A great church
March 26 2010 (Friday)
When we moved to Rockport in 1964, we had no idea we would get to stay so long. One day just melted into the next, and became a long tenure.
When we arrived in Rockport, we tried things that no longer seemed to work well in other places, like revival meetings, for example. In Dallas, I had just about given up on revival meetings as a valid method of evangelism. Response was minimal to say the least. But in Rockport, for years, every revival meeting was a success. In January, 1967, we had one with Larry Taylor, evangelist, and registered 97 decisions to accept Christ. I baptized 46 people on the final night of the meetings. Not only revivals, but other things worked better also, and every Sunday for several years, numbers of people were saved or joined the church.
It was about the time we moved to Rockport that the modern phenomenon known as “Winter Texan” began to gain ground, and every year saw more and more people coming to the area from the colder states during the winter. Eventually there were more visitors than members in the Sunday morning services. We had additional worship services during the winter months.
The church continued to grow through the years, and I am very thankful to have been the pastor until 1996. Not long after I went there as pastor, Mrs. Nell Reed became the church secretary and is still there today after 45 years. Many others worked with me on the church staff because there is no way one person alone can provide the needed leadership. God has blessed the church through the ministries of many, many people, staff and laypersons alike.
So much could be written about those many years at Rockport, but this is a series about the Texas towns I lived in, and these two blogs have made that point. As I grew older and the church grew larger, I began to feel strongly that it was time for a younger person to become the pastor of the church. God’s blessings upon the church since my retirement have proved me right in my perception. I believe I did the right thing when I became pastor in Rockport, and again when I retired from the church. God has continued to bless His work there through the pastors, Walter Knight, whose nine-year ministry was cut short by his illness in 2006 and subsequent death in 2008. and Scott Jones, now pastor for more than two years, and the dedicated staff members.