Our Blog

Worship Ministry - May 2023

I remember it like it was yesterday! I was seven years old and my family lived in Jefferson City, MO at the time with my dad serving a local church there. He had invited a group called “Heaven’s Gate, Hell’s Flames” to come to help us put on a drama production. This show was a collection of short skits, all tied together, depicting the last moments in people's lives. I remember there was a construction worker that fell from a scaffolding, an older man that had a heart attack, and a mom in a car accident. The part I remember very clearly, however, was the devil character that appeared throughout the show. It just so happened that the devil character was played by my dad in makeup that would make the members of Kiss proud.

As a seven-year-old who had been in church every week of his entire life, this was the first time that heaven and hell became real. This was the first time that I was able to understand God in a tangible concrete way and realize that Satan is real. It was the first time I understood that I had a choice to make; follow God and go to heaven, or join Satan in hell. This is an oversimplification of the choice each of us gets to make, but as a young boy simple was all that I knew. I was simply picking between God and Satan...that’s it.

As I look back on that event twenty-three years later, I have come to realize that I didn’t choose God because He is holy, kind, and full of love. I choose God because He wasn’t Satan. I came to God because I had great fear that if I took my last breath going home from church that night, I was going to have to spend eternity in hell with Satan. How many of us walk with Christ because of that same fear? Not walking with Him because He loves us. Not following Him because He’s holy. Not living for God because He’s our creator and made a way for us through Jesus, but out of fear.

In Deuteronomy 31, we read about how Moses’ life is coming to an end and that Joshua will succeed him as leader over Israel, and that Joshua, not Moses, will lead the people into the Promise Land. Moses tells the people “⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Moses also encourages Joshua not to fear for “⁸ It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

I believe this is a good reminder to us as believers. Some of us have come to God and His salvation out of fear, or we are living in fear because of the world around us, but we don’t have to remain in that fear. The same God that has told the Israelites not to fear is the same God we serve today. The same God that promised His people He wouldn’t forsake them and that He would go before them, is the same God we serve now. As His people, His children, we have the same assurance that we have nothing to fear for our King holds all, knows all, and rules over all.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 So let us surrender and give our fears over to God! “And every fear I lay at Your feet I'll sing through the night, Oh God, the battle belongs to You!” (Battle Belongs) Let us choose God because of His majesty and holiness. Let us choose to worship Him because He is worthy. Let us choose to be fearless because of His power and hope. Let us lay every fear at His feet and praise God for His goodness.

I love you, and I love serving this church!

Lyric of the Month
So when I fight I'll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
O God the battle belongs to You

1 Chronicles 16:23
Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Women On Mission - May 2023

Oakhill Baptist Church Time Line

We look forward to celebrating our 60^th anniversary as a church in October.
This is a partial timeline of our history.

Jan. 24, 1960     Rev. C. E. Wiley, area missionary, met with 25 people in the home of Mr. & Mrs. John Hughes for the first fellowship meeting.
June 1960           Keck Ave. Baptist Church voted to sponsor Oakhill Baptist Chapel.
Sept. 1, 1960     Rev. Paul Bowles was called as first Pastor.
Nov. 1962           Rev. William Weedman served as Interim Pastor.
March 17, 1963 Rev. William Tucker was called as Pastor.
Oct. 8, 1963       Chapel organized into Oakhill Baptist Church with 68 charter members.
Sept. 13, 1964  Ground breaking for new building.
Dec. 16, 1964   Rev. Jeff Mitchener called as Interim Pastor.
April 18, 1965  New building completed.
July 1965            Rev. William Carter called as Pastor.
1970                      Steve Cook, Summer Youth Director.
1970                      Randy Dill, Summer Youth Director.
Oct. 15, 1972   Oakhill voted to sponsor Southwind Fellowship. Rev. James Trader was Pastor of Southwind.
1973                      Garry Bailey served as part-time Youth & Music Director. 
Feb. 1973            Delores Zahm came as Church Secretary.
June 1973          Tom Traylor, a student at Southern Seminary, came as Summer Youth Director. (Her served as Interim Pastor in 1974).
1973 -1974       Cindy Boultinghouse, Summer Children’s Worker.
Sept. 1974          Rev. Joe Hasson called as Pastor.
1977                      Rev. Irvin Parrett served as Interim Pastor. Other Youth workers were: Brenda Keller (1976), Danny Garnett (77-79), Jim Trader (1982), Bruce Wilson (1983),                                    David Russell (1984).
Sept. 1977         Rev. Roy Jones called as Pastor, served until Sept. 1984.
Nov. 1984          Rev. Irvin Parrett served as Interim Pastor .
March 1985     Rev. Glen Flowers called as Pastor, served until Jan. 2006.
March 2, 1986 101 volunteers participated in Good News America Bible distribution - 400 Bibles given in area.
May 1986          Rev. Randal Bratcher came as first full-time Minister of Youth and Music.
Nov. 1986        “Together We Build” campaign brought pledges of $221,746.00 - $21,746.00 above Hallelujah goal.
March 1987     Ground breaking for new educational building.
Jan. 19, 1988   Dedication of new building.
June 1991         Joe Hopkins called as Minister of Music (part-time). Also served on the music faculty at University of Evansville. Served until March 1998.
Dec. 1993         Rev. Joby Tricquet called as full-time Associate Pastor. Served until 1997.
1994                    Terry Frank called as part-time Minister of Youth until 1998.
June 1994        Kathleen Qualkenbush came as Church Secretary.
January 1998 World Mission Club plan for mission giving began.
April 5, 1998   Rev. Kevin Royalty served as full-time Minister of Music and Education. Served until 2004.
May 2000         Oakhill began the Weekday Childcare Ministry with Vanessa Wagler as the Weekday Childcare Director and Amy Dassel as the Assistant Director.
                                Both ladies served until 2004.
Oct. 2000         Paul Hollis served as part-time Minister of Youth until 2001.
Feb. 2004         Lisa West, Weekday Childcare Director - presently serving.
Oct. 2004         Jason Woolsey came as Minister of Music - served until 2014.
Jan. 2006         Retirement of Rev. Glen Flowers.
May 2006        Rev. Alan Scott came to serve as Senior Pastor - presently serving.
March 2007   Rev. Bryan Gotcher came as Minister of Students & Education - presently serving as Senior Associate & Children’s Pastor.
2011                   April Sharp came as Children’s Ministry Director - served until Dec. 2018.
Oct. 2011        Polly Todd came as Administrative Assistant. Presently serving as Administrative Assistant of Finance and Facilities. 
Feb. 2016        Pastor Nick Scott came as Pastor of Spiritual Development - served until Dec. 2020.
Feb. 2016        Pastor Jared Mitchell came as Pastor of Worship - served until Feb. 2020.
Oct. 2016        Pastor Brian Van Doren came as Student Pastor - served until 2022.
June 2017       Shirlene Kilgore came as Personal Assistant to Lead Pastor & Ministry Coordinator - presently serving.
Jan. 2019         Cheryl Rollow came as Administrative Assistant - served until Sept. 2019.
Feb. 2019        Pastor Leonid Marsan Rodriguez came as Hispanic Church Pastor - presently serving.
Sept. 2019     Jen Church came as Administrative Assistant of Students and Worship. Presently serving as Communications Coordinator and Worship Ministry Assistant.
June 2020      Pastor Derek Niffenegger came as Pastor of Worship - served until Feb. 2022.
Aug. 2021      Molly Morris came as Children’s Ministry Assistant - presently serving as Student Ministry Assistant.
July 2022       Michaela Jones came as Children’s Ministry Assistant - presently serving.
Aug. 2022      Pastor Evan Gray came as Pastor of Worship - presently serving.

Women on Mission will meet next on Thursday, May 4th in the Grace classroom at 1:00 pm.