Dear Church Family,
On September 10th and October 1st we are going to celebrate our 60th anniversary as a church family! On September 10th we will gather at North Campus to fellowship together and celebrate God’s provision for our immediate and long-term future. And then on October 1st in all three services we will gather for worship and celebrate our great God who has shown Himself to be “Always Faithful” to our church. Then, on the evening of October 1st we will come back together for a church-wide dinner as we remember and celebrate what God has done in our midst over the last 60 years. You will hear more details as these events get closer, but for the rest of my article I want us to think about the theme of our Celebrating Sixty years of ministry.
The theme is “Always Faithful.” Yes, in some regards that is an allusion to the faithful members and ministry staff that it took to keep ministry going for 60 years. But to a larger degree we need to understand that theme is pointing us to our great God because He is truly the only one that is “always” faithful.
Many things have changed throughout the years. Ministry plans, church policy, church staff, lead pastors, membership makeup. On and on we could go, but the one constant has been our faithful God.
You see even with the best of intentions, pastors, church staff, and members are not always faithful. We as humans fall short. We make mistakes. We sin. We are not always faithful. But the Lord is. This is why I want us to know that the celebration and the glory cannot go to the church’s pastors, past, present, or future. Key members throughout the years cannot be the ones to get the glory for 60 years of ministry either. We cannot celebrate the ministry endeavors of the church as well. We must keep the focus on our faithful God.
You see, people come and go; ministers are here for a season, but the Lord remains. And He is always faithful. Rev. Glen Flowers was here serving with his wife Naomi for twenty-one years before me. I have been here serving with my wife Paula for the past seventeen and a half years. And at some point, someone else will come to be the next lead pastor after me. This is just how it is. Yes, we are all called to be faithful, but we can never be the focus. The focus must always stay on our ever-faithful Lord!
And as Oakhill prepares to launch off into sixty more years of ministry, let us always remember to keep our eyes on Him and to trust Him every step of the way. My prayer for Oakhill is that she will always do the things God has commanded the local church to do, as found in the New Testament. And I believe as those things are done, God will
move and grow His church. And the church’s response to His movement will be to follow His lead. As I always say, “As God Moves, We Move.” Oakhill, keep moving with God and let’s make sure to always give Him the glory!!
I love you and I love being your pastor!
