First Christian Church welcomes new pastor

FAIRFIELD - Gabriel Claussen and his family have been on a journey to spread the word of God.

Claussen, his wife and three children traveled all over North America for two years sharing the gospel with everyone they met. Now, the Claussens' latest adventure has brought them to southeast Iowa. The family moved to Fairfield in November so Gabriel could begin work as the pastor at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in both Fairfield and Packwood.

To accommodate Gabriel's travels between the two churches, the Sunday worship service time in Fairfield has changed to 10:45 a.m.

The pandemic has made the job of pastor a difficult one. When not preaching on Sunday mornings, pastors normally spend part of their week making home visits, seeing shut-ins. But COVID-19 has complicated that, especially considering that the elderly are the most susceptible to the virus. Claussen has reached out to local nursing homes to put together a group of Christmas carolers, who could sing to the residents while walking around their building.

'It breaks my heart to know that people in nursing homes can't be with their family,” he said. 'I want to bring joy to them.”

Claussen is the son of a minister, and moved around often as a boy, going back and forth between Iowa and California. He attended Pleasantville High School, where he met Tera. The two high school sweethearts got married and had three children: Simeon (13), Solomon (11) and Surion (10).

In 2018, Gabriel and Tera felt God was telling them to quit their jobs and venture out on a road trip to share His love with the world. The two found a 1994 Georgie Boy motor home, remodeled the inside, and dubbed it 'the Ark.” The couple continued home-schooling their children, a practice they started the year before. They chronicled their adventures on a blog called 'Wild Faith Encounter,” which can be found on Facebook.

Unlike some mobile ministries, the Claussens did not engage in organized fundraising for their trip. Gabriel said they put their full faith in God, confident that He would provide.

'We trusted Him with our finances,” Gabriel said. 'Each day, we said, ‘God, we want to be obedient. Where do you want us to be?' It was an amazing experience to learn to rely on God.”

Gabriel said the family went through some trying times during their travels, which lasted all of 2018 and 2019. The RV broke down frequently.

'We spent more time by the side of the road than on it,” Gabriel joked.

Gabriel said his knowledge of cars was pretty limited, at least when the trip started.

'I was the most mechanically uneducated person on earth,” he said. 'I was OK at airing up the tires, but I think I put oil in the transmission.”

Gabriel became better acquainted with the RV over time, and his knowledge of automobiles improved, too. He learned enough that he was able to rebuild the motor, and now he helps other people with their car troubles.

'It's crazy how God equips you to know what you need,” he said.

Money was usually tight on the road. Gabriel remembers when the family had '$5 to our name” with the RV running on fumes. That's when he started having second thoughts about the need to fundraise. Just then, he received a message from someone who said God was telling them to send money to the family.

At one point when the family was visiting Florida, they received donations from people who told them the money was for a date night for Gabriel and Tera. A friend invited them to visit a Comedy Club in Orlando, and Gabriel thought that could be the date night. Once they arrived, Gabriel felt God telling him to give $20 to every homeless person he saw, and ask them about their story.

'By the time we left, we had given $200 to different homeless people,” Gabriel said. 'It was great to see the joy on these people's faces, to see someone loving them. They're human beings who need love.”

Earlier this year, the family was visiting Arizona when the RV broke down for good. The motor was completely shot. Then in March, the family got more bad news: Gabriel's father needed open heart surgery. The family rushed back to Iowa. The surgery seemed to be successful, but the father died in his third week of recovery.

Gabriel's father had been the pastor at a church in Des Moines. Gabriel filled in for his father while he was in the hospital. A few weeks before his father died, Gabriel said he felt God calling him to become a pastor, and leave traveling behind. And that's what he did. He reached out to the Disciples of Christ denomination and began the process of becoming a commissioned minister.

Gabriel said he and his family have fallen in love with Southeast Iowa since moving here last month.

'We absolutely adore this town [of Fairfield],” Gabriel said. 'The people we've met are phenomenal, very kind and loving.”