A memorial service for PCA Teaching Elder Bob Schoof, who died last week, was held on Wednesday afternoon (9/22) at the Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Martinsburg, WV, the church which Bob and Barb have called home for the past 17 years.

In many ways the Memorial Service was like so many you have probably attended over the years. You had your music, and a message in which the host pastor – Jerry Meade in this case – presented the Gospel. And you had a time of remembrances, from family and friends.

Bob’s widow, Barb, didn’t speak to the congregation, but probably talked one-on-one with everyone there either before or after the service. She’ll be remaining in Martinsburg for now – it is a great and loving church family.

Daughter Jill (still living in Pennsylvania) spoke for the family to give thanks for all the support received from the church in the 76 days from her dad’s diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in June to his death on September 16. She also shared remembrances from growin’ up days.

Oldest son, Steve, a missionary with the PCA’s Mission to the World in Australia, shared some thoughts that he and younger brother, Andy had discussed in a long drive from the airport a couple of days ago. They figured out they had a truckload of memories to hold on to.

Steve was old enough (about 8) to notice that Bob’s conversion at age 30 made a dramatic change in his life. Always tenacious at everything in life – his job with Westinghouse, politics, golf – became a focus on the gospel in everything he did from then on.

The new Ordinary Pastor Project we have begun to republish here on The Aquila Report from The Gospel Coalition blog came to mind as I attended the service this afternoon in the sweltering heat of Berkeley County, West Virginia.

In many respects, given our world of ‘big name’ pastors and churches, Bob would be considered an Ordinary Pastor. But I wouldn’t try to sell that to the folks who gathered to remember Bob’s life and ministry today.

Certainly don’t tell it to the folks in the PCUS Bethany & Little Falls churches in Martinsburg where Bob began his pastoral ministry in 1965 and stayed nearly nine years. Many of those folks are now part of the PCA church in town – Pilgrim PC where Bob ended up both his pastoral days and his earthly days. Most of the 200 seat sanctuary was filled with those folks, despite the inability of the HVAC system to handle the extreme heat of the afternoon. PCA minister Jim Spurgeon, who had served as an intern at Bethany in 1970 shared his memories of Bob at the service.

Or don’t tell it to the folks of New Covenant PC in Virginia Beach, where Bob entered the PCA as a church planter, got New Covenant up and running and then – even while that church was just beginning to grow – led the congregation to spin off a daughter church called New Life, also in the ‘Beach.’ Of course, his son, Steve – now a missionary in Australia – was the church planter under his dad’s supervision.

Bob stayed at the Beach from 1974 to 1985. I had the privilege of sharing the joy of being his (part time) Associate Pastor there with folks at the service. I mentioned that my regular preaching on Sunday nights gave Bob all the more time to get out into the neighborhoods and share the gospel – which he did nearly every day!

Or don’t tell that to the folks in Northern Virginia where Bob worked along side Phil Douglass at Gainesville coordinating church planting for Potomac Presbytery and helped start a number of churches, including at the Alexandria PC in Alexandria, Virginia. Bob tackled that start up in a very difficult cultural setting in 1986 and saw it through organization to a level of stability that they could call a full time pastor – Tom Holliday, who is still there today. Tom and three of the original four Ruling Elders that Bob trained were at the service – Ben Crowley, Bob Morrison, and Jim Stanford.

Don’t tell that to the folks at Grace Reformed PC just across the border in Hagerstown, Maryland who recall Bob mentoring their church planter, Gary Knaebel, as they got their start in 1989. Gary was at the service.

One more group you probably don’t want to tell that Bob was an ordinary pastor are the folks just south on I-81 in Winchester, Virginia at the Eagle Heights PC that Bob planted and nurtured from 1993-1997. His former Elder from Alexandria, Jim Stanford, had moved out there to retire and knew where to look for a church planter. Nice contingent from Eagle Heights there as well. Bob’s final trip out of the house for a church event was to attend the dedication of their very first church building (after 17 years) just a month ago.

I think one can see the picture. Bob’s tenacious focus on the Gospel led to a life of using his gift of evangelism which turned into the joy of seeing new churches get started. And along the way, the men he mentored and counseled – Teaching and Ruling Elders alike – were changed because of our time with Bob Schoof, Ordinary Pastor.

One of the members of Pilgrim shared with me some thoughts of his last visit with Bob – about 10 days before his death. Mike VanDerLinden pushes tin at Washington Center (that means he’s an Air Traffic controller where they handle all the north and south traffic on the east coast). Here’s a snippet of Mike’s visit that day:

Pastor Schoof’s demeanor was not altered in any way as he faced death. He still cared more about how you were doing than how he was doing. He was still intent on “getting things done,” was still inviting and gracious, and of course still promoted Jesus Christ as preeminent in all things, even death.