Paramedic Pastor Finds Peace in Word of God

COURT HOUSE – In 1774, William Cowper wrote the words “God moves in a mysterious way; His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea; and rides upon the storm.”
When Cowper wrote those words, little did he know that almost 250 year later, a young pastor would take the meaning of those words to heart.
“We moved here in January, in the storm,” said Keith Strunk, pastor of the Bible Fellowship Church of Cape May County.
Strunk, his wife Terrianne and their children moved to the area from their home in the Poconos.
“We came here to plant the church,” said Strunk. “It’s been without a full-time pastor for four years.”
When starting out his career, Strunk never thought he’d be a minister. He began his career as an Emergency Medical Technician.
“I’m a paramedic by trade,” he said. “I left being a paramedic and went into the mortgage business for five years.”
At the end of his tenure as a mortgage executive, “we were almost broke,” he said. At one point a friend handed him a verse from the Book of Acts.
“The more I studied the Bible, the more I wanted to study the Bible,” he said. “I was going to trust God, and, by the power of God’s word, things started to turn around.”
While still in the mortgage business, Strunk, enrolled in the Moody Bible College.
He shared how he went back to being a paramedic when the mortgage business crashed and then rose through the ranks of the fire department to become Operations Manager and then, six months later, was asked to be Director of EMS.
Already enrolled in the divinity program with the Bible Fellowship Church, “I took the job,” he said, “And I told them I didn’t know how long I’d be there.”
One-and-a-half years later Strunk received the call to be a pastoral intern at his own church.
In what could be considered a leap of faith, “I resigned from the fire department,” he said. “People thought I was crazy. But we truly believe this is what the Lord wanted.”
From that church in Bethlehem, PA, the Strunks received a call asking if they would be interested in coming to Cape May County.
“I believe when God calls the husband, if he’s married, he also calls the wife,” said Terrianne Strunk.
In June 2010 the couple was asked to go see the area to see if it would be a good fit. Once they visited, they knew they wanted to live by the sea. The official move happened in January of this year – in the middle of a storm.
Since then, the couple, along with their two children, Madison, 11 and Austin 8, have moved into the parsonage and made Court House their home.
The church currently has a small congregation of approximately 50 people.
“We are a come-as-you-are, people loving, Bible teaching church,” said the pastor. “We believe that all can be redeemed.”
The Bible Fellowship Church of Cape May County is located on the corner of Route 9 and Oyster Road. Worship service is every Sunday at 10:30. Nursery is provided for children younger than 4, with a children’s church held during the worship service. Sunday Fellowship is offered after services and a Bible study is held Thursday at 7 p.m.
Additional information can be obtained by calling the church at 609-465-2338 or online at capemaybfc.org