Shepherds’Support Messages

Shepherd’s Support had its beginning many years ago in the hearts and minds of Steve and Connie Troxel.

For the past 41 years, Steve has pastored in three churches. The first two were small congregations that he ministered to while attending college and seminary in Michigan and Ohio. As of June 2006, he will have completed 34 years as senior pastor at Wayside Chapel in San Antonio, Texas. Under his leading, Wayside Chapel has grown from less than an hundred in attendance, to a couple of thousand. Wayside's vision has been to plant churches, not to focus on increasing the size of its congregation. With that in mind, Wayside Chapel has purposely planted numerous churches, not only in San Antonio and South Texas, but throughout the world. One such example is in Romania, where Wayside Chapel partnered with the local church to help make their facility a reality. Pastor Joseph writes:
I have known Pastor Steve for 14 years. During this time, our congregation, Holy Trinity Baptist Church, from Braila, Romania, has been in a strategic partnership with Wayside Chapel in San Antonio, Texas, led by Pastor Steve. Pastor Steve understood the vision God gave us here, in Romania, and was used mightily by the Lord in the fulfillment of this vision. During my 32 years of pastoral ministry, God used Pastor Steve to encourage, help and support our congregation in various ways, contributing greatly to the enlargement of God’s kingdom in Romania. I invited Pastor Steve to serve as the main guest speaker at the Romanian Baptist Union’s Annual Conference in 1997. He also taught pastors and missionaries from our Baptist Association and the students from our church based, Bible Training Center. I really believe the greatest ministry opportunities are ahead of him. We are looking forward to continued working together with him, to the glory of God.

Foreign missions have been a priority of Wayside Chapel and the Troxels for several decades and have resulted in a large portion of the church budget being used towards missions—both domestic and worldwide. Wayside Chapel currently has many mission teams and supports over 100 missionaries to many different countries. Steve and Connie have continued to participate as part of these mission teams, having gone to numerous countries in their 34 years at Wayside Chapel. They believe in leading by example and have seen many lives changed after taking short term mission trips—including their own.

Their hearts have been touched time and again by the needs of the pastors and their wives, along with the Christian leaders, in the third world churches they have visited. The Troxels recognize the tremendous needs of these brothers and sisters in Christ, and the overwhelming obstacles that they face in their families and their congregations. Steve and Connie feel specially equipped to encourage and to minister to their third world counterparts after surviving many challenges in their decades of church leadership—in both large and small congregations.

The Troxels have seen the benefit of their vision in several conferences they have already held in Croatia, Ukraine, Romania, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, as well as others. The response to their ministry, which includes music and testimonies, has been immediate and extremely positive. The pastors and their wives have struggled with limited resources and increasing demands on them at great personal expense. As the Troxels have come along side them to tell their own stories and to encourage them with practical, Biblical advice, they have been receptive and grateful for tools that will endure over time.

Steve and Connie seek to meet multiple needs of their third world colleagues by offering medical, as well as, spiritual help. In September 2005, four couples gave two Pastors’ Conferences in Ukraine. The team included three physicians, who saw the participants for medical care, and local dentists, who were hired to meet their dental needs. The Troxels want to attend to the body, soul and spirit during their conferences, ministering to the various aspects of the participants. That is their vision and their passion, as they begin this new ministry. Dr. Greg Waybright, President of Trinity International University, has summarized it well with these comments:
“One of the most thrilling, though oft unheard, pieces of news in the world is the exponential growth of the church of Jesus Christ outside the U.S.. That wonderful news brings with it many challenges, however, i.e., the nurturing of the leadership for the global church. Many, many pastors are laboring in their growing churches with limited resources and little help. This reality is what makes Steve's ministry (Shepherds' Support, Inc.) so strategically important. And I know of no one better equipped to lead the vital ministry of strengthening global church leaders than Steve Troxel. He has years of effective pastoral experience in a church with an international impact and has personally served pastors in countless cross-cultural contexts. I therefore recommend the work of Shepherds' Support Inc. without reservation and with great enthusiasm.”

The need for encouragement isn’t unique to foreign pastors. The Troxels also plan to give domestic Pastors’ Conferences and to share their experiences with those in need, who are closer to home. They have participated in and are available for missions and Bible conferences. Steve anticipates speaking to groups of various sizes and especially looks forward to one-on-one interaction with his fellow pastors, throughout the country. He and Connie seek to assure their colleagues that burnout and moral failure can be avoided over decades of satisfying service to the Lord and His people.

Shepherds' Support, Inc. has a Governing Board of Directors dedicated to maintaining the integrity and accountability of the ministry.