Passing the Mantle at Calvary Worship Center
At a June 2024 Saturday night service, Pastor Al Pittman of Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs, CO, passes the baton to his son Nathan, while reminding him of the pastoral charge in 1 Peter 5:2-4.
Twenty years ago, Nathan Pittman preached from the pulpit of Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs, CO, for the first time. It was around Christmas, and then-16-year-old Nathan—the son of Al Pittman, who served as Calvary Worship Center’s senior pastor for 27 years—wanted to share his testimony. At the time, Nathan had just been discharged from the hospital, having undergone numerous surgeries after he collapsed during his first high school football practice due to a health issue.
“He could not walk when he came home. He had to be carried. He was like a skeleton,” Pastor Al recalled. “We had three little steps in the old building that you had to walk up to go behind the pulpit and share. And there is a photo of me standing behind Nathan and Nathan reading his testimony to the glory of God.”
Al reads the exhortation from 1 Peter 5:2-4 as pastoral staff and a board member lay hands on Nathan, robed in an Israeli shawl, symbolizing passing the mantle, during the Saturday service.
When Pastor Al looks at the photo now and sees himself standing behind his son as he takes the pulpit, he recognizes how it parallels their lives today. Al and his wife, Norma, passed the mantle onto Nathan and his family in a service on June 2 as Nathan took on the role of Calvary Worship Center’s new senior pastor.
“The baton [represents] that I’m running in full stride, but when I hand it off, he takes it, and he’s running in full stride”
Reflecting on the message he gave as a 16 year old, Nathan remembers being excited to encourage others. Now senior pastor, he possesses that same enthusiasm, looking forward to sharing Jesus’s death and resurrection with a new audience in a new way.
“Our culture is changing, and that means that as a church, our methods have to change, too,” he explained. “For me, it’s exciting to present Jesus to this culture that largely doesn’t really know Him. I’m excited about presenting who Jesus is in a relevant way, in a practical way, so that anyone can follow Him.”
‘A Road of Trusting God’
In the early ’80s, Pastor Al began serving on staff at Calvary Chapel of Colorado Springs, which later became Calvary Worship Center, before he and Norma relocated to Kansas City, KS, for work. The couple later moved to Albuquerque, NM, where Al served on staff at Calvary of Albuquerque for several years. While there, Al could feel God calling him to become a senior pastor. That was when he was presented with the opportunity to become senior pastor at Calvary Worship Center in 1997.
As Al prepared to become senior pastor of the church—which in the early 1980s had seen almost 2,000 people regularly attending, he said—others began to tell him that the Colorado Springs church was dead. By the time Al accepted the position in 1997, the church body had shrunk to about 80 to 100 people, he estimated.
Nathan, his wife, Katherine, along with sons Emerson (left) and Jaxon walk onto the stage during the Sunday service.
“There was talk of people saying, ‘Just let the church die. It’s a dead church,’” Pastor Al explained. “And I took that to the Lord.” The pastor felt the Lord telling him that the church was dead, as others were saying, but that He is the God who raises the dead. “A year later, we had doubled in size, and God was blessing and providing,” Pastor Al recalled.
Today, about 2,000 people attend the church each Sunday, Al said. The Pittmans remember a road of challenges that led to this point, and with each challenge, they saw God help the church overcome its obstacles.
“There isn’t any ‘hats off to us.’ It’s all to the glory of God.”
Al and Norma, with the Rockies behind them.
When the Pittmans arrived in 1997, the church had been meeting in its previous building, where Norma recalls numerous issues: “The parking lot was a mess. People would get flat tires. When it rained, the wires would sizzle in the ceiling,” she said, “and it was just amazing how God provided to fix that building up.”
Later, another sanctuary was built after outgrowing the first. “Just simply teaching the Word of God, we watched that [first] little sanctuary overflow into our fellowship hall, our little kitchen area, the foyer. At Easter, they were not only in the foyer, but people were lined up in the hallway,” Pastor Al said. “The result of that was that God blessed us to be able to build another sanctuary on that same property.”
Norma agreed. “It was most definitely a road of trusting God. There isn’t any ‘hats off to us.’ It’s all to the glory of God.” Looking back on his time as senior pastor, Pastor Al recalled how unity in Christ and the centrality of God’s Word have been two recurring themes in his messages to the church.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
“Being a multi-ethnic church, the message I’ve always promoted is the centrality of Christ and that we’re all one in Christ. I have a heart for people to be united,” he said, pointing to Jesus’ prayer in John 17, when He asked the Father to unite believers. “If we can’t be united, how will they believe?”
Finishing the Race
Having both grown up seeing their respective family members serve in ministry, Nathan and Katherine can see how their past experiences have prepared them for this new chapter. Additionally, as the couple began to feel a calling to take on these new roles, each of them separately felt that the Lord was drawing them to Acts 20:22-24, in which Paul described his plans to go to Jerusalem despite not knowing what awaited him there. When they mentioned this to one another, they were stunned to find that they had both felt the Lord speaking the same thing.
“So that was a moment that was very encouraging for us. Stepping in to take over Calvary Worship Center—it’s definitely weighty,” Katherine said. “It’s just knowing that we don’t know what’s ahead, but knowing that there is a call to move forward in worshiping Him in that way with our lives.”
Al stands behind 16-year-old Nathan as he addresses the congregation, after experiencing a medical emergency on the football field; he wanted to thank the people for their encouragement while in the hospital. Al was concerned if Nathan had the strength to stand. He continues to stand behind his son, now, as he takes on the responsibility of senior pastor.
“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:22-24
Al embraces a young man who has been coming since he was toddler; he’s had the privilege of watching him grow in the Lord.
As the couple officially took on their new roles at the June 2 service, Al put a mantle over the family, like Elijah did when Elisha joined him in ministry in 1 Kings 19. Pastor Al then anointed the family with oil representing the Holy Spirit and handed his son a baton inscribed with Zechariah 4:6.
“The baton [represents] that I’m running in full stride, but when I hand it off, he takes it, and he’s running in full stride,” Al explained. “He outruns me, and he continues on. Our expectation for him and for Katherine, for Calvary Worship Center, is that God is going to do above and beyond what He’s done through us.”
The full orchestra of instruments and musicians filled the church with a glorious sound. Pastor Kevin Jones, along with Tawanda Lopez and the worship team, led the congregation during the mid-Sunday service, as they celebrated what God has done in the past and what God will do in the future at Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs.
Norma added about Nathan, “I’ve been proud to be able to watch him grow. This is what God’s called him for. This is what he’s supposed to do.”
Now in his new role, Nathan has an encouragement for other pastors: “Succession is something so important to plan for,” he said. “Don’t wait to plan. Don’t wait to pray. Transition doesn’t have to be a scary thing because ultimately, God’s in charge of His church, and He’s in charge of His people.”
Al is congratulated by many.
“ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6b
In the meantime, Al and Norma—who have been in ministry together for 50 years—are looking forward to their next chapter of ministry together. Pastor Al has been invited to speak at conferences and other churches, with opportunities presenting themselves in the U.S., Mexico, and Africa.
Additionally, the couple plans to be a resource for pastors and pastors’ wives around the world. The couple began a website, AlPittmanMinistries.com, which links to resources such as devotionals, sermons, and Pastor Al’s two books, Surviving the Storm and Revelation: Earth’s Final Chapter.
Al, Norma, and the congregation sing praises unto the Lord, rejoicing in His faithfulness.
“We still want to be involved in teaching the Word and taking all the experience that we have acquired over the years, [asking] God to make it a blessing to other people in ministry, especially pastors,” Al revealed. “We hope to be an encouragement to others.”
Watch the full interview with Pastor Felix and Pastor Al Pittman on Ripples From The Rock Podcast.
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