A woman hefting a fold-up wheelchair out of the back of a vehicle stopped what she was doing to direct me into that Sunday’s worship center one recent week.
PINEVILLE – A woman hefting a fold-up wheelchair out of the back of a vehicle stopped what she was doing to direct me into that Sunday’s worship center one recent week. I was impressed that busy as she was, this kind woman stopped to make sure I knew where church was happening.
Just as I stepped through the doors to the church’s recreation center – the worship center was in the middle of getting a new heating and air conditioning unit, I learned later – a man in the pulpit started praying. I bowed my head and most unexpectedly (after all, I wasn’t a foot inside the doorway, and not prepared mentally for a prayer) I received the covering of God’s love. That praying person spoke to every single need and thought in my life! Later I found out the person who had been praying was the pastor, Greg Carroll. A church with a pastor that connected to God is blessed indeed.
After the prayer a greeter smiled a silent welcome at me, and an usher unobtrusively directed me to an available chair; both made me feel cared about.
Pineville Park asks its members to each give a dollar a week for benevolence, in addition to their tithes and other offerings. It was exciting to see the offering plate overflowing as it passed by me – it made me want to give more.
With the Song of Solomon as his text, the pastor preached what my notes say was “a practical message that connected marital love with God’s love.” Despite the fact that I don’t remember ever having heard a message before that was based on the Song of Solomon, my mind wandered when I saw the front of the worship guide. It’s apparently the church’s motto:
“Loving God. Following Jesus. Serving others.” That pretty much sums up what pleases God. I think this church pleases Him too.
– Karen L. Willoughb