We just celebrated our church's 80th anniversary and so I wrote a few thoughts about what the church has meant to me and Pastor James read them .......
In 1957 I started attending Beach Bible Church. It was because my parents had recently come to Christ and wanted to raise their children in church. So some of my first recollections of Beach Church were when I was about 5 or 6 years old. When I first prayed to accept Jesus as my savior.
In the early 60’s one of my fondest memories were the “Sunday night drive-in Services”. They would only happen during the summer months. We would pull up to the church parking lot and sit in our cars and listen to Pastor Diehl give a message from the cement platform outside on the west side of old Beach Church. They would have an old sound system set up to hear the preaching, I remember a lot of crackling sounds but I loved those old “drive in services”. I don’t think I paid much attention to the messages but remember fondly, Danny Diehl playing his trumpet and singing. Many times I would beg to sit with my friends in their car! I remember those hot and humid Sunday evenings so well. They were pure joy!
In the winter months, we would once a month on a Sunday night have "Singspirations”, I loved those “hymn sings”. That’s where and when I gained a great love for old hymns. We would invite other Bible churches in the area. The church would be full to overflowing and the music and voices would fill the sanctuary. We would probably call them praise services now…..but the joy that filled that place, I can still feel in my soul today. We would sing for well over an hour, one song after another with much enthusiasm….many times every verse was sung. It was pure joy to hear, as they say, "the song of the redeemed!"
I grew up going to Beach Church. I never questioned that, it was part of my childhood. I grew to love the church and ministry. I also met my husband Ken through this church. We grew up together, with Beach Church being a huge part of our lives. We share so many stories with Beach church serving as a back drop to those memories. We were married by a former Pastor Ron Petrick. We also raised our family here. I would often pray that what was taught and shared with my children through those years, will stay with them and continue to be a strong and firm foundation in their lives.
As we all know, we had difficult times in the church as well. But I have learned even in the darker moments, God used them to show me more of Himself. I learned that as I stayed connected to Jesus and to the body of Christ, He would in His time grow me in ways that I would never have imagined. I’ve learned that God didn’t call the church to be perfect but to be faithful. That’s what Beach has modeled for me. So this church has certainly impacted my life. It is, in a crazy way, a way of life. So I’m thankful for the many memories of Pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders, Bible study groups, Gull Lake trips and The Awana Club. All who have, in some way made an imprint in my life, large or small, good and bad. I’m thankful for the memories. They are precious beyond words.
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