10 years ago today....

Ten years ago today I started my job as a pastor here at the church. It's been an amazing 10 years! It's a strange feeling to go through 10 wonderful, but also very hard years and try to describe it to anyone else. I think I have grown in my faith through these years more than I have in any time before this. The church family here is wonderful. I love them dearly. They are a warm, loving, caring group of people that have walked through many of these years with me. For you who are part of our church family- thank you for your love and faithfulness. You are the reason this job never gets tiring. Thank you all for your friendship, love, care, prayers and support during this time. This body of believers will be a part of my life until I go home to see the Lord.

So here area few things that have happened during these 10 years-

-both of our kids have gotten married.
-our daughter and her husband have had 4 of the most beautiful children I have ever seen!
-our church grew from a few hundred to nearly 2,000.
-we went through a major "earthquake" as a church and survived it.
-a number of our church family have gone off to the mission field, that has been great to see.
-5 years ago we moved into our new church home. It's been a great facility, and is starting to feel like home.
-we have helped a number of the churches in our area grow through our earthquake time. It's something we prayed for, but didn't anticipate it happening this way.
-I have been busy helping other pastors with their ministries by encouragement and support. It's been a blessing to me to invest in their lives.
-we have a new teaching pastor. He's a great guy, and I really enjoy working with him.

There's a lot more for the list, but may I simply tell you how blessed I feel to have been part of this church family for these years. It has been a highlight of my life, and I can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings.......