5 Takeaways from my First 5 Years as Pastor

On July 18th, I celebrated my 5-year anniversary as the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church Stockdale. It wasn’t my intention to be on vacation during my 5-year anniversary; the schedule just seemed to work out that way.

I am now back from my vacation, and I have had some time to reflect on my first five years as pastor, so I wanted to share five takeaways from these first five years. I will share these in no particular order.

First, God is so faithful.

I am so thankful that God called me to be the pastor of First Baptist Church Stockdale five years ago. To have the opportunity to pastor the church where I was saved and baptized, plus to pastor the same church that my dad pastored over 30 years ago, is a gift and an opportunity that many men are not afforded. What a blessing to receive this gift from the Lord!

But God’s faithfulness has been demonstrated in far more ways than just in calling me to be pastor. We have seen God’s faithfulness to save the lost, to grow this church, to expand our borders, to reach this community, and to use us for His Kingdom purposes in other countries. None of this could be accomplished apart from God’s faithfulness.

Second, this is a loving church.

This is another great blessing for myself and my family. We have experienced God’s love from His people from the moment we stepped through the doors of First Baptist Church Stockdale. Roger Click, our former chairman of deacons, made sure that our fridge was stocked by the time we arrived. This is just a small example of this church’s love.

I have also seen that love extended to Palmer and his family, Katy and her family, and Corey and his family as each one of them joined our staff. I am thankful to get to serve a church that loves so well.

Third, we are imperfect people serving a perfect God.

Yes, this church has done well to love me, and I have done my best to love this church in return, but we are imperfect. There have been times when I have needed to humble myself and ask someone to forgive me. Likewise, I have seen others need to humble themselves in the same way. We are not a perfect church, and we aren’t pretending to be. But the good news is, we do serve a perfect God, and it is He who continually unites us, shapes us, and conforms us to His image. May we never stop allowing Him to do so.

Fourth, it’s not about me.

This is actually the title of a book by Max Lucado. This is a truth that I learned a long time ago, but pastoring First Baptist Church for these last five years has simply reminded me of this great truth. My messages are not about me. My serving is not about me. My leading is not about me. It’s not about you either. Everything that God has accomplished over these last five years has all pointed back to Himself. It’s all for His glory.

And let me just say, I’m glad it’s not about me because, as I’ve already said, I’m imperfect.

Fifth, I can’t do it alone.

I am thankful for the team that God has surrounded me with. First and foremost, we have an outstanding team of volunteers. This team is made up of each and every one of our members who serves our church in some capacity. Whether that is our deacon body, our media team, our worship team, our safety team, our food pantry team, a growth group leader, a children’s ministry volunteer, a youth volunteer…the list goes on. If it weren’t for this team of volunteers, it would be impossible for things to move forward. But because of their faithfulness, we have seen God move our church forward in many great ways over the last five years.

We not only have a great team of volunteers, but I have also been blessed with a great staff. When I started, it was just me, our ministry assistant, and our part-time worship leader. God was faithful to take care of us during that season. And that was a season that this church had been in for many years. The Lord blessed us, though.

In the last five years, we added a full-time youth pastor, a full-time worship minister, and a part-time children’s minister. They each lead and serve this church in phenomenal ways. I know that apart from them, these five years would not have been as truly successful. I am thankful for JoDea, Becky, Palmer, Katy, and Corey. God has blessed me with the opportunity to both lead and serve alongside each of you.

Thank you.

So, thank you, First Baptist Church Stockdale, for these last five years. Thank you for allowing me to serve you. Thank you for allowing me to shepherd you. Thank you for your willingness to take steps, or even leaps of faith, with me along the way.

As we look ahead to the next five years, I am convinced that God is going to continue to grow us. He is going to continue to shape us. He is going to continue to use us for His Kingdom purposes right here in our community and wherever He might send us.

May these next five years be marked with faithfulness: faithfulness from me as your pastor, faithfulness from us as God’s church, and ultimately, faithfulness from the Lord moving us forward.

“Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20–21