A match made in heaven
Submitted by jcht2010 on
Edna Presbyterian Church has seen a longstanding goal come to fruition. After undergoing a change of denomination to a branch of the Presbyterian Church that more closely matches their values, the church found themselves without a pastor.
“Over two years – almost three years we went without a pastor,” said Patti Lewis, a member of EPC. “We had four or five interim pastors. One would do the first Sunday, and one would do the second. We got pretty close with even our substitute pastors.”
Even so, the congregation longed for a pastor they could call their own. The change from the Presbyterian Church USA to the more conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church took time and a pastor could not be chosen until the change was complete.
Once it was done, members were free to search for leadership. The process, from the decision to change, through the search, took many months and many prayers.
Michel Yonts, along with his wife Pauline, was the answer to those prayers.
“I had been looking for a call for a couple of years and I received their call,” said Younts. “In our denomination it is pretty much up to the pastor and the church. We have to find each other. The denomination maintains a list and I saw their church information on the list and sent my resume.”
The congregation was impressed enough to invite Younts for an interview and an opportunity to preach for them. The congregation and Younts hit it off immediately.
Yonts, who has been in the ministry for four decades and at many places all over the nation, said he is “thrilled to be here.”
“I love Edna,” he said. “I love the people. The people are absolutely wonderful.”
The Younts and their new church family clicked immediately and dove right into church activities and community events.
“ He just jumped right in,” said Lewis. “He’d only been here a couple, maybe three weeks, and he was like ‘we have to do this lighted Christmas parade.’ And he put our float together. Our congregation is so happy to have him on board.”
Yonts himself was impressed with the turnout at the parade and at other community events, and took it as a sign that he is in the right place.
“I was amazed at how many people came out to see the parade. We love it. We love community events, and we’ve participated in several community events already.”
The congregation couldn’t be happier with their choice. A pastor gives a sense of completeness, which means now they can focus on growth, a goal that Younts shares with the people of the church.
“He is a great guy, and very friendly and energetic,” said Lewis. “The congregation is very happy to have him. He’s energetic and wants only what’s best for our congregation. He wants to build it up and bring in more youth. A lot of our youth grew up and we don’t have younger families. He has a lot of the same desires and goals we have, and that’s a big reason we were attracted to him.”
Yonts is excited to be part of Edna, and part of Edna Presbyterian Church. It seems to be, for all involved, a match made in heaven.
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