Cape Bible Chapel welcomes new pastor

Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau is welcoming a new lead pastor. Eric Coher -- along with his wife, Jodie, their son, Caden, 8, and daughter, Aubrey, 7 -- has moved from Indiana to take on this new role.

Coher has been in ministry since 2005, when he led a campus ministry called Campus Outreach at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.

For the past six years, he has been the associate pastor of Faith Bible Church, also in Evansville.

Coher said he is convinced this new step -- one he did not seek -- is the right one.

"We sensed the Lord leading us [to Cape Bible Chapel]. I was not looking for a new role. I was very content in Evansville," Coher said.

A sign hangs in the lobby at Cape Bible Chapel with Eric Coher's signature bow tie displayed on it Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (Glenn Landberg)

But when he and his wife sensed the Lord's leading, they heeded the call and followed. While driving a truck packed with his family's possessions, Coher shared how this new season of ministry unfolded.

Cape Bible Chapel was without a lead pastor, and in their search for a replacement, they invited ministers they already knew to come preach, according to Coher. They trusted the Lord to bring a pastor to them through that method, rather than relying on resumes from people with whom they had no connection. Coher was connected to one man on the elder board and was asked to come fill the pulpit several times. Sunday, May 31, was his first time preaching there, but he returned to minister several more times.

"I came to fill the pulpit in May ... and that started a five-month-long conversation about Cape Bible Chapel's need for a new lead pastor," Coher said.

He became the lead pastor on Oct. 18, when he accepted the position.

Coher said Cape Bible Chapel stood out to him because the church shares his commitment.

"They are committed to the same thing that I'm committed to: high view of God, high view of God's word, love for the church and a desire to be a light to the community," he said. "I wouldn't be in this moving truck right now," he said, if he and the church were not aligned in their focus.

Coher's vision is simple: "to know God and make him known." He looks forward to doing that with his new congregation, whom he already loves.

"As my wife and I began to pray about this opportunity, I began to fall in love with the people of Cape Bible. ... I fell in love with that congregation," he said.

One thing he looks forward to is being a church that reaches out to others, rather than just focusing inwardly.

"The natural tendency for every local church is ... to look more inward than outward," he said. He acknowledged "there are needs within the congregation," but added, "I want to encourage us to resist the temptation to circle the wagons, and instead serve our community and be a light among darkness in Cape Girardeau and make disciples."

The pastor gave a sneak peek at what he has in store: Beginning Jan. 31, he will take the church through "a one-year, verse-by-verse study of the book of Ephesians."

Coher encouraged those desiring to start the new year fresh with a church family to come and worship at Cape Bible Chapel.

"Not just one Sunday, but come be with us a handful of Sundays," he said. "Every church has its own culture ... its own heartbeat. Come and worship with us as we seek to know God and make him known, and see if the chapel wouldn't be a good place to call home."

Today, Jan. 10, is his first Sunday in the pulpit as lead pastor. Services are at 9 and 10:30 a.m., and Cape Bible Chapel is at 2911 Kage Road in Cape Girardeau.