35 years is a long time.  It doesn’t feel like a long time, it seems like just yesterday I was kneeling beside the “Hut” asking God to bless our brand new baby we had named Faith Baptist Church.  A lot has happened in those intervening years, it has been quite an adventure.  When you look back at a ministry there are several ways you could view its progress. 

One way is to look at the land and the facilities.  I have lost count of the building programs and renovations that have gone on here at Faith.  Even as I write this we are in the midst of expanding our education space and purchasing new land.  Yes buildings and land are important and you can’t have a ministry without a place to meet.  But Faith is much more than just buildings and property.

Some people would say you evaluate a ministry purely on the number of people who are attending the church.  God has been good to us here at Faith and we have seen growth over the years.   Our Wednesday night service now has much more than our Sunday morning service used to have, but numbers of attendees is not the whole story.

To me the greatest evidence of progress in any ministry is changed lives.  I have seen people change before my eyes.  I have seen people who had no time for God fall deeply in love with Him.  I have seen my own family change and grow becoming more Christ like.  I have seen God heal marriages and make homes a haven in this rough world. 

I have seen people who were lost and headed for a Christ less eternity; experience the life changing power of the gospel.  I have seen people with such a passion for a lost and dying world that have sacrificed and sacrificed.  So if you were to ask me how I gauge the progress of the last 35 years it would go way beyond the buildings or budgets.  To me the most powerful change of all is in the changed lives of individuals who love Christ.

I have truly been blessed in the last 35 years.  I have had a wonderful wife who has been my number one supporter and fan.  I have had two beautiful children who continue to be a wonderful source of pride and blessing to me.  What can I say about the grandchildren, the great staff and kind congregation God has blessed me with, there is no debate God has been good to me.

 On this 35^th anniversary I would like to say “Thank You” God for saving me, calling me and using me here in the beautiful mountains of Virginia.  A truly blessed man is one who can say he really enjoys what he does, and I can honestly say I love what I do and I hope God will allow me to finish out my time in His service here in the Alleghany Highlands.  Thank you for allowing me the great privilege of being your pastor.  Robbie and Robin thanks for letting daddy be the “preacher”.  Elaine thanks for loving me and always being there.  May the future be even brighter than our past.