Matt and Suzanna Stagemeyer
By: Matt and Suzanna Stagemeyer
WeWe found our way to Oak Hills a little over three years ago. We discovered the church through friends of ours who had attended while they lived in Kansas City. We were looking for a church that began and ended with the Bible, and that’s what we found. It was immediately apparent that Christ was present in the worship at Oak Hills (Mat. 18:20) and we couldn’t help but join them.
Oak Hills is blessed with a leadership that allows its members to serve in the roles to which they are called by God. It doesn’t place members in the awkward situation of filling roles to which they are poorly suited, simply because there’s a hole that must be filled and a church-member feels guilty turning down the pastor. At Oak Hills, all members serve the church in one way or another, not out of obligation or guilt, but out of desire and love. The church encourages and embraces those who desire to glorify God through their gifts and talents, and those who seek to love others by applying and celebrating their God-given talents and desires.
The occasionally overlooked benefit of service to Oak Hills, and by extension – God’s people in general, has been the opportunity to learn from and relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another,” (Prov. 27:17). I’ve (Matt) been blessed to grow as a Christian, as a husband and as a man through planning church events, leading younger members of the congregation, and taking Christ’s message to the nations of the world.
I love the Lord, but I need to be regularly challenged to pursue Him with all my heart, soul and mind. At Oak Hills, I’ve found that challenge. It hasn’t come through an ultimatum, the threat of ostracism or embarrassment. It’s come from the weekly teaching of God’s Word and the example set by the leadership within the church. Oak Hills is a place where men of God honestly desire to serve and to love those around them, because Christ has loved them. This enduring challenge has shown me that life’s greatest pursuit and worthiest cause is bringing glory to our almighty God, and it remains the greatest challenge of my life.
