Maplewood Newsletter September 16.... Philippians 1:3-5— I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. In reflecting on the Wininger’s 26 years of ministry at Maplewood as we prepare for a new venture with the Missouri Valley Christian Church in western Iowa, I, of course, have many people to thank for working alongside me/us over that period of time. Foremost among them are the folks with whom I worked full-time on a daily basis here at the building. I am grateful for having worked with these men on staff: Dick Jorgensen, Ken Shearon (RIP), Phil Hester, Stan Eastman, Larry Scott (RIP), Ron Kelly, Doug Hazelwood, and Jeremy Lamb. These are men with whom I prayed, strategized, laughed, cried, fought beside, and sometimes fought with. Ha! I am thankful for the servant’s hearts God granted these men as we worked together for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom here in 12-points. I am also thankful for some very competent Secretaries/Office Administrators and their assistants who facilitated the office in such a way as to free the staff up for the work of ministry: Imogene Allison (RIP), Miriam Beddow (RIP), Verna Davis, Linda Johnson (RIP), Judy Icenogle Tedrow, Amanda Bond Keeling, Jan Brewster, and Joe Craft. These folks very dedicatedly and creatively helped the ministry here more than anyone can imagine! I am also thankful for the faculty and staff of Community Christian School with whom we shared the building, property, prayers, blood, sweat, and tears! Most closely, I worked with the Principals with whom we had to coordinate space and resources: Ken Shearon (RIP), Jaimie Kerr Ellis, Don Shepherd, and Cathi Myers. These folks mainly had a thankless job most of the time. I know they viewed their service as to the Lord, but the “criticism to thanks” scale was definitely skewed to the criticism side, and they all mostly handled that with the grace of the Lord. Well-done! I also owe a good bit of thanks to the secretaries of CCS who had to enact much of the coordination of space and resources that I just mentioned: Sharon Owen, Linda Nelson, Jennifer Weir, Barbara Fagan Eastman, and Kim Page. These ladies went above and beyond the call of duty time and time again, and without a doubt, heaven noticed! Along with all of these folks are countless elders, deacons, teachers, youth sponsors, worship leaders, singers, instrumentalists, and prayer warriors through whom God did His work here and will continue to do His work at Maplewood. I hope that in sharing all of these fine servants, you will notice the truth of Psalm 100:5- For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. It is His Church and we are, in fact, His work. Maplewood is 112 years old for which I have been here 26 years and just 14 as the preaching minister. I am in fact, the 21st preacher this congregation has had. The work did not begin with my coming, nor will it end with my departure…for it is the Lord who is faithful to all generations. Never forget that as we all proceed forth in faith, and not in fear! The Wininger’s thank you all so very much for having let us work with you for so long! We trust God to continue in us and in you to the glory of His own Name!
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 13:25:18 +0000
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