by By Everett Brail, III
The Newkirk Herald Journal
NEWKIRK — First Presbyterian Church, positioned at Eighth and Walnut, has proudly served the church group for higher than a century. Sadly, they these days closed their doorways on account of a dwindling congregation. New life is being breathed into the development, however as a model new ministry has begun holding suppliers, and seeks to achieve out Newkirk’s youthful generations.
Mark Southard pastored the church about eight years sooner than their last service Nov. 20, which had about 50 in attendance that morning.
“We now have been averaging about 15 each service,” he said.
Southard is now the interim pastor at Ponca Metropolis First Presbyterian Church.
Clayton and Jessica Pappan are two of the leaders on the brand new church, Rise Up Ministries, which has now started holding suppliers each Sunday. The Pappans have been members and ministers at Life.Church in Ponca Metropolis, and the best way their paths crossed may look like a chunk of God Himself.
Southard and the church members at First Presbyterian did not want the establishing to go to waste, sitting on the nook gathering mud inside, and began reaching out to the church group, notably Life.Church in Ponca Metropolis.
“After we obtained right here to the selection that the Presbyterian congregation wish to shut, it was important to the group that we uncover a use for the facility,” Southard said. “Not like a number of church buildings that get to the highest of their life, the establishing itself is in positive situation, and our financial state of affairs was sufficient, merely low on people.”
The Pappans moreover have been looking for a model new ministry of their very personal.
“I’ve been in ministry full time about six years now, and God drastically modified my life, and turned my world the opposite method up, and lit a fire in my coronary coronary heart that I couldn’t do something nonetheless ministry,” Pappan said.
The church reached out to Life.Church, and whereas they declined the facility, the Pappans found their very personal various for ministry.
“Life.Church was not , nonetheless God was telling me to achieve out to Mark,” he said.
They rapidly found themselves in entrance of the church board for an interview course of.
“We invited then to our (administration board) session and requested them to tell us how they felt the calling from God was and they also sat down and there was not a dry eye throughout the place,” Southard said.
Rise Up Ministries opened their doorways initially of January for a latest new start throughout the new yr.
“I wanted to start in January on account of I felt this was going to be a model new yr, new start,” he said. “We had a New 12 months celebration, which was merely worship and praying. You don’t have to be wonderful.”
They’re receiving help from co-ministers Ryan and Chelsea Chapman, moreover from Life.Church, and collectively, they’ve reworked the church, together with new musical units resembling guitars and drums, and new screens that present the phrases of the reward songs. Purple lighting moreover brings a model new ambiance, and church pews are being modified by moveable chairs.
Fellowship Hall has moreover been re-arranged, with the eradicating of the tables and the addition of rows of chairs for youth school college students.
Even the basement beneath is being tailor-made to youngsters’s ministry, which is able to most likely be led by Jessica and Chelsea.
It is these kids they’re reaching out to most likely probably the most, with a latest, youthful updated service designed to ship them to church.
“We’re reaching the misplaced, pouring into the group,” Clayton said. “The establishing is a tool to utilize, nonetheless the people are the church, and our hope is to not be merely throughout the establishing, nonetheless within the neighborhood.”
Although it’s been just some weeks, they’ve already seen success, nonetheless with fellow Life.Church members, however moreover Newkirk.
“We had about 135 our first service, and a bit over 500 on-line on account of we Fb the suppliers,” Clayton said.
As for the ministry’s title, it is merely a switch to get out of the church and into the group.
“It is time to for the church to face up and attain the world for Christ,” he said.
