Well, this is my last newsletter article for you.  It is hard to believe that this time has come.  I pulled up my first article to read from February 2010 and I remember writing it like it was just last week.  Time flies and we can never know just what the Lord has in store for us.  When Morgan and I started this process with the IMB just over a year and a half ago, we never could have imagined that time would go by so quickly.  I cannot tell just how amazing it is to see how the Lord has brought us to this point.  It is only by his grace and it will only be by his grace that we go forth from this place.

As I look back over our time here there are several things that really stick out to me.  Obviously this is where we started our family.  All four of our kids were born into this church.  I am so thankful that the Lord allowed us to begin our family here.  Then I think of all the time I’ve spent with our youth.  From lock-ins to Bible study, there have been lots of memories made with our students.  Probably my greatest time with our youth has been at World Changers each year.  We’ve been to Fort Smith, Covington, Natchez, Eastland, and Joplin and everywhere we went I saw the Lord work in our students in a powerful way.  My desire from day one for our students has been that they love the Word and live it out in all they say and do.  I hope this will be true of each of them for the rest of their lives.  Finally, I think about a more recent happening.  Sabbatical was such a special time for me.  Not necessarily because I got to preach more or be more involved in different ministries but because I learned more how to put my trust in the Lord.  That task was one that I did not feel prepared to accomplish.  I am in no way qualified to do the things you entrusted me to do.  Every day I had to let go of my desire to control things and let the Lord lead me.  It caused me to draw closer to him and prepare me for this coming season in our life.  God’s timing is so perfect and Sabbatical was a God ordained time.  Thank you for entrusting me with that time.

If I could just close by challenging you with one last thing.  I was reading 1 Corinthians 10 this morning and the last three verses of the chapter say, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.”  Church, let everything you do be for the glory of God and let your task be to see that many are saved.  May you be a church that in all you do, through your time, talents, and tithe, you declare his glory among the nations.

Thank you Oak Crest for your faithfulness to the Gospel and allowing me to be a part of this covenant body.  As of tomorrow I am no longer on staff but you are still our church.  We look forward to continuing to partner with you for the sake of the Gospel.

In Christ,

Nathan