Celebrating a Life in Ministry

A 23 year old young man walks into a small church. He is a new believer in Christ. He understands the change in his life, but he doesn't know totally what it means. It is so vital that he get exposed to someone who is mature in the faith. He needs someone to not only explain to him what a relationship with Christ is like, but to model it in how he lives his life.

If you haven't figure it out by now, the 23 year old young man was me. It was 1983 and I had just moved back to Cleveland and I was looking for a bible believing, bible teaching church. I found a small church through of all things the newspaper. I attended Little Church in the Vale. When I walked in, I immediately noticed I stood out. I think I was the only one under 30. A number of people took me under their wing including a gregarious older man who just effused love by the name of Bill Banfield. Bill was just one of those guys who seemed like he was always upbeat. The pastor of that church taught me how to read and study God's word, but it was Bill Banfield who taught me how to conduct myself in love (still learning), how a godly marriage looks, and how to raise a family with Christ as the center.

I married that pastor's niece and we raised our young family in that church. I dug the following video out of our family archives. It is a short snipped of Vacation Bible School in 1991. The theme was "Sonward Ho", kind of a western motif. Bill is the one leading the kids in singing "Good News". The little girl I zoom in on is our daughter Ashley. Our kids still remember Sonward Ho.

While we left the church a few years later, we never forgot Bill and Ada. Today we celebrated their retirement of Bill as an elder of the church. I got to tell Bill how much he meant to me as that young man. Today, I try to pour myself into other men just like Bill did to me. Bill of course led the singing tonight and I captured Bill leading us in "Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing". Brought me back to that day I walked in the church in 1983.

Bill is not done with ministry. As he said today, he is not old, he is just getting older. As he is spending more and more time with his extended family in North Caroline (10 great grandchildren), he knew when to step down. But he simply is transitioning to a new phase of ministry. I am grateful for men and woman like Bill and Ada and it challenges me to be more like them in discipling others.