35 years of Ministry and The Indispensable Role of the Local Church

I started this update at our home base in Québec. I continued while waiting for our connection in Paris and on the the plane to Libreville, Gabon. This morning I’m in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the largest French-speaking country in the world. Yesterday we preached at two churches , including one pastored by one of our RHEMA Quebec graduates. Tomorrow, Tonja will be doing a ladies conference for hundreds of pastor’s wives and leaders and I’ll be speaking in the evening. Wednesday I’ll be teaching at a training conference for around 700 Congolese pastors and exploring the possibility of launching a Bible school campus in this nation.

We’re excited to be here but are keenly aware that we’ve not gotten here alone. Of course, we have our nations180 partners to thank and are still believing for that team to grow. But, as we enter our 35th year of ministry, I feel compelled to honor the precious believers of the first local church I started attending at ten years of age. I know that wiithout the influence of that local congregation in the first 25 years of my Christian life, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Most of them probably have no idea I’m even here but they will share in the reward and our Lord Jesus-Christ will get all the glory! I encourage you to take the time to read about some them in the article below…and fall in love again with His Glorious Church!

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24,25

You may have heard the old adage, “Anytime you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.”  Nowhere is this principle more evident than in the local church.   

“Anytime you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.”

Commitment to a local church is not for the faint of heart. You’ll find the good, the bad and the ugly in every body of believers because there are imperfect people, like you and me, in every congregation!  One person has suggested distributing hard hats to every church members, since we’re all under construction. Still, in spite of our shortcomings, the church is undeniably God’s chosen vehicle for accomplishing His plans and purposes on the earth! 

“One person has suggested distributing hard hats to every church member, since we’re all under construction”

Recently arriving at an important ministry milestone, I found myself reflecting on the indispensible role the local church has played in our journey. June 24, 2019 marked the 35th anniversary of the first time I ever preached publicly. It was at my home church in St. Louis, MO. and I was only 17. There are few dates in my 52 year history that are more significant because that Sunday in 1984 marks the moment when my call to the preaching ministry was confirmed in a powerful way. 

Adding to the significance, the Lord also arranged for my future wife to be present, even though she lived 150 miles away and we’d only met a week prior at a high-school journalism camp.  Without knowing I’d be ministering, Tonja called to invite herself to the service. She was going to be in town over the week-end for a Christian concert and, being a good Baptist girl, she wanted to attend a church somewhere.  So, as I stepped into the pulpit for the very first time, my future helpmeet was sitting on the front row. Less than a year later we’d be married and on our way to RHEMA Bible Training Center in Oklahoma to prepare for a life of ministry.

Interestingly, June 24, ( the anniversary date of my first public preaching at 17 years of age), is also the “national holiday” for the French-speaking province of Québec. This is the place the Lord destined us spend our lives as missionaries and establish a base from which to reach out to the nations of the French-speaking world. Somehow, we don’t think that was a coincidence!

A few weeks ago, on the Sunday marking 35 years of ministry, I had the honor of speaking to the congregation that we’ve been privileged to oversee in Québec for the last 24 years. It was an opportunity to express our gratitude and share how the vision God gave a couple of kids from Missouri for the French-speaking world is coming to pass. Churches have been planted, RHEMA campuses have been launched in Québec, Haiti, France & Switzerland, and amazing doors are now open in French-speaking Africa and countless lives are being changed.   

The main point of that message, however, was NOT to highlight what the Lord has done through us! It was all about the impact of the local church and how it influenced and shaped who we are and what we’re doing today! 

“I’m convinced that, without the local church, none of us will ever completely fulfill God’s plan.”

I especially wanted to honor the body that was so instrumental in getting us, like the “turtle on top of the fence post”, to the place God ordained for us before the foundation of the world.  Without that congregation, our spiritual life, our marriage and our ministry would not be what it is today. I’m convinced that, without the church, none of us will ever completely fulfill God’s plan.

Because we had cultivated a meaningful, mutually committed relationship with our pastor and local church body, Tonja and I were not alone as we launched into marriage and ministry!   No words can describe the love and support we felt as our church family gathered around while the elders laid hands upon us to send us out as young missionaries to France in 1992 and then to Québec in 1994. 

The prayers of our home church were especially felt in the challenging moments of our early days on the mission field.. While in France, in 1992, the doctor told Tonja that she had miscarried our second child. Two ultrasounds and a bloodtest had confirmed that the pregnancy was over. God, however, had the last word. Miraculously, our son Michael was born in perfect health and was dedicated to the Lord by our Pastor, Paul Russell, at our home church in St. Louis. Michael is now married to our beautiful French-Canadian daughter-in-law who has blessed us with our first grand child, Riley.

That’s why I’m inviting you to come along as I introduce you to some of the precious men and women from the congregation that was my spiritual family for the first 25 years of my Christian life.  Living outside the U.S. since 1992, I have not seen most of them in decades.  Their faces, however, like portraits hung in the corridors of my mind, are still fresh in my memory and the seeds they sowed are still bearing fruit today.  

As you walk with me down this modern day “hall of faith”, I encourage you to reflect on the different ways these individuals impacted our lives by simply loving God and loving people in the context of our local church family. 

“Everywhere we go, all of us are taking with us the seeds of influence that people of faith have sown into our lives.”

I’m sure most of them never dreamed that this once shy ten year old boy, who showed up at church in the wake of his parent’s ugly divorce, would be writing about their acts of kindness or their exemplary lives 42 years later while on a plane headed to Africa to preach the Gospel. The fact is, everywhere we go, all of us are taking with us the seeds of influence that people of faith have sown into our lives.

The following is a tribute not just to them but, especially, to our Lord Jesus-Christ whose accorded each of us the privilege of membership in His Body! 

MY PERSONAL HALL OF FAITH

·      First of all, I want to mention the insurance agent that shared the Gospel with my mother.   Mom had been recently divorced and was struggling to raise two sons while battling depression and working hard to pay the bills.  Thanks to his witness, the Gospel transformed her life and our family has never been the same!   

·      Then there’s Gary Miller, a young man who, in his early twenties, invited my Mom, me and my brother to church for the first time. I was barely ten years old, but he took me and my 13 year old brother on the men’s church camping trip and spent quality time with us. 

After he went off to Bible school and married Laura, he came back to our church in St. Louis and got me involved in the ministry of helps before moving to the Philippines as a missionary.  He mentored me and was the one who encouraged us to attend RHEMA Bible Training Center … and so much more.

·      Of course, there’s Bob & Nancy Platt who invited our family to move into their home and live with them during a vey difficult season. Bob is also the one who led Gary Miller to the Lord when they were both working at Monsanto. (Bob just entered his heavenly reward last week.)

·      I’ll never forget Ron Simmons who was the first pastor I had the privilege of sitting under.  So many of his teachings and anecdotes are still with me today and regularly find their way into my messages.

There was a season in my early teen years, before fully committing to Christ, that the only reason I was at church was because Mom made me go. As I was doodling on church bulletins, wasting offering envelopes by passing notes or joking around with my friends on the back row, I was still hearing Pastor Ron’s messages and that incorruptible Word was piercing my heart!

·      I will be forever grateful for my first Sunday school teachers, Joy Moehlenpah and Donna Case, who welcomed me as a ten year old boy, into their class and into their hearts and showed me God’s love in a way I hadn’t seen before.  Eight years later, Donna coordinated our wedding and she took care of our stateside office needs while we lived in France.

·      Donna’s husband, Denny Case, was the associate pastor that baptized Mom. He led the congregation in worship, brought the Old Testament to life in his teachings, led our often difficult and rebellious youth group and later became a friend and trout fishing partner.

·      Then there’s tender hearted Louise Simmons who was sensitive to our family’s needs and helped buy school clothes for me and my brother at a time when it was difficult for my single parent Mom to make ends meet.

·      I’ll never forget how my heart was touched when Phil Roberson came with a group of men from the church and helped Mom paint our home.

·      Of course, words could never describe my gratitude for Dave Schnitker who visited our congregation in 1980, met Mom in the adult Sunday school class, fell in love, married and became my step-father in 1982. (I could write volumes here.)

·      Then there’s Gary and Mary Murray. As a couple in their 40’s, they surely had plenty of other things to do. Still, they chose to spend their Friday nights praying in the Holy Spirit and studying the Word with a small group of us teenagers in the basement of their home.

They’re the ones who had the idea for our church to host a youth Sunday on June 24, 1984 and they’re the ones who asked our pastor if I could preach that day for the first time because they recognized the gift and calling of God.

·      I’m grateful to Jim Arico, the principle of our church’s Christian school, who trusted me, as a zealous 17 year-old, to preach in the chapel services where we were able to be a part of a revival and move of God amongst some of the students which was powerful beyond description.

·      I’m thankful for the peers I was able to cultivated friendships with.  I’m especially grateful for those who were part of those amazing youth-led bible studies and prayer times:  Jan Schnitker, Chris Fox, Steve, Becky & Julie Horn, Diana Heil, Tony and Todd Griffith.

·      Of course, there’s Mark & Joanie Akers, our associate pastors.  Always oozing with joy and encouragement, they were models of God’s love and unchanging character. Mark officiated our wedding in 1985 and was also part of those trout fishing outings that were filled with so much fun and laughter.

·      There’s a special place of honor for Paul & Delia Russell, who were our faithful, beloved pastors for 14 years. They believed in me and Tonja when we were a young couple, 20 years old, fresh out of Bible school and just starting out in full-time ministry.  They encouraged us in more ways than they will ever know. (Paul & Delia just celebrated 50 years of marriage and ministry last month.)

·      I’ll always cherish my memories of John & Lynda Leeson who helped our congregation go to a new level in giving to world missions as our church embarked on a season of hosting powerful, annual mission’s conferences.

I’m also grateful that, at a time when this young travelling preacher had only one tired sport coat and one pair of dress pants to his name, John gave me an entire, top of the line wardrobe that kept me clothed for the next five years!)

·      And who can forget Chuck & Janie Plante who became such precious friends.  Their love for God and Janie’s secretarial help was more important in the early days of our missionary work than they probably know.  Chuck actually helped us put together our very first newsletter!

·      Ray and Robin Posgay had a contagious passion for foreign missions and mobilized many to “go”. Robin led the mission team to Mexico on a trip that, though wrought with challenges, proved to be another defining moment for me at 23 years of age! She’s still going all over the world!

“I’ll never take for granted the many couples in our church who modelled covenant love, faithfulness and longevity in marriage.”

·      In a day when holy matrimony is being threatened in every sector of society, I’ll never take for granted the example that was set by the many couples in our church who modeled covenant love, faithfulness and longevity in marriage. Those who come first to mind are Vernon and June Weatherford, Carl & Ida Mae Weatherford, Donn & Joy Moehlenpah, Luis and Hilda Velasquez, Ken & Donna Lorton, Homer and Brenda Griffith, Dennis & Lana Sissom, Bill & Elizabeth Skaggs, Bill & Pam Luebke, Len and Helen Licata, Mike & Carol Hodge, Bob & Lynn Lavender and, of course, Bob and Nancy Platt and Joe and Dawn Coudriet.

·      Let’s not forget Mike Cambell, whose selfless compassion was inspiring. I was privileged to spend lots of time with him while ministering at the St. Louis city jail in the prison ministry Gary Miller launched.

·      And there’s Mary Nelson, whose commitment to the sanctity of life inspired her dedication to a ministry helping young women in crisis pregnancies and who helped us, in a significant way, to stay on the mission field in France back in 1993.

·      I can still see Mary Lowe’s welcoming smile, and hear Carl and Ida Mae Weatherford and so many others lifting their voices in those precious times of corporate prayer.

Then there’s Mary Breadon, Joanie Mullen, Joan Werner and… this “hall of faith” goes on for a long, long way. (Please forgive me if you don’t find your name in this list. Your impact is not forgotten.)

I think you get the picture! More precisely, I think you can see how each of these individuals’ contribution has made the “big picture” of God’s plans and purposes a reality in our life. 

I could have added a long list from the church Tonja grew up in.  It also would have been easy to write volumes in honor of Pastor & Mrs. Hagin and our beloved family of RHEMA churches that we’ve been connected with our entire adult lives.  

“Were it not for my decades long journey with the local church, there’s no way I would be here today.””

Needless to say, I’m so glad Mom didn’t decide to stay home and just listen to messages on television or radio and I’m glad she made me go to church, even when I didn’t want to.

Were it not for our decades long journey with the local church, there’s no way we would be here today!

In light of the above testimonies, I hope you’ll think about the impact you and the individual members of your local church can have in the lives of others for eternity! 

Why don’t you ask yourself, “What can I do to lift up the members of my local congregations and help get them to their place on the ‘Ephesians 2:10 fence post’ of their lives?”

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

If you don’t yet have a local church family, if you’ve been burned in the past, or if for some reason you’ve drifted away, I encourage you, in the light of Hebrews 10:24-25 to find the place God has for you! Get planted, stay planted and reap the benefits of being an integral part of Jesus’ glorious church!