What?  That’s pretty unheard of these days for churches (most any place for that matter).  Pastors come and go for various reasons and if a church has the same pastor for 20 years then most people assume the church is dead/almost dead (dead in the sense of not growing physically or spiritually)  or run by dictatorship.

Tonight Riverbluff Church honored my dad and mom for their 20 years of ministry.  He became the pastor there in 1988 and the church barely had 100 people.  Since then the church has continued to grow to more than a few thousand but more importantly they have been involved in changing lives worldwide.

One of the ladies said something tonight that I think a lot of churches forget or often overlook.  She said each week she gets encouragement and she gets challenged.  These two things are what continue to stimulate growth.  Unlike many churches trying to find that special “niche”, Riverbluff has always pushed to do what they believe God wants them to do.  Change Lives.  It sounds simple, but in reality there is no formula for encouragement, being challenged and changing lives.  Just being an example of God’s love will take care of all three (and more).

Congrats Dad and Mom!!!