True Pursuit is a men’s ministry founded by Pete Emhoff and the members of his Rear Guard (Board of Directors).  Every man needs other men to walk along side of them.  True Pursuit enables Pete to be available to do this.  If you would like to get in contact with Pete, please email him at pete@truepursuit.org.  To learn more please continue to browse our website.

Philosophy

Everything begins with the heart.  Who we are deep inside; that person that God meant when He meant you.  The Bible says that the battle is not between flesh and blood, but between forces of Good and Evil and it is over our hearts.  Christ came to earth to show us how to live and fight this battle for our hearts.  He died to free us, and rose again to fight for us, and ascended into Heaven with all power and authority to be our LORD.

Today we still live in this way.  Fighting for our hearts and for the hearts of others in this incredible life that God has called us up into.  Our everyday actions are not trivial, they are vital.  To some, our intervention could mean the difference between their spiritual life or death.  We must be ready and on the alert, for our enemy is like a roaring lion ready to devour us.  We also must know who we are and what our mission and purpose is.

Purpose

For most men, life is about getting a good education, good job, good marriage, family and then just trying not to blow it.   Something deep within us whispers that there is something more, much more.  But how do we find it?  Is it for everyone, or just a select few?

True Pursuit exists to empower men to pursue what is true about their hearts, lives and calling.  It is our purpose to help men interpret the messages and stories of their lives.   This, in turn, will bring into view the greater story in which our strength and glory will play a crucial role.

God desires freedom and restoration for our lives.  Why then are we still bound to things that keep us from this freedom?   Most of us believe that we are to blame; that it’s our fault, but it is not.  We want to help men discover the things that keep them from the freedom that Christ offers, release them and help them begin to live from their true heart that has been hidden for so long.

Mission

Our mission is to set every man free from the chains that hold him; set every man free from the strongholds of addiction and deception.  We want to show you freedom and invite you into a life that is full.   Our mission is to help every man find the glory, the passion, and the desires that God has placed in him.

History

In January 2005 I invited 6 friends who share my love for Jesus and my passion to rescue the hearts of men to a meeting at my house. I told them that I wanted them to consider joining me in this adventure that God was calling me to…I needed other men to walk with me in this journey. To my surprise all of them enthusiastically said yes and the Rear Guard (board of directors) was born.

In his book Wild at Heart John Eldredge says not to ask the question “how” but rather ask the question “what”. God is the god of how and He certainly has that part of the equation figured out. So as nerve racking as it was the next several months were spent praying and asking Jesus what He wanted this thing to look like and also trying to determine whether we would incorporate and get our own 501c3 or try and find a foundation that we could come under. In the mean time I had given my notice to the Young Life community that I would be leaving at the end of August. After many attempts to find a compatible foundation to come under I flew to Seattle the second week in August to meet with a man doing this kind of ministry and willing to show me how to apply for the 501c3 status without it costing me my first born son. We got our application in in early September and within 30 days we received word from the IRS that we were approved. How cool is that?

The Rear Guard were unanimous in their desire to have True Pursuit not have a lot of structure. They saw the value of staying small, mobile, adaptive so that we could maintain our goal to “be available to take Jesus plus nothing to men”.

In April 2008 we put on our first Annual True Pursuit Boot Camp here in Michigan. The weekend is patterned after the Wild at Heart Boot Camps that Ransomed Heart hosts 3-4 times a year out in Colorado. Now that we have three boot camps under our belts we are asking God if He wants us to do more of them and the answer seems to be yes. We are looking forward to adding another boot camp and perhaps an Advanced weekend for those men who have already been to a boot camp and are wanting to go deeper into the message. We also are offering to help other groups of men plan and execute their own boot camps. We offer all of our experience for planning a boot camp and we will do all of the presenting. If you have any interest in having the True Pursuit team come and help you do a boot camp please email or give me a call at 734.904.4476

Statement of Faith

• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, only, infallible, inerrant, authoritative Word of God.
• We believe in the One True God, The Sovereign, eternal Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternally existent in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• We believe God created mankind in His image. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own way. As a result, all of mankind became separated from God; the image of God in man was distorted; mankind became subject to the power of the devil; and the sinful nature was passed on to all their progeny. Because of original sin, unregenerate human beings are incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God. The only remedy for mankind’s pitiful predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.
• We believe that when a person exercises saving faith in Christ he passes, immediately, out of spiritual death into spiritual life and from the old creation into the new, a new nature and a new heart imparted; being justified freely by grace, he is accepted before the Father as Christ, His Son, is accepted and loved as Christ is loved–having his place and portion linked to Christ and one with Christ – forever.
• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
• We believe in the resurrection of, both, the saved and the lost–they who are saved unto the resurrection of life and they who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.