220 churches of various denominations in the United States and Canada. "We place pastors in rural community churches that cannot afford a full-time pastor," Van Gorden said. "I've been with the mission about 15 years." Van Gorden and his wife Stephanie had been praying for the last year about the next step in their lives. He said they wanted to be closer to both of their parents, so when Village Missions matched Van Gorden with Hartland Center Community, their prayers had been answered."It's only an hour-and-a-half from my parents' house," added the pastor who has a daughter and son: Katie, 11, and Riley, 9.The Hartland Township church recently started a youth group called 180: Turning to Christ. The middle- and high-school students meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. each Sunday.Worship is at 10 a.m. Sundays, with Sunday school at 9. Van Gorden said the church plans on starting a women's Bible study in the spring and also a men's fellowship group/Bible study next year.Another new program is a couples Bible study, which is aimed at strengthening marriages."We've been doing that for three to four months," Van Gorden said.The Hartland Center Community congregation comes from New London, North Fairfield, Norwalk and Wakeman. Van Gorden said while it's nice to draw people from nearly "all over the county," one of the biggest challenges is where to focus the church ministry."My dad was a pastor for 40 years. The last church he pastored was like this one — in the middle of the corn field. We are the church in the middle of a corn field; that's what people call us," the pastor added. "I want us to be a country church with a heart for Christ."Pastor Matt Van Gorden stands beside the wooden cross at the front of the sanctuary at Hartland Center Community Church. He says it's been such a good fit that parishioners often forget he hasn't been here for years as opposed to 10 months.Pastor Matt Van Gorden stands in front of the Christmas tree and a painting of Jesus in the front of the sanctuary at Hartland Center Community Church. He has been the full-time pastor for the last 10 months.