Crest Church Announces Departure of Pastor

A local church and its food ministry have lost the services of longstanding pastor, friend, and teacher, Jeff Salasin. Church members admit mixed emotions over his departure – sadness at his absence, but delight for those Jeff will continue to serve elsewhere, as he fully intends to do. Jeff was open about his heart being pulled in a new direction, while at the same time, unwilling to leave his friends and church family until the right time. During his tenure, because Jeff is a gifted preacher, who had a distinctive talent for interpreting scripture with humorous illustrations of how it applies to everyone , members grew in their understanding of God’s grace to them, and God’s love for them, and how that translates into loving the community around them. It was this that prompted the church members to begin an expanding food ministry to those in need. That resulted in the formation of More Than Enough Food Pantry, which is a partner agency with The Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Since that time, MTE has registered and provided food for over twenty-five hundred households and the ministry has branched out to include a Soup kitchen and Free Clothes Shop
In March of 2012, Jeff was involved in a serious biking accident resulting in a hip replacement and shoulder injury. This significantly diminished his abilities to do the heavy physical work the food pantry required and he interpreted this as a sign that God may need him elsewhere. This, along with his expressed desire to serve elsewhere trusted confidants, factored into his decision to step down after more than thirteen years. Jeff said, “I am encouraged as members of our church family immediately stepped up to take over where I left off.” Mark Vallese, church worship leader said, “Jeff did a great job of preparing us for his departure. We are grateful for how he has built into our lives a deeper understanding of God’s purposes for us. He is a credit to his ministry here.”