Our story - A Journey in Obedience

There may be some who are curious as to who I am and why I am writing this blog. Well, I thought I give you a chance to read the story of the journey my family and I have taken over the last 30 years.

It was a cold October night at Elim Bible Institute in Rochester, NY. Of course, in upstate New York, anything past August is cold. It was Joe's first ever Missions Conference. He was a freshman at the school, planning on going back to Pittsburgh, PA and pastoring a church around the area where he grew up. As they say, “But God…”! At the end of one the evening meetings, the speaker gave an invitation to answer the call of God to go the foreign mission field.

Although he was not opposed to it, Joe had always envisioned himself as a pastor but God had other plans.

As he sat, waiting for the invitation to end, that still small voice asked Joe a question.

“Would you go to Mexico if I asked you?”

Surprisingly, after just a moment's consideration, he said, “Yes!”

Again the voice asked a question, “Would you go anywhere in Latin America if I asked you?”

With even less hesitation, Joe responded, “Well, Lord, if I would go to Mexico, what's the big deal about Latin America, of course I'd go!”
Then came the revelation that the entire world belonged to God and that he should not limit Him in any way.

The following Monday, Joe changed his major from pastoral studies to missions and so it began. Ironically, upon graduating from Elim, Joe was scheduled to go to Manila in the Philippines to help set up a Teen Challenge. He had already spent one summer in Mexico, assisting another student in reestablishing a mission work his father had started. Joe asked for the opportunity to spend the summer with his parents before leaving and embarked on a road of destiny that would take 15 moves and 28 years to complete. Before the end of that summer, Joe had been asked by a group of people trying to form themselves into a new church to be their pastor. It was the leading of the Spirit and so he stayed for seven years. He met and eventually married his lovely wife Erica Niehaus, daughter of one of the elders of the church called Chapel Fellowship.

The greatest and most difficult process Joe went through during those years was having the heart of a pastor birthed in him. Some men are born with the heart of a pastor and are naturally compassionate. Joe went through the traumatic but necessary birth process. It was during this time also when both he and Erica developed their gifts for leading worship together.

From Pittsburgh, Joe and Erica moved to Newnan, GA, 20 miles south of Atlanta. Here they helped a little church learn to worship and set up home groups. They were also able to be a support for the pastor and his family during times of difficult transition. While in
Newnan, Joe took a job as a general manger for a health club where he received certifications as an aerobics instructor. He and Erica also got their “Openwater” scuba certification.

After a little more than three years, Joe and Erica felt the need to return to Pittsburgh. It was timely to do so in that the church back home was in the midst of some very tough times. Staying long enough to see the church off to a new start with his dad, Joe, Sr. as the pastor, Joe and Erica answered an ad in the back of a scuba magazine for employment on cruise ships.

Packing off in the middle of the night on a train bound for New York City, they again answered the call when the Spirit spoke. If they hadn't gone to Georgia and Joe hadn't worked at the health club here they were able to get aerobic and scuba certifications, they wouldn't be on the ships. See a pattern developing?

On the cruise ships, they traveled all over Central and the northern part of South America, as well as two summers in Alaska. Joe and Erica worked as fitness instructors, then snorkeling and scuba instructors, then shore excursion managers and finally with Joe as the Assistant Cruise Director. That was what paid the bills but what the Lord opened up was an opportunity to be the Chaplain on board every ship they were on.

Joe held two to three services each week, special services for Christmas, Good Friday and a Sunrise Easter service. The cruise staff on board was young Americans (18-22 yrs.) to whom Joe and Erica were dad and mom, even though Erica wasn't that much older than them. Joe also began to hone his skills as a disc jockey. After 3 ½ years and 77 cruises, the Father once again brought Joe and Erica home to Pittsburgh. While continuing to assist the local church, Joe started his career as a professional DJ, mostly mobile gigs at first but “Studebakers”, an oldies theme club, then hired him. This experience opened the door with a Nashville talent agency to hire him as the lead DJ in a new theme club called “Coco Loco”. Not a few people had a problem with this, but Joe and Erica knew it was God. They just did not know why.

Eventually, this agency in Nashville asked Joe (often called “CJ” by this time) to travel to Memphis, TN to set up a club for them. God so blessed that the hotel told the agency that if they didn't get CJ as their DJ, the deal was off. They made CJ and Erica a deal they almost could not refuse. They did, however, feel this was the hand of the Lord.

Not long after moving to Memphis, CJ and Erica started attending a growing church called Christ the Rock. Having been invited out for lunch one day with the pastor, Fred Bennett, and his wife Valerie, the discussion turned to the needs of the church. Fred asked if CJ and Erica saw any areas where the church might be lacking. Immediately, and as always, CJ's heart turned to missions. The pastor said that he realized that that was true but their most immediate need was in the single adult ministry. CJ became the pastor for the single adults.

While working with this group, they become good friends with a young lady named Kamala who eventually came to work at the Department of Social Services and was instrumental in helping CJ and Erica adopt Cody and Alissa.

Now follow me on this. They are on the cruise ships working with young adults where Joe develops the skills to DJ. These skills allow him to work in clubs filled with young adults most of whom are not being reached by the conventional church where he can not only live his life before them but share the truth and love of the Father. This DJ gig moves him and Erica to Memphis where Erica begins a rewarding and challenging career in the hotel industry. Joe pastors single adults one of whom opens the door for them to be blessed with two wonderful children. Are we catching on, yet?

After five years with the singles, the ministry is turned over to others. Over those years, Memphis had seen its Latino population grow from only a few thousand to almost 100,000 or 10%of the population. With that call always on his heart and the blessing of
Christ the Rock, Joe (“CJ”) establishes an outreach to the Latino community. In the middle of this, the Burgan's feel released from Memphis but are not sure where the Spirit is leading next.

Several months before, Joe and Erica had attended a conference in Myrtle Beach, SC. As they were waiting on the Lord for His guidance, it seemed that He was leading them to the beach. Nah!! Really!! Being called to the beach!! Sometimes it is easier to go where the Spirit leads if the way seems harsh or difficult because we forget that the Father loves us so much that He wants to do good things for us.

Arriving Easter Week 2000, the Burgans jump right into assisting another local church, New Harvest, by leading worship. It wasn't too long after moving to the beach that Joe began to feel the unction to start a Spanish work, reaching out to the growing Latino population.
From that unction was born “My Father's House/El Hogar de Mi Padre”- a bilingual fellowship. Each meeting was conducted in both English and Spanish with Joe doing both.

This opportunity, as well as a job with a masonry company where he was the only “gringo”, quickly stretched Joe's skill with the Spanish language. After 1½ years of worshiping, praying, teaching and talking literally out of both sides of his mouth- English and Spanish- Joe is quite fluent.

Again, they reached that place of saying, “God, why are we in this place at the time?” Joe and Erica had been instrumental in starting a very life-giving support group for homeschoolers. They had been faithful to reach out to the community and especially the Latinos with My Father's House. When they originally moved to South Carolina, they thought that maybe this would be an opportunity to start traveling and sharing their gifts and experience with other churches in the U.S. and eventually assisting missionaries overseas. Then, literally, out of the blue, Joe receives an email from his brother Tim about a mission work in Mexico that is looking for a director.

Suffice it to say that after hearing of the opportunity in Mexico in October, the Burgan’s arrived on site in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico on May 1st, 2003. Joe and Erica spent a year and a half establishing a training center for teen boys, working with an orphanage, a Bible school, a church and a feeding program.

At the beginning of 2005, Joe and Erica, having done as much as they could to help that particular organization, stepped out on their own, as the Lord led. In the months that have followed, they have begun to help a newly planted church in one of the poorer sections of the town in Mexico. They serve as advisors on the leadership team and lead the praise and worship for both the Thursday and Sunday services.

Though unsure of what the Father has in store for them next, they make the best of the time afforded them. Erica homeschools their two children while Joe discovers new music to be learned and taught. He has also begun a blog which he is using as an opportunity to write down the teachings he has given and revelations he has received in over thirty years of ministry.

By no means conventional, Joe and Erica continue to serve God in whatever capacity or through whatever opportunity is presented to them.