Therefore, I will always remind you about these things–even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep reminding you as long as I live. 2 Peter 1:12-13.

Reminders, we all need them. This weekend our church celebrated their 50th Anniversary! We were wonderfully reminded of the history and blessing of Life Church, Oak Harbor. It reminded me of what our God can do when people say yes to God’s purpose and plan.

The unique blessing of our church, is that in the 50 years, we have only had 3 pastors. In 1975, our founding pastor Jim and his wife Roberta Cargill received an invitation. They were asked to hold a meeting in Oak Harbor, Washington. They had been doing traveling ministry with their two children, and felt it was time to come off the road. Oak Harbor was God’s direction, and the fledgling church came to being. Lighthouse Christian Tabernacle moved from rental space to rental space as they grew. Finally, a parcel of land became available and they trusted God for provision. Not one, but two buildings were eventually erected on the site. In 1993, Pastor Jim, through the leading of the Holy Spirit turned the leadership over to his son, Marc Cargill.

The church continued to grow and develop under Marc and his wife’s Cheryl’s leadership. Many of the outreach programs they developed are still touching lives today. God began stirring Marc and Cheryl’s heart toward the south lands. But what to do with this church? After much prayer and seeking God’s will, Pastor Michael and Reshaun Hurley were asked to prayerfully consider taking the helm. They joined the church staff and about two years later, they were set in as lead pastors in 2010. It was an amazingly smooth transition, marked by God’s grace and peace.

The church continues to grow and develop, with a name change to Life Church. Our 50th Celebration Sunday was the beginning of transitioning to three services. We can only give thanks and honor to the Lord for His amazing favor. People are getting saved and maturing at our church. Pastor Michael is a man of integrity, a hardworking man who loves God and His people. Our mission is to encourage people to invite, love, and transform. His authentic transparency and care for others is amazing. He and Reshaun’s hearts are here to serve the Lord and bring glory to His name. 

At the celebration, all three pastoral teams were represented. The founding pastor, Jim Cargill is now with Jesus, but his wife Roberta was there. I know there must have been times they wondered, is it worth it? Fortunately, a few months before Jim’s passing, he visited the church. It was wonderful to hear how it blessed him to see God’s handiwork. 

Who knows what obedience to God’s call will bring? I am sharing this story to remind us it is always worth it to follow and obey the Lord. Pastor Jim was bi-vocational for many years. Listening to the stories of his faithful service to our Lord was humbling and motivating. Darryl and I joined the church in 2002, under Pastor Marc. So I have almost been there for half the history! Pastor Marc and Pastor Michael honor and support each other. This is another hallmark of God’s favor and grace.

Another remarkable story that’s developed in these 50 years is about our Associate Pastor, Joshua Hubbard. Josh came to the church as a young boy and served under all three pastors! He shared that under Jim and Roberta he stacked chairs! I am so thankful that he (and now his wonderful family) has stayed the course. My friends, this is a reminder to sow good seeds and trust God will water them! Watching him grow and develop over the years is a testimony of God’s faithfulness. It is heartwarming to watch our young people grow into leaders right before our eyes. It is a reminder that God is always working His plan for the future.

We were reminded about the necessity of prayer. The prayers of the early members is the foundation for our present blessing. Our prayers for the future are being laid now. What a joy to pray in faith for God’s will to keep on being done! 

There is much more land to take. We were reminded that we’ve only just begun. Once more I remembered the blessing of surrender. I realized that God gives the increase. I felt the privilege of being part of His Kingdom.

This is a reminder to pray for, give guidance to, and encourage the younger ones in our midst. Not one of these leaders would tell you they are perfect, or have done things perfectly. But each one of them has a heart to seek the Lord for His will, not their own. I pray that the seeds God has allowed me to sow for His kingdom will bear long-lasting fruit. Oh my friends, do not give up. Do not despair, God sees your hard work. He sees your tiredness, and He says, keep going. I will strengthen you. I will help you. Trust me. Do not let the enemy distract you or turn you aside from your plowing. You will reap. It is in His hands when that reaping will occur, so simply take this reminder and keep going. Pastor Jim and Roberta did. Some of the amazing seeds sown through their ministry are still serving God and bearing even more fruit. 

Father, I thank you for reminding us not to quit. I ask you to strengthen any weak hands and feeble knees that may struggle today. I thank you for the reminder of the blessing of obedience and we walk by faith not by sight. I thank you that we are privileged to see what Jim and Roberta hoped for and is now a reality. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. Colossians 1:11-12. NLT.

January is finally over. This new year brought so many challenges to so many of my friends and family. Some of them are still ongoing (like the passing of loved ones), while fortunately some will soon be forgotten (my plumbing issue). This post is to simply thank God for His work in and through my life. I hope it encourages you to take a moment and thank Him for what He is doing in and through yours.

For several months, as I looked around our church, I saw many of the pillars from the past aging and unable to contribute as they used to. It bothered me that they seemed to becoming invisible without people knowing their contributions. So I began to pray and then made an appointment to speak with our pastor about this need. I envisioned a ministry that would encourage and help the Seniors at our church. When I shared my heart with him, I could see it touched his heart as well. With a very humble heart, we began this journey. I am very thankful for his open and caring heart.

What I didn’t know at the time, was how this would stretch me. How I would be confronted by my own sense of inadequacy as this task began to take on a ministry with a much bigger scope than I ever imagined. I saw it as a giant octopus with so many legs that were flailing around. How could we ever tame the beast and make it work? For weeks I wrestled with the overwhelming task. Why did I take this on? I am thankful for this wrestling. I am thankful because I am/was forced to seek Him in new measures. I am thankful because He gave me the compassion to continue when I wanted to quit. It seemed overwhelming and it was very uncomfortable.

Thankfully, God began to send team members with like-minded hearts. We came together and began to brainstorm and dream. Our accumulative strength, faith and grace gave me the courage to press on. For this I am so very thankful and grateful to our Father.

It is still a very fledgling ministry, but I have confidence that it will grow and develop to touch many lives. Do I know how it will all work? No. After much struggle in prayer, I realized one of my missing pieces. We were trying to develop a “program” based ministry, but I realized through the Holy Spirit, it needed to be relationship based, because that was how it was going to be built. Then we could discover the real needs that need to be met. When that revelation took place much of my struggle ceased. I began to see Jesus and His ministry was relationship based. He didn’t have programs! The young church in Acts developed feeding and caring programs, which came after they were in relationship and saw the need. How simple and obvious it seems now. But I am thankful for the struggle I went through because it reinforced it was not my idea to work this program, but it is God’s plan. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn this lesson yet again!

As we move toward our public (church wide) launch March 3, I am getting excited and I feel much more confident than I was when we began. I am thankful for teammates who compliment my skill set, but I also know I need to set myself to learn some new software admin type stuff. I am grateful because the Lord has helped me understand I can rely on Him to quicken my mind so I am not afraid of tackling it. Do I expect to mess up, probably. But understanding you are ignorant in a scenario does not mean that God won’t challenge you to learn something new. I am so thankful for courage to learn. Do you need some fresh courage to learn or step out in God’s assignments for yourselves? Ask Him.

Once again I have been confronted to believe God and His Word in fullness, not just in my mind. Is His Word true? Of course, then act like it! Sounds simple, but He understands how the process of renewing our mind works. I am thankful I can see and sense a change in my own soul in these areas. My faith is growing in Him, not myself. Sometimes we are not aware of how much unrest we carry, until He brings His peace. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3: 15. Faith is released more when we are have peace. It is interconnected. He is working in all our lives to bring this about and we can trust Him to do it!

My friends, God is such a good God doing good things in our lives. I encourage you to look around to see how He is working in your life and thank Him for it. Thank Him for even the hard parts. They will work out for your good, He promises!

Father, I thank you for your faithfulness to work in our hearts and lives. To bring us to places we could never go ourselves. I thank you for helping us learn how to let your peace reign and rule in our hearts so we can be free to accept your challenges and opportunities! You are so amazing, thank you for not leaving us as we are. In Jesus’ Name, amen.