Meet Nic Schrieber, Church at Charlotte’s Middle School Pastor. Nic is a recent graduate from MissionFiT’s “ReStart Your Heart” Program.

Be inspired this Testimony Tuesday by his wellness journey and experience though the program. He has a great story of transformation and can really ‘drop the mic’ when it comes to the Gospel. 😉 So without further adieu…..meet Nic!

 

Church at Charlotte's, Nic Schrieber, Inspires All to Take Action on Their Health, Pastor Nic preaching on stage at Church at Charlotte

“The Gospel message is the single greatest truth that we may know, embrace, and live for—and the Gospel truly is the hope for the world, and I know that God’s people are are called to proclaim it—then may we train our bodies in such a way that we have the energy, self-control and clarity of focus so that we can be faithful to live for the Gospel as long as we are permitted by God to live.”

…..

My name is Nic Schrieber and I am married to Laura Schrieber (who is awesome!).  We have been married for almost 13 years with four kids, ranging in ages from 10 years old on down to 3 years old.  We moved to Charlotte 2 years ago, feeling called by God to join the team at Church at Charlotte as the Middle School Pastor.  I love working with students, and we previously worked with students in Miami, Florida, for 10 years before taking the position here.  

 

Church at Charlotte's, Nic Schrieber, Inspires All to Take Action on Their Health, Nic and his family smiling for the camera

 

One of my main strengths is as an encourager.  I want to encourage people, towards the Gospel, towards their true identity in Christ, and towards their unique calling and purpose.  I think this strength lends itself well in student ministry (and life in general).

 

My youth pastor had a dramatic impact on my life; and as a result, I understand the impact that the next generation can have.  I hope and pray that God continues to transform me by His Word and Spirit into a follower of Jesus, who loves Him, loves people, and makes disciples who make more disciples.  

 

When I think of my fitness journey the three words that come to mind are:

“Intermittent, Stagnant, and Insecure.”

 

In terms of a timeline for my past fitness journey, I played a lot of basketball and baseball in high school, and kept up playing sports for fun into college.  Even in Miami, while doing ministry, we would leverage a lot of sports for outreach and youth programming. Despite my love for sports, I never adhered to a plan for maintaining my fitness or establishing healthy eating patterns.  And once we started our family, sports, fitness and healthy eating habits fell by the wayside.

 

Meet Ministry Leader, Laura, Who's Goal is Longevity!, Laura and her husband Nic on a car ride with lots of kiddos

 

Now, in Charlotte, we have a little bit more balance in our family and work life dynamics, but even within the better environment, the commitment to a plan for fitness and a healthier diet was never made.

 

Some take-aways that I’ve learned from the MissionFiT program include a lot of the health lessons, especially those that emphasize how food and diet affect energy and mood levels.  I especially appreciated the emphasis on how it is not just a ten-week push to lose weight or get in shape, but it is about healthy rhythms and patterns.  

 

I appreciated our Kelsey’s coaching which focused on proper techniques as well as creative ways to work out without having to head to the gym for a sixty minute workout.  With her flexible approach to fitness, I could achieve my workout goals at our home with 20 – 30 minute blocks of time.

 

Some personal accomplishments from my participation in the program include an increase in my upper body strength training.  I have always hated push-ups, pull-ups and similar movements, and felt insecure when performing them. But through the program, I have learned some movements that I actually enjoy performing.

 

Church at Charlotte's, Nic Schrieber, Inspires All to Take Action on Their Health, Nic in a superhero costume with his kids

 

Laura and I participated in the program together and even now we are continuing to practice the majority of the things we learned with healthy eating, mobility, and consistent core training.  Another win is that our sleep patterns have improved as a result.

 

What I’ve enjoyed the most about my experience with MissionFiT has been the training provided by our coach for both my wife and I.  Sharing my fitness journey with Laura was so great, especially the encouragement and reinforcement we provide to each other.

 

From an exercise perspective, I love the kettlebells but my least favorite movement is Bear Crawls!  Adhering to healthy eating habits and regularly doing workouts throughout the week make up my biggest areas of growth in my fitness journey.

 

Church at Charlotte's, Nic Schrieber, Inspires All to Take Action on Their Health, Nic in a group of ministry leaders

 

Maintaining a disciplined and healthy body allows me to think more clearly, have more energy, handle stress better, and steward my body more faithfully and ideally for more years. It’s what motivates me on this journey.  I believe that God has called me to serve Him and proclaim the Gospel and encourage others until I die—thus, the longer and healthier I live, the more faithful I can be at living out His calling.

 

With regard to the connection between faith and health, I believe that since we are spiritual AND physical beings, it is naïve to think that one does not affect the other.  I think they greatly impact each other. I also believe that within God’s grand story, it is within the purpose given to humanity to work, to bear fruit, and have dominion over the earth—in other words, to work faithfully, to use our bodies to bear fruit and have impact, and to control AND not be controlled by the things of this world.  

 

I would emphasize again that part of our faithful calling is stewarding our health and body that God has given us.  Our body is not ours—it is God’s. May we steward it well.

 

Meet Ministry Leader, Laura, Who's Goal is Longevity!, Laura and Nic working out

 

The health of pastors is important for our longevity and faithfulness to the calling that God has given us, and also because it is connected to our ability to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength!  I believe that in order to obey this great commandment, our good health is vital.

 

The Gospel message is the single greatest truth that we may know, embrace, and live for—and the Gospel truly is the hope for the world, and I know that God’s people are are called to proclaim it—then may we train our bodies in such a way that we have the energy, self-control and clarity of focus so that we can be faithful to live for the Gospel as long as we are permitted by God to live.

 

My fitness journey has been a gift from God that I would like to share with others.  God puts things in our lives to help us recharge/or restart, and this is what MissionFiT has been for us.  It is not just about 10 weeks, but about patterns and perspective shifts that work to encourage your spirit, train your body for many more years of faithful ministry, and give you some camaraderie for the journey!  

 

Church at Charlotte's, Nic Schrieber, Inspires All to Take Action on Their Health, headshot of Nic in a plaid church

For more powerful testimonials, visit our FiT-Bits Blog.