Yesterday was a bittersweet day in our church. God blessed us with a gorgeous day to have an outdoor service as our much-loved Pastor shared with us for the last time as the Shepherd of our flock. Oh, we hated to see him and his beautiful wife, Kay, leave us. They are such an amazing example of what leaders should look like in a church and we will miss them terribly.
What has always impressed me about our Pastor, was that he never put himself above others. Many times, I left the service and told him that he had stepped all over my toes in his sermon that day. In fact, after a recent Sunday, I “accused” him of following me the previous week, because I was convinced he would have had to do that to know the precise words I needed to hear. His response was always the same. He would smile and say he only shared whatever God had already stepped all over his own toes about. In other words, he wanted to convey that he had struggles and maybe some rough edges that God needed to work on too…just like me. He wanted his flock to know that we are all on this journey of faith together…with God at the helm of our congregation.
As much as we hate to see Pastor Gary and Kay go, we know that Hope Church will go on being a light shining in a dark world. The reason I know that is because Pastor Gary didn’t build our church around him…but totally focused on our Lord Jesus Christ. Over and over again, he urged us to get on our knees…to cry out to our Heavenly Father…to seek His image in everything that we do. Time and time again he encouraged us to spend time reading God’s Word and then put into practice what God laid on our heart. Pastor Gary never wanted any glory or recognition for himself…he always pointed us towards our Savior and because of that…Hope Church won’t miss a beat. Our foundation isn’t in a human man…but in an eternal God who never changes, never leaves us, never lets us down.
If you aren’t a part of a Bible believing, prayer focused church, I want to urge you to find one. There just isn’t anything better than doing life with others who are always challenging you to be a better follower of Christ. I often fall so short, but my brothers and sisters in Christ are willing to love me anyway, helping me to keep my focus on the One who is worthy of my devotion and praise.
We wish Pastor Gary and Kay the very best as they retire and continue to serve Jesus wherever He leads them. And we will welcome Pastor Mark Wilson and his wife Carla with open arms, as they come to take over leading our flock. We are so excited to see where and how God will lead us and mold us in the days ahead to look more and more like Him. To God be the Glory…great things HE has done!
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”
Psalm 115:1
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