Letter from the Elders
July 16th, 2023
Dear College Heights,
God knows us! He has known us since before we laid the foundation (turned the first shovel of dirt) on this site nearly 55 years ago.
But please, indulge me for a bit as I remind us that the God who knew us then is the same God who laid the earth’s foundations, who marked off its dimensions, who stretched His measuring line across it, laid its cornerstone, fixed the limits of land and seas…He knows us!
The God who gives orders to the morning and shows the dawn its place; who has journeyed to the deep springs of the sea, walked in its recesses, and has seen the gates of death and its shadow; the God who knows where light lives and darkness resides; who entered the storehouses of the snow and hail; who sends the lightning on its way, cuts the channels for the torrents of rain and the path for the thunderstorm; who commands the constellations, counts the clouds, tips over the water jars of the heavens; who endows the heart with wisdom and gives understanding to the mind (James 1:5), (Job 38-4). He knows us!
He is the Provider of Peace (Phil. 4:6,7), the Father of many (of us all) nations; who gives life to the dead, and calls things that aren’t as though they were (Romans 4:17)!
He is the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8), the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev. 22:12), the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9), dressed in snow-white clothing, who took His seat on a throne of blazing fire…
This mighty God is the same God who knows us even today, church! He knows our rich legacy of…
Outreach and love for College kids and sending kids to camp
Raising up Small groups who learn and love and cry and do life together
Sending out and supporting Global partners across the nations
Caring and loving on the family and Community through terrible storms, tornados, pandemic, poverty, and the trials of human life
Giving generously and sacrificially
Nurturing, supporting, and providing space for a thriving Christian school that is sending servant leaders into the world
He knows our legacy of…
Exceptional teaching, great Bible Preaching, devoted prayer, heartfelt Worship
Outreach and care for the Immigrant, foreigner, marginalized, those with special needs, the downtrodden and unloved…and so much more…
Many of us have grown up here, married here, raised families and generations here, said goodbye to loved ones and friends here, celebrated and grieved with one another, we’ve lived life here…from mountain top highs to the sometimes painful but refining valleys, through the brilliant sunshine to groping our way through the storms, we have not abandoned our character, integrity, and faith in our God.
Many of you and your families are just beginning your journey here, and we‘re so glad you are part of our community of believers!
Brothers and sisters, let us not rest upon, shrink back from or compromise this legacy of love and obedience and service, even in times of refining and change, for it’s not our legacy, it’s His legacy alive in us, as we serve the living, unchanging God. Let us be the united body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12ff; Eph. 4:1-16), led by His Spirit, bound by His Peace, growing in Love (Eph. 4:3-16), let us be spreaders of hope and love, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16), let us remain true to the Lord’s name, living as children of the Light (Eph. 5:8), let us press onward toward the prize, let us never renounce our faith, even if faced with our very lives.
And let us be victorious so that we too will qualify for that great heavenly banquet and the proclamation of “not guilty” from our Lord and Savior!*
He knows us church! He knows our triumphs, our struggles and our weakness. And here’s some really good news, despite our weakness, He loves each of us with an unfathomable love! Because of who He is, I eagerly anticipate the coming season and where God will lead us.
* Revelation 2:12-17 - To the Church at Pergamum
