Few but Faithful: Church of God 7th Day

     If you really want to confuse your children during Saturday morning cartoons, tell them to get ready for church. First they'll be confused (Wait! What day is it?), then they'll argue. (But, MOM, it's Saturday!), and finally after you've reminded them that their friends will be there, they'll reluctantly concede (Fine! But I'm not wearing a dress!). This is exactly what happened at our house a couple Saturday's ago when I told the girls we were going to go to the Church of God (Seventh day) in Fairview, Oklahoma.

 

   When I finally got them on board, and after the husband had to back out at the last minute because of calls from work, we made our way to this tiny little church on the corner of 7th and Ash.  The building is so unobtrusive that even though we've driven past it a million times, my girls claimed never to have noticed it's existence.  In fact, as we walked in to join the less than dozen faithful members in attendance, we couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the rest of the community had forgotten it's existence as well. (Which, with it's long and rich history of consistence faithfulness to faith would be an absolute shame.)

 

Youngest child kept herself busy (for the most part) taking apart and putting away this puzzle. (And spilling it with a loud crash onto the floor during the sermon. Sorry about that!)

 

    The Fairview Church of God (Seventh Day) was started way back in 1894 and is one of the oldest continually worshiping churches of this denomination in the United States. The denomination itself only started in mid-1800's with the General Conference being incorporate Missouri in 1899, 5 years after the little church in Fairview began. The denomination has some very specific beliefs about maintaining a Saturday Sabbath (which Jews and early Christians maintained until the 4th Century A.D. when the Roman emperor Constantine declared it such in order to please recent pagan converts who were used to worshiping their sun god on that day.) , as well as,  adhering to laws written in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 regarding clean and unclean animals, and denying the celebration of Christmas and Easter. In addition, they continue to observe many of the feast days of the Jewish faith and take Holy Communion only during the Passover Feast, and they have been compared in doctrine to Messianic Jews.  However, for the most part the beliefs of this congregation closely mirror those of most protestant denominations. They believe in the Holy Trinity, in salvation through the grace of God through Jesus Christ, and in the Bible as the divine Word of God.

The faithful few in fellowship!

     Therefore, as Pastor Tytus Burrell shared the word of God with this fellowship of believers and hymns were sung in worship to the Lord, we could have been in any church on a Sunday morning learning about God's word and singing praises to our King. It was a privilege to be able to share this experience in this particular church, with these particular believers, on this particular Saturday morning, and I as thought of Jesus worshiping on the Sabbath so many years ago, I felt privileged to share this day with him as well. And I couldn't help but feel admiration for a congregation of believers that have held on to their faith generation after generation despite a world which must constantly make it difficult to do so.

Fellowship Hall.

Foyer

At the Movies: Lifechurch OKC

       I'm going to admit something that you may or may not believe, but sometimes....I don't want to go to church. Sometimes when we've been away from home all weekend at a family reunion where we discovered that our family of five has outgrown a two-bed hotel room, and no one has slept well, and I've spent the weekend catering to my children instead of hanging out with my cousins like I wanted to do and have developed a little chip-on-the-shoulder resentment towards them and well, basically everyone on the planet, I really just don't want to get up and get everyone ready and go to another new church and be all nice and chummy and open-minded and Christian on a Sunday morning.

     However, I also hate to fail, and I hate to say I'll do something and not follow through, and I hate for all my Facebook friends and blog readers to realize that I'm human and I'm not always that great at sticktoitiveness and no longer trust me to complete what I say I'll do. So I went to sleep Saturday night muttering about never going to church again and woke up Sunday morning determined not to fail but to take the easiest path possible and get it over with.

    So I asked myself," Where are we going to go to church today?"

    And I answered, "LifeChurch. No one cares if you show up there anyway." (Did I mention I was cranky?)

    But to be honest, I've had a little bit of a preconceived notion about LifeChurch from the beginning. It just seems a little too entertaining and convenient and maybe not such a sacrifice to attend because it's....well, fun, and you can go pretty much anytime you want instead of just early Sunday morning when you just want to sleep, and really, if church isn't just a little bit boring and undesirable then how can I turn it into a sacrifice and show God how much I'm willing to give up for Him just by showing up. I mean really? And besides that, how is anyone ever supposed to really connect when you can come at anytime, and the preacher is on a tv screen and doesn't know who you are anyway? It just seems like an easy way to get your weekly church obligation in without messing up the rest of your schedule. And no one's going to notice one more family there anyway, so easy-peasy, we can go to church and I won't have to be civil to anyone. Perfect!

    Oh, God! Aren't you the funny one?!

     So we decided to attend the LifeChurch in Oklahoma City on Northwest Expressway because it was right beside Gattitown (which is like a Chuckie Cheese on steroids where we'd spent a years worth of time the day before) and we knew exactly where to find it. (Once again path of least resistance was the order of the day.) We got there as a flood of people were leaving and a new flood was pouring in, and after making my youngest daughter change clothes in the parking lot because.....well, because, I was in a bad mood and everything seemed wrong at the time, we entered the building, and BAM! The whole morning transformed in a snap!

     LifeChurch is in the midst of their yearly At the Movies series where head Pastor Craig Groeschel uses popular movies as a catalyst to the biblical principles and messages he's teaching that week. During this series each July, each of the LifeChurch locations decorate their churches in a different movie theme. I knew this was happening, but I didn't KNOW. I couldn't KNOW. Oh, my goodness! Absolute awesomeness! There was just no way to maintain a cranky attitude when faced with a giant rotating spaghetti and meatball tornado. The lobby of the church was absolutely incredible!

     We were greeted at the door and asked if we had attended before, and when we responded to the negative, our greeter turned into an on the spot tour guide and directed us to the children's check-in area, and the coffee and tea bar, and reminded us to pick up popcorn on our way to the sanctuary. I didn't feel like a nobody or like no one cared. I felt included and welcome and finally a little bit excited about church that morning.

    We let the girls take the time to go through the spaghetti maze and down the ice cream slide before checking them in at the information station and dropping them off in a large room with a giant movie screen on one wall and a rock climbing wall on the other. We discovered that the kids get their very own version of At the Movies with children's movies and messages on their level. (They watched and discussed pieces of Maleficent, and my girls were excited to tell me all they learned on the way home.)

     Jason and I and our oldest grabbed some iced tea and popcorn and headed to the sanctuary (or auditorium), and soon after the music began. As I'd expected, it was rock concert loud with flashing lights and repetitive choruses and I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into it and connecting with God through the music that morning. Perhaps it was my residual moodiness or exhaustion, but I found myself just standing and watching and wishing they would stop singing the same thing over and over so I could just sit down. I don't always feel this way about this style of worship, but this particular morning I was very disconnected from it, so I was glad when it was time for the message.

    And what a message!

     The movie base was About Time, a time travel movie where a 21 year old son learns from his father that the men in their family have the ability to travel back in time within their own lifetimes. I hadn't seen the movie, but I definitely want to now. Comparing scenes from the movie with Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Every Season, the pastor wove a beautiful story with a life-altering message. A message about time. A message to remind us to make the most of the time we're given. A message to give God our time. A message that for us came just in the nick of time.

     The next day my husband came home from work, looked me in the eyes, and said, "I had a really good day."  I was glad to hear that and asked what had happened because for some time, things hadn't been quite so positive. He hesitated and then responded in his typical quiet way, "That sermon yesterday.....it was really good."

     And that's all he needed to say.

     I've been constantly amazed during our Steeple Chase journey this year how God keeps placing us in positions to hear or see or do exactly what we seem to need each Sunday. I thought I was taking my family to Lifechurch because it was the easy, non-threatening thing to do, but in reality it was just right where we needed to be to change our perspective not just on LifeChurch but on life itself.

***(This week is the final week of At the Movies, and I highly recommend taking advantage of one of the many opportunities to watch online at lifechurch.tv, I promise you won't be disappointed.)

A Forever Faith: Jenks FBC

    Sometimes you walk into a church and you can just feel it's life-blood pumping. Excitement crackles in the air, people greet one another in love, and all around is a true feeling of holy encouragement.  This is how it felt as we entered First Baptist Church Jenks.

     We arrived in time for the second service of the day, but instead of encountering a mass exodus, we were surprised to find more of a fruit basket upset environment as those who attended the early service made their way to service positions throughout the church. Many were rushing to the nursery and children's areas or to greet those of us entering for the second service. The sidewalk out front was completely empty, but the foyer within was a bustling metropolis. We were greeted by a friendly gentleman at the door who handed us a large tri-fold "worship guide" and directed us to the children's check in area up-stairs.

     We were surprised that despite the organized chaos taking place, our friends in the church located us very quickly after our arrival. First, my sweet friend, Mandy, who shares my hometown and alma mater, made it a point to find us in the children's area and show us around. She explained that due to the large number of young families in the church, they are busting out of their children's department and in the process of adding on. The hallway was certainly busy and crowded, but the delight and excitement of the kids was a tangible thing, and my two youngest got caught right up in the fever.

   

     Our six year old was shown to a smaller classroom setting for Kindergarteners (of which there were at least three), and was quickly welcomed into the group and engaged in play time and preparation for a lesson.  Our middle daughter found her long lost friends waiting in the hallway to enter the children's sanctuary (I'm not sure that's what they called it, but that's what I'm calling it.) and with squeals and hugs joined them in line.

    Once the younger girls were in their correct spots, Mandy escorted us to the sanctuary, and we took our places near the front and center with moments to spare. The praise band did a combo of contemporary and traditional and the music was fantastic. We soon discovered that First Baptist Jenks is celebrating their 100th year of service, and in honor of that amazing achievement, we were blessed to be attending when guest speaker, Dr. Anthony Jordan was providing the sermon. Wow! A more timely and passionate message I'm not sure I've ever heard. Wow! Such a message of perseverance and encouragement to continue in the Word and in teaching of the Truth in a world that appears to have turned topsy-turvy. I mean, Wow! We left feeling renewed and purposeful and determined to be who God would have us to be. It was exactly the message we needed at exactly the time we needed it. Praise God for His magnificent ways!

 The service ended, we gathered our children, and met up with friends for lunch, but I spent much of the ride home reading through the Worship Guide which displays just how alive this church truly is. The number of opportunities available to the congregation just within one weeks time was astonishing, and I can hardly imagine the amount of volunteer help it requires to accomplish all they do in service for the Lord. So many opportunities to connect with other members of the church, to learn more about God's Word, to be a servant to others, to spread the love of God. FBC Jenks is certainly a church with a vital presence and a faith-filled future, and we feel so grateful God led us to journey here on our Steeple Chase this year.

Church at the Crossroads: Kingfisher UMC

                                      

    I remember sitting in the backseat of my parent's vehicle on the way home from a trip to the city, starting out the window as we turned the corner towards home, and seeing this church. Giant and ancient with incredible stained glass windows, it was far different from our little country church, and I truly can't remember a time when I didn't dream of worshiping there. In fact, it was this very church that I was driving by in December, and once again thinking of how I wanted to go inside, when God began to place in me this desire to Steeple Chase this year. It was a few weeks later when the plan fully developed within me, but it was the Kingfisher United Methodist Church that first sparked the flame.

    So to say I was excited about visiting on July 12th would be something of an understatement.

     According to the website, worship starts at 9:55, so we got there in plenty of time to look around a little and take some pictures. The parking lot is located behind the church with an obvious entrance there, but wanting to get the girls' weekly sign picture and use the original entrance, we decided to walk around to the front. Unfortunately, after walking up the numerous stairs to the front doors, we discovered that we would have been smarter to use the more obviously used modern entrances as the old double doors were locked and we later found that the original entrance has been converted to a storage area. We walked backed down the stairs, took the side door at the bottom of the stairs, and entered into an empty foyer which provided both elevator and stair access to the sanctuary.  As we stood there debating where to go, an elderly woman and a young lady walked down the hallway, greeted us warmly, and the youth member offered to show us around. We excitedly followed her down the hallway as she pointed out parts of the church.

        The building dates back to 1917 and has some of the most beautiful windows I've ever seen. It's two stories tall with an exposed basement and an addition which houses the church offices and Sunday School rooms. The hallways and rooms in the educational wing are painted with the most incredible murals that we were told were done by a college student. We discovered that we had arrived the day the youth group had left for their mission trip, so many of the classrooms were empty and we were able to peek them. My girls absolutely loved the paintings!

     Still having plenty of time before worship (which we found out doesn't actually begin until 10:05), we followed our guide to a morning fellowship area located inside the back door (which we should have taken in the first place) where coffee and snacks were provided and friendly members greeted us and one another.  Our girls, who always seem to be hungry, really enjoyed plates of fruit and cookie bars and the sweet ladies who were serving helped make us feel right at home.

     As worship time grew closer, more and more of the congregation began to enter (including some dear friends who we had invited to join us at the last minute and were thrilled to get to worship with), and we all threaded our way down the hallway to the historic sanctuary. The gorgeous round sanctuary is located on the upper floor of the building so both the stairs and the elevator are put to good use.

     Some of the members told us that the congregation is in the process of raising funds to build a new sanctuary that doesn't require an elevator with expensive maintenance fees and outdated electrical wiring, which I can completely understand, but in all honesty it breaks my heart to think of replacing this amazing building where faithful followers have worshiped for nearly a hundred years. The woodwork, and the pipe organ, and the brass-railed balcony, and the windows....oh, be still my little history-loving heart. I'm pretty sure I will cry big buffalo tears when I drive by and find it all modern and updated and yes, probably more user-friendly.

     We took our seats (which of course ended up being someone else's seats, but they were kind enough to give them over with a smile), and the service began. Due to the mission trip, the regular pastor and youth pastor were gone, so guest speaker, Reverend Dane Lemmons lead the service which was a mix of the traditional and modern. A praise band lead us in both hymns and modern worship songs and the Chancel Choir shared special music. We joined together for the Affirmation of Faith, Lord's Prayer, and giving of our tithes and offerings, and listened attentively (except for my youngest, who drew pictures and played on my phone) to the sermon entitled "Sheep and Goats."  We were inspired to reach out to the "least of these" and blessed with this opportunity to worship God in  this beautiful sanctuary with this faithful body of believers. I am so grateful that God lead us on this Steeple Chase this year and that I finally to the opportunity to visit this historic church. It was truly a blessing and morning to be cherished.

   

Isabella Church of the Nazarene

  

      Our July 5th Sunday Steeple Chase was almost the opposite of the week before. We decided to stay close to home and headed to the community of Isabella and the only church in town- the Isabella Church of the Nazarene.
   
     This small but active church was started in December of 1948 and currently houses not only a Sunday morning worship service led by Pastor Nathan Twyman but a Sunday evening service called Isabella Espanol led by Martin and Irene Pizano. In addition, the church provides a weekly meeting place for Celebrate Recovery led by Rick and Ashley Chance. I was excited to see that unlike some small rural churches, this church has a very nice, informational website, and I would encourage you to visit to learn more about their beliefs and activities at www.isabellanaz.org.

    The worship service started at 10:45 and somehow even with a car full of cranky, July 4th walking dead kids (and parents) we managed to get there on time. The first person we saw happened to be our sweet friend who had invited us to attend, and we were pleased to walk in with her and let her show us where to go. 


Well, some of us were pleased anyway.

     The first glimpse of the sanctuary brought me back to my childhood at the original Lenora UMC with a stage at the front flanked by rooms on each side, and suddenly my mind flashed to a feather painted Sunday School classroom where I first learned of God's everlasting love for me. Sometimes it's the little things that make you feel at home.

    Church started with celebrating birthdays and anniversaries of the congregation by placing money in the offering plate and singing. Then the pastor made announcements with his sweet toddler girl (also suffering from the effects of too many late night fireworks) clinging to his leg or wrapped around his neck as he addressed the congregation. It was real and casual and endearing, and I could tell this Body of Christ is definitely a family of God.

    A teenage member who will soon be off to a church leadership camp read the morning's scriptures and then we began to worship with song. Having just celebrated the birthday of our nation, we appropriately sang God Bless America and America the Beautiful along with praise verse Step by Step and Great is Thy Faithfulness. We were accompanied by a piano, guitar, and drums and had several beautiful voices leading the way. We were also blessed with special music by a soloist singing a lovely song about being doubly blessed by God.

    The message came from the book of Ruth, and while the story was familiar, Pastor Skippy (as the website says he's called) brought to light several elements I did not know. For instance, did you realize that Boaz was the son of Rahab who helped Joshua's spies escape from Jerico by lowering them from a basket out her window?  And did you know that Boaz is in the ancestral line of  David that eventually begets Jesus the Nazarene? (Well I didn't! I love learning new things!)

     The message was enlightening, the people were friendly and welcoming, the music was uplifting, and we were feeling pretty complete when God went ahead pushed the service over the edge into fantastic with a beautiful, heartfelt testimony at the end of the service. We felt so blessed to be a part of this man's miracle morning has he shared with us how he had drifted away from God, become involved in a lifestyle of sin, and finally through the love and support of his mother and his church family has come back to a God who never turned away from him. I, along with most of the room, couldn't help but shed a tear as he proclaimed the love of Jesus and his new found life in Him.

     THIS is what church is all about! May God continue to bless this man, this church, and our family as we continue to seek to know the people within the walls of His Holy Sanctuaries and to discover Him beneath the Steeples that we Chase. Thank you, Readers, for taking this journey with us. God bless you as well!

Enormously Blessed: Crossings Community Church

     I have to admit I'm still a little bit in shock over our experience at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City this past Sunday morning. Nothing crazy or abnormal happened, even for my slightly abnormal family, but the shear enormity of the church complex itself continues to blow my mind!

    Let me recap: Small town girl. Grew up in small, small ghost-town church. Traveling from church to church each Sunday this year to experience worship of God in a variety of ways in a variety of settings. This church was WAY out of my element! I'm pretty sure it is actually bigger than my entire hometown. Literally! (As our oldest would say.)


   According to their website, the church offers 5 different opportunites for worship on Sunday mornings. There's a liturgical service in the chapel (which is approximately the size of a "normal" church back home), 2 blended services in the Sanctuary, and 2 contemporary services in The Venue (a more modern sanctuary setting with chairs instead of pews and a lighted stage, etc.).  I read the girls the introductions of each service actually thinking they would want the more contemporary style and was surprised when they chose the Sanctuary, primarily due to its mix of choir, symphony, and praise team for the music.

   We arrived about 20 minutes early because we knew we'd need a little time to find our way around and discovered that 20 minites was not nearly early enough. We planned to attend the 10:45 service and couldn't believe the number of cars in the parking lot when we arrived. We drove around and around searching for a spot to park, and finally as people started exiting from the previous service we pulled into a place as I joked that we were going to need a tour guide to find our way around. Turns out that was no joke!

                                              
   


















        Our tour guide came in the form of a sweet teenager who rather than attempt to explain where to take our youngest (who insisted once again on going to children's church) offered to lead us there herself. Thank goodness! So off we went across the city, uhm church. Our perky guide click-clicking her way quickly in front while I huffed and puffed and half drug our six year old in an attempt to keep up and my husband and older girls walked somewhere behind us refusing to be rushed. After passing by the Sanctuary and a huge Atrium, a Coffee Bar to rival any Starbucks, and a Library and Bookstore, our guide showed us to a children's hallway, shrugged her shoulders and apologized for not knowing exactly where we were supposed to go, and disappeared.

                                    

   Oh, well, no problem. We're adults. We can surely figure this out.


    So we continued down a long hall with a vast number of doors until I found one labeled "Kindergarten" and got in line behind some other kids and parents. However, when we reached the front of the line, we found out that we were not in fact in the right place yet, and were instructed to go to the main check in desk....down the hall, around the corner, up the stairs, and to the left? right?  We eventually found it and went through all the necessary paperwork to check our child into a classroom for one Sunday....including the entire family's birthdays and medical history. Whew! At last, we had a barcode for our child and another for ourselves and we went back from whence we came. Waited in line at the same door as before and discovered again that we were in the wrong place. Fortunately the new room was just two doors down because to be honest by this point, I was about to load everyone up and head home.


   We finally reached the sanctuary a couple songs into the service, entered from a side door, sat down, and breathed. Holy COW!! This place was incredible! Beautiful! Huge! (I know I keep saying that but really!) At the top of the stage was a choir loft a large choir, below them was an orchestra of instruments and their players, and in front of them about 10 men and women made up a group of worship music leaders. Screens all around displayed the words of the songs, and the music was astounding. There's was a mixture of contemporary music and hymns. Most we knew and the ones we didn't were easy to catch on to.

                                   

                                   



   When the music was complete, there was a time to greet those around us, and a few people shook our hands, but no one introduced themselves or asked who we were and I realized that in a church that size it would be next to impossible to know if someone was there for the first time. The bulletin provided a form for visitors and members to fill out and recommended that we turn in our questions, comments, and prayer requests and that we visit the information and welcoming centers throughout the church. We didn't, but I'm sure that if we weren't simply visiting we would have very much appreciated the opportunities to connect.

    Around this time, our middle daughter decided she absolutely couldn't wait to go to the restroom, so I slipped out the back with her and walked a block (slight exaggeration alert) to the nearest, returning in time to the hear the last of a beautiful song by a very talented vocalist and see a large screen lower in the center and a talking head come on. Jason and I looked at each other in surprise. We had been expecting a flesh and blood pastor, but it made since that with more than one service going at once, this was the only way he could be two places at once.

 

     The Senior Pastor at Crossings is Dr. Marty Grubbs who began his ministry with this church way back in 1981 when it was Westridge Hills Church as their youth and music minister. A few years later, he was named senior pastor of the church and had a congregation of about 100 people. By 1999, with Pastor Grubbs continuing to lead, the church changed it's name to Crossings Community Church and held their first service at their new location with 3,100 people in attendance. From that point on, the church has simply expanded and expanded to reach the needs of its growing congregation.

     This particular morning, Pastor Grubbs chose to preach from the book of Jonah, and our entire family listened and laughed and learned throughout the message. It was a truly great sermon about a God of Second Chances, and I'd encourage you to watch it at http://crossingsokc.org/mci/a-god-of-second-chances/.

    The service ended with an invitation to pray at the alter or light a candle at one of the many stations throughout the room, and mostly to consider our Nineveh's and ask God for a second chance to love them.

 

     We left feeling better than when we arrived and began our journey with a throng of followers across the vast complex to find our youngest and depart. She greeted us with a giant smile and completely marker-green hands and arms and we caught the nearest luxury golf cart to our vehicle somewhere on the horizon. And as our Steeple Chase came to a close this week, our hearts felt a little lighter knowing that while other parts of the world seem to be turning to the dark, there are masses of believers still flocking to the church to worship the Light. Praise God for his Bride. May we continue to draw ever closer to Him.

A Fond Fairwell: Fairview First Baptist Church

   
      We were a little intimidated when we drove up to the First Baptist Church in Fairview, Ok this past Sunday and saw the massive amount of vehicles parked around it. In fact, my husband's exact words were, "What's going on? Is there a funeral or something?" I assured him that surely there wasn't on a Sunday morning, but I soon discovered that while no one was being laid to rest, the loving congregation at this church was most definitely celebrating an important life within their church and mourning the end of an era.

      The Fairview FBC is a large and lovely building located on Broadway just west of the Major County Court House.  The congregation first started worshiping together over 117 years ago in the very earliest days of the Fairview community.  The church building has expanded over the years and now houses a large and lovely modern sanctuary and fellowship hall attached to the original design. 


     Worship started at 9:45 and we arrived pretty much on the dot to discover a bustling crowd of people, many of which we recognized from other congregations, and we soon realized that we had arrived on Pastor David Mendenhall's final day in the pulpit.  This beloved church leader and influential member of the community had been pastor to this church family for the past 23 years and his retirement was an occasion of both sorrow and joy, loss and hope for the future, and we were blessed to get to experience this worship service with his flock.

     The sanctuary was quickly filling up, but we found five seats together, only to discover we only needed two as our girls moved forward to sit with their friends. Since this was also this sweet families final Sunday before moving to another community, we felt it was appropriate that our girls get to sit together and worship together on this momentous day, and from a few rows behind them, I wiped away tears of sadness that these wonderful people would no longer be living in our town and blessing us on a regular basis.


     The music that morning was incredible. Guitar and drums and piano and vocals invited us to praise God through music. There was a mix of contemporary and traditional hymns as they shared with us the favorite songs of their pastor that morning. We were blessed by special music by a quartet of men who had reunited after 10 years to commemorate this special occasion, and even the pastor's lovely wife shared her gift of music in a song that surely brought tears even to the most toughened hearts. (Personally, I don't know how she made it through, but I am touched by her willingness to please her husband and her Lord and blessed by the beauty of her voice and her bravery.)

     We were also privileged to get to be a part of a baptism that morning. Once again tears ran down my face as a boy my daughter's age publically professed his love and belief in Jesus Christ and was immersed in the baptismal pool signifying the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and a new life with Him as Lord and Savior.



      The final sermon of Pastor Mendenhall was full of memories from the past years together and urgings to move forward in God's will. He encouraged the Body to be in prayer for the new pastor that God has in store for them and to carry on with plans already in place for building at Falls Creek and other ministries.  His words were smooth and caring and full of love, and you could just feel the connection in the room between these people who had spent so many years worshiping and working for the Kingdom together. The combination of tears and smiles on the faces surrounding us were beautiful to behold, and the feeling that God was in our midst impossible to ignore.
   
    It wasn't a typical day at the Fairview First Baptist Church, but it was beautiful and blessed. Though the days ahead will never look quite the same for this church family, I'm sure that they will have a long and fruitful future as they continue to seek God's will and serve others through the body of Christ. We are so grateful that God guided us to this congregation on this special day, and we will continue to look to Him for guidance as we Steeple Chase in the days ahead.