Pastor Mark Hopper

By Pastor Mark Hopper

Recently, I passed the baton of the leadership of our church to a younger pastor on our staff.  It was a morning filled with excitement and emotion as I stepped down from serving as the senior pastor and Pastor Tim Park accepted this new assignment.

Later that day, over 400 people gathered at the Diamond Bar Community Center to celebrate the 27 years that my wife and I have served at our church.  It was both humbling and amazing to see pictures and hear stories highlighting some of the things that happened during those many years.

A team at our church put together a wonderful evening.  The food was delicious and the decorations were gorgeous.  The room looked amazing! The program was filled with humor and memories.  It was an evening to remember.

One of the things I noticed was that I looked a lot younger 27 years ago when our family moved to Diamond Bar in 1988.  My hair was darker and there was a lot more of it!  Our kids were a lot younger back then, too.

A number of people shared stories about my years at the church.  Our own adult children shared some humorous accounts about their dad.  The Mayor of Diamond Bar presented me with a plaque recognizing our service to the community.

The pictures and videos brought back memories of building programs and special events that we will always remember.  In addition, many people wrote cards and notes thanking my wife and me for our ministry in their lives.

Through all of this, I was reminded that each person at that celebration had been touched in some way by my wife and me.  Their cards and words reminded us that the greatest impact we had at our church was not the new buildings and the special programs, but the times that we helped families and individuals at critical times in their lives.

God gave us the privilege to be part of their lives over the years.  We celebrated the births of their children and the weddings in their families.  We wept with others at the death of their loved ones and through the heartbreak of divorce.  It was both humbling and gratifying to hear how we were able to help and serve others.

Let me encourage you to look around you this week.  Who are the people that you work with and see every day?  Take time to thank them for the impact they have had in your life.  And, give thanks to God that he is using you to make a difference in their lives, too!

Pastor Mark Hopper is from the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, 3255 South Diamond Bar Ave. Sunday services are 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. For more information, call (909) 594-7604 or visit http://www.efreedb.org.