Owen Valley Christian Fellowship, the church I have had the privilege of pastoring since November of 2005, celebrated its 21st anniversary yesterday. It was a good day. A happy day. I day filled with joy, laughter, reminiscing, food, seeing old friends come back to visit for the day, and a walk through of the new addition. It was also a long day physically. I, for one, was ready to sit down after being on my feet for hours (except when I was eating).

But it was a day which almost didn’t happen for me. Let me take you back.

In a previous post I told how the church got started and that Jo and I came in September to preach and then started in November. Since November of 2000 I had been the pastor of a church which Jo grew up in. We were married in the old church building (it had no A/C and I can only begin to tell you how hot it was on June 16, 1973).  In July of 2000, we had moved to Castalia, OH to move in with Jo’s mom so Jo could take care of her. Meanwhile, I was without a job, but being paid. I eventually started delivering pizzas to make a little extra money and occupy my time. In September of 2000 the pastor of the church we were attending resigned and in November the church asked if I would consider becoming their pastor. I said yes and the vote was 100% in favor. (First time ever in their history). But all was not well. The first year we lost 28 people, due mostly to people moving out of town for jobs. The next year we lost about 10 for the same reason. I jokingly said, “Well we stopped the blood bath.”

Fast forward 2-3 years. The median age of the church was close to 60. I was loved and I loved the people, but I was getting antsy. At 52 I knew I wasn’t done yet and wanted something that was not status quo. Jo knew that and told me about “this church in Spencer that sounded just like me.” They were looking for a pastor and she said I should check it out. “Okay.” A few weeks went by and she asked me if I had checked it out yet and I said, “No.” “You should. It sounds like what you want.” “Okay, I will.” A week or so later she asked again. The conversation was a ditto to the previous one.  Another week or so went by and the conversation was the same. The result was different though. I looked into it. Long story short, I filled out a questionnaire, talked hours to Caleb, had a phone interview that lasted all of about 10 minutes, and the rest is history.

But it was a job that almost wasn’t. Thanks to Jo’s persistence, I have been at the most satisfying ministry of my 50+ years in the ministry. Next month I start my 21st year.