-- Valleydale Church, 40th Anniversary Legacy Celebration
I don't know why, but God chose to use imperfect people to accomplish his purposes, and the vehicle through which that happens is the local church. That means the church is serious business, because it's the presence of the kingdom of Christ here on earth.
Today our church celebrated its fortieth anniversary.
Forty years since nine families met in the basement of a man's house, as they practiced obedience to a call on their lives.
Forty years of joys and sorrows; encouraging times and disappointments.
Forty years of bearing witness to the faithfulness of God toward his people, not because everything has been easy, or because his people deserve it, or worked hard enough to earn it.
Just because faithful is who he is.
He was faithful when the church experienced growth, as he was when people left in bitterness. He was faithful during successful capital campaigns, as he was when there wasn't enough money to pay the bills. He was faithful when a full-time pastor was in the pulpit, as he was when there wasn't.
During our celebration today, we heard from former pastors, dating all the way back to the 70s. They spoke of how they were shaped and challenged by their time in service, and how they learned that God is worthy of our trust.
Former members were invited back as a sort of homecoming, and it was powerful to see generations of a church body come together in celebration of a purpose greater than any disagreement or human failing.
It was a sweet time, and I felt humbled to have spent even a portion of those forty years as a part of this community of faith.
Forty years is a blink in the eye of eternity; we know that. And anything good that comes out of the church is only because God has chosen to do that through us; we know that, too.
But what a right and good thing, to honor the legacy of the men and women who sacrificed much, so we could play even a small role in the greatest love story ever told.
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