A success Story

On Sunday February 10, Doreen and I attended St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Lakeland, Florida. This was not our usual random vacation church visit. Pastor Tom King is on staff at St. Paul's.
We had a nice visit with Pastor Tom, Tami and the children. I left with an attitude of gratitude, however, for Mt. Olive. By watching Pastor Tom in action I felt deeply appreciative of the fact that Pastor Pingel was able to give him training and mentoring at Mt Olive. I couldn't help but reflect on the benefits that we receive by participating in the Vicar program. God will raise up Pastors whether we participate of not. God's work will happen with us or without us. We grow and are fed by being involved in this process. We are then partners in ministry - disciples - rather than customers of the church.

We went to Bible study, traditional worship, and contemporary worship (a lot like our Wednesday Services). The high point was the Baptism of twenty five children and adults and an additional sixteen members that joined the church on that day. Many of these baptisms and new members were the direct result of Pastor Tom's work in the school and his interaction with parents of the students. In part, Mt Olive was involved in this great celebration.