His life’s work has focused on expository teaching of God’s Word, preaching through every book of the New Testament verse by verse, along with most of the Old Testament. It’s his desire through this website to eventually make much of those resources available to the Body of Christ.
mike’s story
Michael P. Andrus is the husband of Jan, the father of Eddie and Andy, and the grandfather of seven grandchildren, all above average! He served for 45 years as a pastor of two churches, First Evangelical Free Church in Wichita, KS (1975-1984 and 2004-2020) and First Evangelical Free Church in St. Louis (1984-2004). His life’s work has focused on expository teaching of God’s Word, preaching through every book of the New Testament verse by verse, along with most of the Old Testament. It’s his desire through this website to eventually make much of those resources available to the Body of Christ.
Mike was born in Dallas, Texas while his father was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, but he grew up in St. Louis from age 2 to 17. His father was a pastor and an educator, serving for 18 years as President of Midwest Bible College in St. Louis, which later became Calvary Bible College in Kansas City. Mike grew up with four siblings, three of whom enjoyed life-long careers in Christian ministry and all of whom are active Christians today. His father died in 2006 at age 91, and his mother in December of 2019 at the age of 101.
After dating for three years Mike and Jan married in 1964 and graduated together from Calvary Bible College in 1966. Mike then followed his dad and older brother by attending Dallas Seminary, earning a Th.M. in Church History, while also earning an M.A. in philosophy at Southern Methodist University. He later graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a D.Min.
Through a providential set of circumstances he was re-routed by God to ministry in the local church.
Mike’s chosen career was teaching, starting out at Dallas County Community College, then Calvary Bible College, and finally Miami Christian University. However, through a providential set of circumstances he was re-routed by God to ministry in the local church. When Miami Christian University had some major financial problems and couldn’t pay the faculty for a period of time, he was forced to get a part-time job. Miami Bible Church was looking for an interim pastor, so he accepted the job of preaching Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday nights in return for $65 a week, which was enough to put food on the table. When the school recovered its financial footing, instead of quitting, he continued to preach at the church, finding even greater satisfaction in the teaching of Scripture than he found in teaching philosophy and theology.
In the meantime First Evangelical Free Church in Wichita (where Mike had done some teaching while at Calvary Bible College) lost their pastor. The search committee unanimously invited Mike to return to Kansas to pastor the church. That was a very difficult decision, but in the end both Mike and Jan decided they were Midwesterners at heart, wanted to be nearer family, and felt God wanted them to invest the rest of their lives in the local church.
Mike and Jan decided they were Midwesterners at heart, wanted to be nearer family, and felt God wanted them to invest the rest of their lives in the local church.
After nearly a decade of consistent church growth in Wichita, including the planting of several new churches in Wichita and more outstate, Mike was recruited by a group of believers in his hometown of St. Louis to help them plant a church. What a ride that turned out to be! For the next 19 years the church experienced double-digit growth and became one of the largest evangelical churches in the EFCA. More importantly, it became known in the St. Louis area as a hospital for sinners and a place where the Bible was taught consistently and without compromise.
Mike attributes any success he has had in ministry primarily to three factors he stressed tirelessly: feeding, fellowship, and freedom. Feeding involved giving people a nutritious meal from God’s Word every Sunday, not only from the pulpit but also in Adult Bible Fellowships, Youth Ministry, and Children’s Ministry. Fellowship is another word for loving people right where they are, not just if they arrive where you want them to be. And freedom is allowing people to grow up in Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, free from legalism and ecclesiastical control.
Mike attributes any success he has had in ministry primarily to three factors he stressed tirelessly: feeding, fellowship, and freedom.
In addition Mike gives a great deal of credit to the amazing lay leadership which preceded him and continued throughout his tenure, and to the tremendous staff who helped carry on the ministry. Many of those staff were home-grown, i.e. they were part of the church, serving faithfully, before joining the team. Deserving particular mention are Karen Woolsey, Brad Harper, Paul Stolwyk, and Jerry Rich, but many others merit gratitude for their long and faithful service.
By 2003 it became apparent to Mike and Jan that the church in St. Louis had outgrown his ability to lead it. Noble efforts were made to find other leadership paradigms, but without great success. At the very same time the pastor who served First Free in Wichita for the entire time Mike was in St. Louis resigned. So, when the elders in Wichita asked Mike to return to help them through a crisis, it seemed that was God’s answer. So, in early 2004 Mike began another 8-year stint as pastor of his first church. It was like a reunion for them with the church family, but it also a reunion for Jan with her mother and her stepmother, both of whom lived in Wichita and were in need of special care only she could provide. Her mother lived until 2006 and her stepmom until 2014.
After several years leading the church Mike began to think about preparing for his successor. He recruited a gifted young man, Josh Black, to come on staff as Student Ministries Pastor. After several years of effective ministry the church funded his enrollment at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he graduated three years later. He then assumed a co-pastor role with Mike and in August of 2011 was installed as the Lead Pastor. After a brief period of retirement Mike was invited back on staff as Pastor to the Senior Adults, a position he filled until retiring fully at the end of 2020.
After a brief period of retirement Mike was invited back on staff as Pastor the Senior Adults, a position he filled until retiring fully at the end of 2020.
While serving these two vibrant churches, Mike was also very active on the denominational level of the Evangelical Free Church of America, serving on the Board of Regents of TEDS, as Chairman of the national Board of Ministerial Standing (the disciplinary and credentialing board for 3,000 pastors), plus a two-year stint as Moderator of the EFCA. He was also a founding member of the Council of The Gospel Coalition and continues as a Council Member (emeritus).
Mike’s wife, Jan, has been his faithful and valued partner for 57 years. She told him when they met that she would never be a pastor’s wife, but he told her she had nothing to worry about because he didn’t want to be a pastor. Well, after 47 years of pastoring, they both acknowledge that God knows best. They have loved and been loved by two amazing church families. They have traveled widely, visiting 47 states, 30 countries, and five continents. Some of these trips were ministry trips while others were with a travel group from the church in St. Louis. Mike and Jan live on a farm just east of Wichita, where he enjoys the wildlife, gardening, solitude, and visits from grandkids, though the last two items are rarely enjoyed at the same time!
Mike’s wife, Jan, has been his faithful and valued partner for 57 years.