January 2021 marked the 25th anniversary for Christian Temple Church. In the winter of 1996, Reverend George L Pike sent our Pastor, Brother Rob Coones, to the city of High Point, North Carolina, to establish a church we know now as Christian Temple. The very first church service, 25 years ago, took place in Sister Grace Taylor’s living room with just a handful of members. The congregation grew over time and now fills our sanctuary in Sophia, North Carolina.
On February 5th, the members of Christian Temple Church put together a surprise party for their Pastor and First Lady to honor the celebration of 25 years. The children’s choir sang a special “Happy Birthday Christian Temple” song, followed by a heartfelt performance of “Thank God for The Preacher.”
After the church service, we met in the fellowship hall for a celebratory taco dinner prepared by the sisters of the church.
The dinner tables were decorated in framed photos of so many memories over the past two and a half decades. Some of the photos dated back to the very first building Christian Temple used as a sanctuary. There were photos displayed of church work days, children choir practices, weddings held in the church, and so many other sweet memories.
Everybody loved seeing all of these photos gathered in one building and reminiscing on the beautiful moments that we have had over the years as this church.
The families of Christian Temple also took their time to write sweet testimony letters to present to Pastor Rob and Sister Irene as a gift. The letters were heartfelt and emotional. As I gathered the letters to bundle together them in a folder, I was moved by the sincere and genuine words that the families wrote down to express their gratitude for our pastor. There is not a family in our church that could ever put into words just how thankful they are for the endeavors of Pastor Rob, but it was so meaningful to have the families express what they could in written form. These letters touched the hearts of Brother Rob and Sister Irene, and will be something they will cherish and hold onto forever.
Click to view the slide show.