Brian Frost
Sunday’s Video Is Now Available!
Thanks to the amazing skills of the Providence media team, audio and video recordings of the special farewell service from Sunday night are available on the http://www.pray.org website! Thanks to that entire team of men and women for their excellent work each week capturing the worship times of Providence.
Sunday night, the service was a few minutes under two hours with lots of great music and worship times, and then a series of short comments by a very special group of friends. Cathy and I were overwhelmed, to say the least!
If you were not able to attend, I do hope you will enjoy the video! To access the video, click on this link:
Celebrating 37 Years
I am also attaching a copy of the order of service in case you would like to scroll through to favorite portions of the service.
A Night for Praise!
What a night! …one last opportunity to say a public, worshipful thanks to the Lord for allowing Cathy and me to be part of the Providence family all these years! When we agreed to have a farewell evening to say our last farewell as pastor of Providence, I frankly had no idea what that would mean.
Last night as friends gathered for a time of glorious worship, Cathy and I got to see and hug people we have loved from across four decades of Christ-centered relationships. One surprise after another awaited us as first one then another and another would walk in–some having traveled many, many hours from many states to come celebrate with us. To say it was overwhelming only begins to touch on what it was like for us!
Not knowing what was planned, Cathy and I had prayed that we would be able to take it all in while at the same time deflect all praise to the Lord. We need not have been concerned because those who planned the day had made sure that each song, each testimony, each greeting, would give first place to the adoration of a gracious and generous Savior.
When the video of the evening goes online on http://www.pray.org, I will post that link so that those who could not come will be able to experience in part that evening of amazing worship! Music from a wide range of styles led by dear friends and great musicians stirred all of our hearts to lift high the name of Jesus!
For those looking for more information about our new ministry, Equipped for Life, there are a couple of posts here on this blog (December 3, July 7 and 10) that give a brief explanation of what we hope to see the Lord do. Two primary emphases of EFL will be equipping–teaching, training and encouraging ministry leaders, and missions–bringing together missions needs with missions giving.
Hopefully within the next couple of months we will be launching the Equipped for Life website, but in the meantime this blog will post progress as the details develop more fully.
If you are interested in helping us in this new endeavor, you can contribute by making checks payable to “Equipped for Life” and sending them to Equipped for Life, 6339 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27612 or to 1820 Albacore Lane, Raleigh, NC 27612. Since EFL is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization, all gifts are tax deductible. If you prefer, you can also make checks payable to Providence Baptist Church and note EFL on the “for” line of the check. When the website launches, there will be a provision for online giving. So whether you want to become a ministry partner with us, or just make a one-time contribution, please know how grateful we will be!
For more details about the ministry itself, please contact me via my new ministry email (dhorner.efl@gmail.com) and I will be very glad to fill you in on all the dimensions planned for this new and exciting phase of our calling to equip the saints for the work of ministry and connect missions needs with missions giving.
As far as last night is concerned, THANKS!…thanks to all of you for once again making us feel so blessed by a people we love so deeply!
Thanks for the memories!
Yesterday was my last day as senior pastor at Providence! Now I am just a member, but I want to be a good one!
When Cathy and I found ourselves with eleven other couples on the threshold of starting a new church in 1978, we could never have predicted what the next 37 years had in store for us! After preaching thousands of sermons, writing several books and articles, traveling hundreds of thousands of miles to speak at conferences here and abroad, baptizing hundreds, marrying hundreds more, counseling those in trouble or in need, comforting those who were bereaved or hurting in some way, sharing the gospel with individuals, small groups or entire congregations, my calling to preach the gospel and to equip the saints for the work of ministry has never left me in search of something to do!
For all the mistakes I made, and the failures I endured, there was never a moment in all those years when I felt any lack of support from you. Don’t get me wrong! There were plenty of antagonists to be found along the way and the sailing was not always smooth. But I always knew that Providence consisted primarily of men and women who loved Christ, loved His Word, loved His church, and yes, loved me as their pastor. How can I thank you properly for all of that? What words of praise can adequately be expressed to a great and glorious Savior, Jesus Christ? Praise and thanksgiving will always be in my heart and on my lips for you and to Him who alone is worthy to be exalted!
Through all of those years, you the people of Providence have extended much grace to me and my family! Thanks for loving my family and for loving me well!
Looking back, some of you I baptized, then officiated at your weddings, dedicated your babies…only to get to do the same thing for your children! Scores of you we ordained to the ministry, hundreds we commissioned to be missionaries, and thousands of others we affirmed to be salt and light in whatever circumstances God has placed you. In this day of short pastoral tenures, who gets to stay in one place long enough to do all of that? Your gracious love and prayers and faithfulness provided a place for us to call home and raise our own family right here.
From a purely practical standpoint, you have also been a generous people. Through four relocations, you stood by the ministry and gave freely so that we have never had debt for more than a few years at any given time. We have met our budget all but a handful of those 37 years. And even then, we managed our spending well and ended the year in the black! That was done without ever compromising our commitment to give sacrificially and gladly to support various missions endeavors around the globe as a gospel centered church should. You have joined me to treasure Christ and make His glory known in your hearts and in all the earth! Thank you for that!!
May the riches of His grace flow freely as Brian Frost excels in his new role. I now get to join you as a member of Providence, loving, supporting and praying for my new pastor. So as I step aside and Brian becomes your Senior Pastor today, my heart is filled with joy and gratitude that I have been your pastor and friend all these years. “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 4).
As I begin a new phase of ministry as Executive Director of Equipped for Life ministries, continuing to equip the saints for the work of ministry, especially ministry leaders, please pray for me as I will for you! May the grace of Jesus Christ be yours completely!
Equipped for Life: David Horner, Raleigh, NC 