Dear Friends,

On Tuesday evening, June 3, 2008, Pastor Carl H. Stevens Jr. found himself looking full in the wonderful face of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. “Pastor” – as he was simply known to thousands in America and around the world – passed quietly into eternity at his home from congestive heart failure; it was the climax to a long and fruitful life of faith and ministry.

Great feelings, tremendous feelings, overwhelming feelings accompany this news. A friend, a father, a fellow worker, a counselor, a preacher par excellence has left this earth. We miss him. And yet there is joy in that we know exactly where Pastor Stevens is. His most recent days were spent battling the challenges related to Alzheimer’s disease and chronic back and hip pain, pneumonia, and heart issues. Now those challenges are things of the past for Pastor.

Our faith in the Scriptures encourages us in the reality that we will see Pastor at a not too distant moment. Those glory days will never end, as we will sing and shout the victory of eternal life in the presence of our Lord forever and forever.

Many of us learned and clung to these realities through the Bible teaching of Pastor Stevens. His messages rang true and they will always ring true in our minds and hearts. We stand on his shoulders. His pioneer work in building thriving, soul-winning, disciple-making churches in Maine, Massachusetts, and Maryland taught us the value of focus and steadfastness. Throughout the world, men and women labor in the Word of God and are changing lives for Christ because of the influence of Pastor’s ministry.

“Don’t quit.”

Pastor pronounced those words again and again from the pulpit. Our prayer is that God would equip us to stay true to this exhortation. The fragrances of our memories are sweet. We will treasure them always. We will keep moving, however. We have been taught very, very well. Therefore, we will continue to love God, to love His Word, and to love people in Spirit and in truth.

In these things, we can best honor Pastor Stevens and his legacy.

In Christ,
GGWO Leadership, staff, and church family