Sammy Speaks

Essential Truths from God's Word from

Our Associate Pastor Sammy Hargrove

Sammy Speaks… 

                Surprised by joy!  Isn’t it great when you are facing a situation that you’re a little uncertain about and it turns out even better than you had hoped?  We began our July Gospel concerts last night with Kenna Turner West.  I had arranged the concert through her Dad, Ken Turner, who has been with us a couple of times.  I was sure that it would be a good evening, but I had no idea how good and I was concerned whether we would have a decent attendance – you never know.  Everything exceeded my expectations.

                We had 87 present and some of those were at our church for the first time.  They heard about the concert through a notice that Connie Riley had put in the paper.   One of my first concerns was about the sound system – we’ve had a few problems lately as you may know.  I have dealt with electronics and church sound systems for many years, and I have never been in a church where the acoustics are more challenging and the sound system more complex than it is here.  I do want to say a word of thanks to Danny Elms, Mark Riley, and Clarke Wilcox for their hard work and dedication to working on our sound.  Most people could not appreciate what a challenging task it is.  When Kenna first started working with her sound tracks, I was concerned because it was difficult to make out all the words.  However as she and Clarke worked together fine turning the frequencies and the levels, they got it worked out to where I was able to understand everything very clearly and to my ears it sounded great.  I am aware that on Sunday morning some people had difficulty understanding our mission speaker, Marilyn Wykes.    There was a reason for that and it has been identified and fixed.  I really encourage you to pray for our sound crew, and I do believe you will be experiencing better sound in the coming weeks.

                I was amazed by Kenna’s gift for song writing.  Many major artists have recorded her songs, and it was a treat to hear her perform them with such heartfelt emotion and grace.  She shared much of her personal spiritual journey and her testimony and spiritual message brought quite a few tears.  Her joyful spirit and fun ways reminded many of Marty Walker, and I told Kenna that was a real compliment.  We hope to have her back again and when she comes you will be blessed if you come too.

                Next Sunday night we will have the Melody Boys in concert.  They have been here several times and they are a gospel favorite.  I’m also really looking forward to Tom Ohr and the rest of the Shady Grove Ramblers who were be here on July 25.  You add these with the Peru Mission Trip, Impact Camp, VBS, and FAME, the Music Camp and there are a lot of exciting things here at FUMC.  I’m glad to be here and I’m glad you’re here.  Invite someone to join us.

Sammy Hargrove