Dear Church Family,
This month is special to me because it is in this month that I celebrate my yearly anniversary of being your pastor! My first Sunday standing in the pulpit as your pastor was on May 21, 2006. These have been the sweetest 15 years of my ministry!!
When I went through the interview process, I honestly shared with the search committee my convictions about ministry in the local church, and they shared with me what Oakhill was looking for in the future. And in this process it became apparent that God had brought a pastor and a church together for future ministry at Oakhill!!
As I shared with our church my convictions of ministry, the church voted for me to come to serve as pastor. For the past 15 years I have dedicated myself to stay true to the convictions I shared back then, and our church family has kept their word to
support, care, and follow godly leadership when given. I love being your pastor!! God has been so good to me to allow me the privilege of pastoring our church family!
I look forward to many more years together in ministry! God is not done moving and working in and through our church! We are poised to take the next step of faith that God has for us as we anticipate soon going forward in faith to develop and build out the first phase of the plan that God has given us for our North and South Campuses! I am excited to see all that God is going to do!!
In conclusion, many of you know that I have had spinal fusion surgery to correct issues in my back. By the time you read this letter I will be at home on the road to recovery, and out of the pulpit for 4-5 weeks as I recover. I have asked Dr. Todd Linn to fill the pulpit for me in my absence. He is the former Senior Pastor of First Baptist Henderson, Kentucky. Since his retirement, he and his wife Michelle have been attending Oakhill and actively serving. He is a dear brother to me and one of the biggest encouragers to me in life. Please make sure to be at worship because Todd truly is a gifted speaker! You will be blessed as God uses him. Some may ask why our other pastors were not asked to speak. The simple reason is they have picked up extra responsibilities since we have not yet replaced Pastor Nick’s position on staff and are very busy with those responsibilities. They are thankful for Todd being able to help out during this busy season of ministry.
Our church is in good hands. We have wonderful associate pastors, church staff, lay elders, and deacon body! God’s work will continue on without missing a beat!!
I would ask that you pray for me during my recovery. I do not do well not being able to be out working. Pray I do not waste this time and that God would use it in my life to do a deeper work in me. As always...
I love you and I love being your pastor
