Church 11th Anniversary Memories

Anniversary Memories
From the Pastor’s Pen
1994 - 2005
A dream – a vision – a burden. That’s what I had – that’s what I still have. Eleven years ago I and my family opened the doors of an old shed called the Total Abstinence Hall (TA Hall for short), located on the edge of Blarney village, and we had “church.” Not normal church that people were used to, but a meeting that was far simpler, and far more direct – “What will you do with Jesus Christ?” I preached, and people came. A few every week, but always hungry, always yearning to know this Person named Jesus. Thousands of Gospel leaflets were handed out, thousands of people were met and witnessed to at the doors. People got saved – born again - by repenting and believing completely on the Lord Jesus Christ! And then they got baptized. First in a pool over near Glanmire, and then others in the river. Usually the water was cold, but the zeal for God was burning hot.
Sunday School classes, Men’s Retreats, Church Picnics – every year people came and got saved and got excited about living for the Lord! And the church grew. We all handed out ten thousand specially written Gospel tracts to people at the Tour de France in held in Cork that day back in 1996. We advertised the Gospel in the Echo and in the Examiner; We published The Open Challenge paper; and people got saved! And they went on to be baptized as well!
And then we went big – we invited Dr. Kent Hovind to come and present Biblical Creationism here in Cork – he spoke 8 times in four days to over 300 people. And people got saved! And people grew! He even came back a second time, and 300 more people came! Miracles still happen!
One of the best things I get to do as pastor besides preaching and leading a soul to Christ, is marrying Christian couples! I “hitched-up” Bill and Geraldine Daunt first, and then others, and their extended families and friends saw what a Christian wedding and family was really all about!
And then there are other memories… even miracles… watching my own family grow, and seeing God’s good hand on our churches as we just stay faithful. So many other events… maybe I will write them all down someday. They are all worth their weight in gold, and were all a privilege to be a part of!
It would be easy to look back and start thinking of what should have been, or what could have been, but thank God, we know better – our focus is forward, on the future, and we have the promise of our heavenly Father…
The Best is YET to Come!And I can’t wait!