After Dr. John Barnett left Tulsa Bible Church in 2008 to take a call from a church in Kalamazoo, Michigan we experienced another year of the Elders and leaders in the church sharing the Word of God from the pulpit till we filled the role of lead pastor. We have always been blessed with men that teach from the Bible both from the platform and the classrooms.
Pastor Jim Johnston with his wife Lisa responded to the call to come to Tulsa Bible Church as our next pastor. He brought a new style of preaching and teaching, refreshing our souls with the study of Psalms in an amazing way. His style was different but always encouraging to our souls.
We changed some things but again the Word of God did not change, but our emphasis was more on the worship of God and Him alone. Jim had grown up as a missionary in France and helped us see that God is a God of this world and not just America. We are not the only country in the World that God blesses he helped us to understand from a foreigners perspective. He calls people in all nations to worship Him. We knew that of course but that was an insightful reminder that God is at work all around the world and is inviting us to take part in what He is doing.
After nine years Jim felt called to leave to go to Arizona and about the same time another group of people were ready to plant a church in Broken Arrow. Some 100 to 150 joined this group and are reaching their community with the gospel today. God was preparing His people to reach the community and even though it was hard again, God was at work in the lives of those who went and those who stayed to carry on the work of the gospel.
We hired one of our missionaries to serve as an interim pastor for a season of healing and reflection. His name was John Connor and God used him to help us to go through this time of reflecting and resolving conflict and seeking the face of God. With much prayer and resolve to understand conflict and the Biblical response among ourselves. We began a new search for a senior pastor. God was faithful once again to bring us just the right man to fill our role of senior pastor at TBC.
The pastoral search team lead us to our current pastor, a pastor 36 years of age. Jared and Brandy Verwiel and three children came from a little town in Kansas. What a breath of fresh perspective as his heart was to preach the word with a strong emphasis on reaching our community with the gospel. His style is also different and something we have come to expect, that God prepares each of us for the unique work that He has for them to do at Tulsa Bible Church.
God has never let us down, He has always provided and prepared us for the call to be fishers of men and to go and make disciples in all the world. We will continue in obedience to His leading as we have seen his faithfulness throughout the past 68 years.
As one of the elders at Tulsa Bible Church we are seeking God’s plan for the next 5 to 7 years and can’t’ wait to see what God has in store for those who are called to come alongside the leadership to reach our community and world with the Good News of the Gospel.
TBC has one of the best women’s ministries programs we have experienced in all the years we have attended this church. Our men’s ministries are active with studies during the week, retreats, and fellowships. The Youth program is changing lives and our children’s ministry is reaching the hearts of kids. The Worship team leads a variety of music with a heart focused on God. Monthly connections groups, life together groups and missions’ outreach around the world.
If you do not have a church home, come visit us at 58th and Sheridan. We have very active Sunday School classes for all ages beginning at 9:00 a.m. Following the classes, we have a worship service at 10:30 on Sunday morning.
Come look my family up and we will be glad to tell you why we have been at Tulsa Bible Church since we found them in the Yellow Pages back in 1974. A lot has changed, and God is still at work reaching the world with the truth of the Gospel.