SIXTY YEARS FROM NOW? I CAN ONLY IMAGINE!

Port Huron, Michigan, first Church of the Nazarene

Sixty years is a long time!  That's how long I have been a part of the Church of the Nazarene.  Can't be, but it is.  When dad's co-worker, Cliff, invited him to visit his church little did either imagine that 60 years later that little 4 year old bundle of energy named Alan would be the evangelist in a Revival campaign at the same church.  Port Huron, Michigan,  First Church of the Nazarene was my assignment this past week and as I stood behind the same pulpit where I preached my first sermon in 1965 the memories came flooding back.

Most of those who were there then have gone and most of those in the services were strangers just like every other church I've preached in this last year and a half.  The Sunday School teachers, the Pastors, and the others who impacted my life in those early years were not physically there but somehow they were.  It reminded me that our prayer should be "let those who come behind me find me faithful".  We never know the difference we might be making in someones life.

I could pretty well remember where they all sat and I could imagine them lifting their voices in prayer while kneeling in their pews or across the front of the sanctuary.  I could envision Brother Johnson walking the center aisle gently waving his white handkerchief.  I could recall my parents sitting half way back on the left side with dad always on the aisle.  They were good memories.

Today the church continues to be a blend of the "pioneers" and the "homesteaders" with both groups getting along remarkably well.  They still are not afraid to say "Amen" out loud and lift their voices in prayer.  Although less in numbers than back in the "good ole' days" they are excited about the future and what the Lord has in store for their church.  It was a good "meeting" in many ways. 

After the Wednesday night closing service a little guy about eight years old stopped me purposefully in the foyer as folks were exiting with their obligatory kind words.  When I saw him I dropped to one knee and heard him say; "that was good preaching".  As I shook his hand and thanked him for his encouraging words I couldn't help but wonder....."what will he be doing 60 years from now?"  Who knows what God has in store?  I can only imagine! 


Pastor Keith Sparks, Jr.