Excerpts from the interview with Pastor James:
Chris (Host): Welcome, dear listeners, to another soul-nourishing episode of Coffee on the Couch. Grab your favorite mug, settle into your comfy spot, and get ready for a delightful conversation. I'm your host, Chris, and today we have the pleasure of diving into the enriching world of faith and community with our special guest, Pastor James Foley of New Life Church in Barre, Massachusetts. So pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee because we're about to embark on a journey of inspiration and insight. Welcome, Pastor James.
Pastor James (Guest): Yeah, thanks for having me, Chris. I’ve got my cup of coffee. I’m not on a couch, but I’m on the comfiest chair I could find in my office. Happy to be here.
Chris: There we go, good stuff. I’ve got my coffee too. I’d show you what it looks like, but we don’t have the video. The coffee says, "Mandate minding your own business."
Pastor James: Mine’s a little more boring. It’s just in a Dunkin’ cup.
Chris: That’s okay. It holds the precious cargo, so that’s good.
Pastor James: That’s it.
Chris: So, I thought we’d get into a quick how we know each other. I think we met through your teaching at Mission E4 at the time, right?
Pastor James: Yeah, it’s probably about, man, 8 to 10 years ago. The time gets away. But yeah, I was contacted through Mission E4, one of their members or former staff who attends my church. They asked if I wanted to teach a course. I taught a few over there for a couple of years, including The Life of Christ and The Life of the Apostle Paul and His Writings. I’m not sure which of those two courses you had or if it was another, but that’s where we crossed paths.
Chris: Yes, that’s right.
Pastor James: And I always said your last name wrong. Is it Lafreniere, or laffernay?
Chris: The first one was correct.
Chris: Great! Funny story, John Bushnell used to joke with me about that. He had all sorts of variations for my last name.
Pastor James: I’ve heard a few of those myself.
**Pastor James (Guest):** You know, in Massachusetts in 2024, some of this might be challenging to hear, but this is how I came to faith. Long story short, I was not raised in a Christian home. It was a moral home, a loving home. If you had asked us, we would have said we were good Catholics, but that didn’t really impact our lives. Looking back, I might have gone to a Catholic mass once every five years. It just wasn’t on my mind at all.
When I got back to my dorm, I kneeled by the couch and invited the Lord to take over my life. I had never seen an altar call or heard anything like that before, so it was quite an incredible moment looking back. From that point on, I never looked back. I chose to spend my weekends away from campus because it was an environment full of temptation. I wanted to serve the Lord as best I could and got involved with the church.
From the beginning, I felt a call to pastor, though interestingly, I had no idea what a pastor even was. I got to know several of the pastors on staff quite well, and they were instrumental in helping me navigate that call and figure out the next steps, which eventually led me to Bible school and beyond. That was the starting point for me, and that’s how it all began.
Pastor James links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newlifebarre
Email: jamesfoley@newlifebarre.org
My Personal links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-lafreniere
Email: cl71088@gmail.com
Calendly: https://calendly.com/cl71088
Alignable: https://www.alignable.com/baileyville-me/coffee-on-the-couch-podcast
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