Many, many moons ago I went to school with a couple of boys by the names of Kris and Kason Oakes. Kris was in my class from preschool through graduation, and Kason was in my younger brother's class. It was a small school in a small town and we all knew each other pretty well. From Ag trips to ballgames to youth group to class trips, we found ourselves in the same circles throughout our young lives; however, if you had told me that I would one day be sitting in a congregation with my family dressed up in their finest western wear while little brother Kason led his church in worship, I would have been pretty surprised. I'm still a little surprised, but OH, so pleasantly surprised!
A few weeks ago, Kason's mom tagged me in a post on Facebook which was a promotional video announcing the coming of Western Sunday at the Watonga Church of the Nazarene where Kason is pastor. The trailer video was cute and intriguing and definitely made me want to be a part of the fun, so November 1st, we put on our boots and belts and the youngest donned her hand-me-down pink cowboy hat, and we all headed off to church.
We arrived a little before the 10:45 worship service started and were greeted in the foyer by Pastor Kason himself, chaps and all. After a quick visit, we were shown to the sanctuary which was appropriately decorated with hay bales and wagon wheels and found ourselves a seat. A couple of members introduced themselves and welcomed us. One even sat down and visited for quite a while before the service began.
The service started with some fun western themed music. The church is gifted with a fantastic praise band, of which the pastor and his wife and father are all members, and the music was accompanied by guitars, drums, a banjo, and even trumpets, flutes, and a saxophone. The talent was extremely evident and definitely enhanced the worship experience.
The entire service was very well done; however, I would have to say that the message by Pastor Kason was the highlight for us. I told my husband that if every pastor in America was as fervent about seeking God's will for his church as Kason, that there would be a revival like no other. We discovered during the message that the church has made a commitment in the past month to pray very intentionally every Monday at 10:02. During this weekly prayer time, members present a trio of questions to God and wait in anticipation for His answers. The questions they are presenting have to do with saving the lost, raising up workers for the harvest, and what part they as individuals should have. The message was taken primarily from the Book of Acts and pointed out how in the early church the Holy Spirit was stirring, working, speaking, calling and sending as the believers were worshiping, fasting, praying, and obeying. Pastor Kason shared with the congregation several examples of how the Holy Spirit has been moving within their church since the intentional prayer time had been started three weeks before. It is amazing how the Lord will move when His people are truly seeking and willing to listen and obey. It certainly sparked within me a desire to be more intentional in my prayer life and to seek the answer to specific questions while developing a closer relationship with my savior.
When the service was over, we made our way back home, happy to have made the journey to Watonga. We expected to have a good time. We expected to have some great western music and enjoy the western theme, but the effect our visit had on our spirits went beyond all expectations. I'm so very glad we accepted the invitation and Chased the Steeple of the Watonga Church of the Nazarene, and we feel so very blessed that once upon a time a little boy named Kason grew up to be a man after God's own heart and share his heart with the body of Christ.
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