On May 21, Spring Lake Baptist Church at Texarkana honored Pastor Randy Shepherd for 50 years in the ministry and also for his upcoming 25th anniversary (June 18) as their pastor. The theme for the day was “A Shepherd and His Sheep.”
Bro. Shepherd surrendered to the Lord’s call at 18-years-old on May 24, 1973, during a revival led by Jurl Mitchell at West Heights Baptist Church in Little Rock. He began pastoring Tomberline Baptist Church near England in the fall of that year and continued until just after his graduation from Central Baptist College in 1977. The Lord has blessed him to be able to pastor full time the entire 50 years. Other previous pastorates include: Calvary, Smackover; Unity, DeWitt; Spring Creek, Springdale; First, Galena, Kan.; and First, Cullen, La.
During the morning service on May 21, Donnie Rankin led in congregational worship. Joshua Shepherd honored his dad by thanking him for being a godly father and for his perseverance in pastoring. He then sang “Your Heart,” a song about David, which is one of Bro. Shepherd’s favorite men in the Bible. The children of the church blessed their pastor by singing “Thank You for Giving to the Lord.” Colin Stanton, his son-in-law, thanked him for raising a godly daughter whose example and prayers had a part in leading him to the Lord. Adam Colon, who Bro. Shepherd baptized as an adult almost 20 years ago, sang “I Am Redeemed.” Everyone then heard a message of truth from Exodus 20:17 as Bro. Shepherd concluded a sermon series on the 10 Commandments. Erica Staggs closed the service with “I’ll Fly Away,” then prayed, thanking the Lord for calling Bro. Shepherd and asked for strength and protection from the Holy Spirit for him to continue to feed the sheep.
After a time of fellowship and lunch, the celebration continued with an afternoon service. A number of Spring Lake members spoke about the influence Bro. Shepherd has had on their lives through the preaching of the Word. There were also former members from three of his previous pastorates who surprised him with their attendance. Bro. Shepherd then shared a message expressing his passion for the Bible and his continued pursuit of his future ministry in pastoring. He read from II Tim. 1:3 (Bro. Shepherd is a man of prayer) and II Tim. 4:2 (His favorite verse, Preach the Word).
Following the message, Bro. Shepherd’s daughter, Marla Stanton, spoke about the difficulties but mostly the blessings of being a preacher’s kid. She said she considers herself blessed to have parents that taught and guided her in God’s Word. Colin, “Come Thou Fount.” The service concluded with the men of the church kneeling at the altar with Bro. Shepherd as Tom Shirley led a prayer of encouragement and thanksgiving to the Lord.
Bro. Shepherd shared the following in a recent bulletin article “I am still overwhelmed that our Lord has provided me a pulpit to preach from since the day I surrendered to His call. My commitment to Christ is to continue to use the gift He has given me to shepherd His sheep. Being an under-shepherd, as Peter stated, is a unique privilege I do not want to treat lightly, retirement does not fit me. I love to share God’s Word, which is feeding God’s sheep, and this is greatly needed in our current circumstances. Besides, there are sheep who need a pastor and what is a shepherd without sheep?”
