My father has spent nearly 60 years in the ministry. He has served as Pastor of a number of churches in West Virginia and Ohio and preached as an evangelist from Ohio to Florida. His work for the Lord kept him busy and on the road a lot. Even though we travelled with him a lot, he understood the need for our family to have a "home church" and a Pastor. You may have never thought much about it, but even Pastors need a Pastor!
From 1952, when we moved to Huntington from Logan County, WV, until the time of his death about two years ago, Carl Vallance was our Pastor. I could write a lot about Brother Vallance. In fact, there is a chapter devoted to him in the book I am working on. He was a colorful character who made a tremendous impact on my life and my ministry.
One of the things I appreciated so deeply about Brother Vallance, was the confidence he showed in me during my formative years in the ministry. I was one of several young men, who were called into the ministry under the tuteledge of Carl Vallance. Once I had announced my calling into the ministry, Brother Vallance did everything he could to encourage and equip me for service. He allowed me opportunity to preach. You may not realize how important that is to a young preacher. Brother Vallance did know, and he allowed me to take the pulpit on a number of occasions. He offered encouragement, constructive criticism, and advice. He encouraged me to attend Bible College and further my education.
Along with my Pastor, I will never forget some of the other precious members there at Thomas Memorial Church, who were encouragers to the young preacher. I know the messages were often pretty weak and certainly not homeletically sound. I was long on enthusiasm and short on experience. Looking back on those early attempts, I almost cringe. However, folks like Grant and Dorothy Chaffin, Jack Day, Blanche Booth, and Ray Wilcox gave me a gift I could never repay. They offered me encouragement.
Encouragement is an important ministry that is often overlooked and is certainly in short supply. Barnabus is a great example in the Book of Acts. In fact, Barnabus wasn't even his given name. It was a nickname - "Son of Consolation" (KJV) or literally, "Mr. Encouragement". What a help he was to the new Apostle by the name of Paul! What a great example for us today. We need more Barnabuses in the church today.
I pray that God will raise up young men and women in our church to be called into full time Christian service. When He does, may we be a group of encouragers to them. it's something we can do that may have eternal impact.
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