A Legacy of Marriage

Hello, and welcome back to the Naked Marriage Podcast. We are Dave and Ashley Willis, and on this podcast, we address the truth about sex, intimacy, and lifelong love. And, you guys, this episode is just near and dear to our hearts because you have heard us. If you've listened for any length of time, you've heard us talk about Pastor Marty and Patty, the pastors over at Stevens Creek Church, where Dave also serves as a pastor. We have been doing life with them for over 15 years, and they are some of our closest mentors. Dave's going to tell you a little bit more about them, but you guys are in for a real treat. The interview itself was actually taking place at Stevens Creek Church, but we actually are going to let you hear directly from this couple, and they're sharing amazing information over how to keep a strong marriage after 40 years of marriage. Right, sweetie?

Yes. I am so excited to share this. So kind of the full backstory. Pastor Marty and patty on their 40th anniversary. The day of their anniversary, I asked if I could interview them on stage at church and just let them share their wisdom. What have you learned in 40 years? Show pictures, tell stories.

What have been the highlights? What have been the low points? What's God taught you through it all?

What are your hopes for the next season? And I got to sit down with them and ask them questions. And the stories they shared, the wisdom they shared in that interview, I just thought was so powerful. And I said afterwards, I said, listen, our podcast audience at the Naked Marriage podcast family, they need to hear this.

We could just bring you into the.

Studio interview, but I don't think. I don't think we could recapture what happened there in their home turf at Creek Church. Exactly. And it was so, so powerful. And so, again, what we're going to.

Show you now, what you're going to.

Hear now, took place at Stevens Creek Church back in August on the day of their anniversary in Augusta, Georgia.

In Augusta, Georgia.

You'll know in the accents, and it's.

It's a wonderful church. We're so proud to call that our church home. And Marty and Patty truly have been such a blessing to us. And they're, you know, I think everybody in their life needs some mentor couples that they can look to that are a little ahead of where they are and just say, man, you know, they're not perfect because nobody's perfect, but they're doing it right. They're doing it healthy, and we've got so much to learn from them. And Marty and Patty are two of the most authentic people we've ever been around. And we just love the fact that we get to do life with them and also that we get to share their story. If you want more information about the Bakers, you can go to the church website, which is Stevens, Stephens with a V, stevenscreekchurch.com and if you live anywhere in the Augusta, Georgia, area, come on by.

Visit.

Come visit anytime. But you're going to love this interview today. So without further ado, our dear friends, Dr. Marty and Patty Baker.

Well, good morning. Welcome to Stevens Creek. Welcome to those watching online in our Grovetown campus, our south campus, from all over the world, wherever you are. We're so glad you guys. I am excited about today. We have got something so, so special for you. Our leaders, our founders, Pastor Marty and Patty Baker, are celebrating 40 years together. And instead of spending today on a cruise ship or laying on a beach, which is probably where I'd be, they said, you know what? We want to spend this with our family. And this church is our family. And we invited them to share their wisdom with us. And so they are investing their anniversary with us today to share what they've learned in 40 years of marriage and ministry. So would you do me a favor in honoring them and stand to your feet and welcome Pastor Marty and Patty Baker to the stage.

Come on out, guys.

Right.

Sit down.

This is so cool. I feel like Oprah. I've always wanted to do this. Oh, this is great. So, guys, 40 years ago today, let's show a picture of what you were doing 40 years ago today. This is what you looked like. Oh, you're babies.

We were. We were mere children right there.

Man, it is so cool to think about all. That's all that you've done, all God's done through you in these 40 years. Before we dive into the last 40 years, let's rewind it just a little bit to before the 40 years when you guys first connected with each other. You know what, what first drew you together? Let's take us back to the. The very beginning of the. The love story.

Well, we met in college. In fact, we met in a choir, a ladies choir. That's right. There were 50 ladies and five guys. I was in the band. And that's when I first met Patty.

Yes. We traveled on tour together and spent one of our. Our school breaks together. And I think I might have tempted him a little bit with my strawberry lipstick.

Baby, you still do that? You still tempt me a little bit on that.

All right, it worked.

That's good stuff.

But early on, There was this attraction and we got to. We became friends first, we helped each.

Other and just we came go through other relationships.

Yeah, kind of worked through other relationships because I was dating her cousin and so that's kind of what we had to work through.

But we worked through it and I won and no, but we love them, we're friends with them today and have enjoyed a life of ministry really with, with her and her husband now. So it was meant to be.

It was meant to be. And really three weeks after our first date, something significant happened in our relationship, and that is that Patty came down with hepatitis.

We had started dating and I had just gone home to visit his family and met them for the first time. And then a few days later I got really sick, went to the doctor and found out I had hepatitis. And we were a junior in college at that time and so they were sending me home and I was just, I remember just being really sick, kind of just in la la land where you don't really care, you know, you're just kind of there. And it was at that time, you know, Marty and I, we knew it was something serious or something significant maybe at that point. And so he actually went to downtown to a revival that was going on. And he went and had a prayer cloth anointed and sent it up to my room where I stuck it in my pillow. And I held onto that for the next few weeks as I recovered. And he. So that just kind of knit us together in a very unique and a special way at that time.

It was during that season that the Lord had just called me to go on a 28 day fast. And I was fasting and praying when all this was going on. And they sent her home and they.

Had told me it was a six week recovery. So they packed up everything to send me home. And so he, you know, you drove me to meet my dad halfway and kind of do the handoff. And so within a week though, I was better and I knew God had healed me. And it was just kind of a matter of fact, you know, I'm good now. Well, the doctors were not so convinced, so it took another week to convince them and, you know, go through a series of tests and they said, okay, you are healed and there's no more signs of the hepatitis. So they let me go back to school. And so then he was three weeks into his fast. And so we went through that last week together and just, you know, me kind of supporting. I had never been a part of that, you know, before either. But it was A special time for us. And it just kind of helped, you know, bond us in a special way early on in our relationship.

So two weeks later, so eight weeks into our relationship, after our first date, we went home for spring break and I went to, to the jewelry store and I put a ring on layaway. Just because I knew. I just knew. Now, she had never told me she loved me. And in fact, she agreed to marry me before she ever told me she loved me.

You got to be sure, you know.

Because she wasn't going to give those words out to just anybody. And so I put a ring on layaway and made the payments just because we're broken. So it was a very modest ring ring that I was very proud of. I was very proud of. And I think when we were married 25 years maybe, she said, look, she said, my ring needs to grow up. And I said, patty, I said, when I look at your hand and I see that ring, it reminds me of, of where we've come from. And she said, this is true. She said, marty, when I look at my hand, I want to see where we're going.

Ladies, you remember that line this Valentine's Day? That's a, that's a good one, right?

25 years, though.

I earned it many times over. You earned it. But what we see is that, you know, friendship is the very foundation of a lasting relationship. And that's the first point today, you know, so wherever you are in your relationships, just work on building that friendship. Some of you may be dating, others, you may be newly married, maybe you've been married for decades, but in whatever season you find yourself in, always cultivate friendships. It is so important. And that will become really one of the key ingredients of a lasting relationship.

So good. So what I'm taking so far, lasting relationship, you need prayer, you need friendship, and you need a little dab of that strawberry flavored lipstick, too, is what you need. And that's a great start. And you guys have also really embodied how commitment, commitment to God, commitment to each other is really at the cornerstone of everything that you do. So when you got married on your wedding day 40 years ago today, the verse you chose to memorize, and you actually said it in the wedding ceremony, I think are some of the most beautiful words in scripture. And so would you share that passage that you chose then, because you've lived this out over and over in the last 40 years.

It comes from the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. And if I've ever done your ceremony, your marriage ceremony, more than likely I've pointed you to this verse because it's just so meaningful to me and to Patty. It says, don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. He says, where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Says, you people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I'll be buried. And may the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything. But death separates you and me.

It's powerful. And you two have had a lot of high moments, but you've held onto that commitment through a lot of low moments, and we'll get to that in just a little bit. You've experienced heartache and disappointment, tragedy, and you've continued to lean on God and lean on each other through it. But even early in your relationship, you had moments where you maybe didn't see eye to eye. In fact, your second principle, I love this. In every relationship, you'll have moments where you don't see eye to eye, but you have to learn to walk hand in hand. And we can put that on the screen. That's their second point. And I love that you don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand. And you learn this early on when you were dirt poor, in your own words, totally broke. And what now would seem like a small purchase was enough to cause a great deal of friction in the relationship. So tell us about that.

Well, it all centered around our senior pictures. We don't tell the story.

Sure. We had our senior pictures in college made, and it was. We were married our senior year by this time, and so we had the picture made. So then it was the day to go pick them up or to order them. And Marty was saying, we don't have money for it. And I'm saying, but we need it. And he said, well, do what you want to do. So I did. I went and ordered the pictures, and I put down a $12 deposit on those pictures.

There's a balance of $30. There's some pictures up here.

Yeah. We've got a gift for you guys today right here. These are those pictures. And I'm telling you, price you paid it was worth it, because that is gold. But as Pastor Todd noticed in your pictures, though, this morning, Pastor Todd noticed something. He said, were you guys so poor that you had to share the same jacket in the picture? Because.

We were that cool, actually.

That's great. And I like the mustache, too. I think you should bring that back.

I doubt it. The problem with bringing it back now, it'd be gray. But I'll tell you, there's a $30 balance. I told her to do what she wanted to do. And what I meant is, do what you want to do as long as it lines up with what I want. And so. And it didn't line up, and so that brought some tension there because, you know, in every relationship, you've got to learn how to communicate. And we were just learning how to communicate. And then you add to that, you know, financial pressure. And in the early days of our relationship, I mean, the first decade or so, we lived under intense financial pressure.

We lived on love.

We lived on love.

That's all we needed.

We thought, yeah, that's all we needed. But that really, that $30 created a conflict, and it was a very painful thing to learn through.

But we learned how to work together.

Yeah. Well, and that's that, really. And that's something I've been in awe of of you guys from the whole time that I've known you is just the sense of partnership that you have in everything. And that's actually your next point. True partnership means seeing your partner for who they really are and loving them anyway. And you guys have, through the years, the way that you bring out the best in each other, the way that you complement each other's strengths, and the way that whatever you're doing, you look for ways to do it together. I think so many couples fall into this trap where it becomes his and hers. It's like his, his work, her work, his friends, her friends, his money, her money, his dreams, her dreams. And you two, you combine everything. It's going to be our dreams, our ministry, our goals, our family. And as I've just been able to learn from you guys as being our mentors, friends, as our pastors, I've loved that. And Ashley and I have learned so much from that. But rewind the clock to those early years, because just in your first 10 years of marriage, you faced enough life change and hardship, really, to fill up a whole lifetime. And what did partnership look like in those early years as you were forging your family?

I mean, just a snapshot of our first 10 years. Yeah, I mean, we both graduated from college, moved to Birmingham. I did a graduate degree there, moved here, lost a job here, got pregnant with our first child. He lived a week and had to.

Bury him at age 24. We were facing that.

Yeah. And so that causes you to grow up really quick when you. You go through that. Then had Stuart and Sarah and Then started a church. And, you know, we talk about starting a church a lot, and we talk about the 24 people in a borrowed living room, and we use that phrase. But the other part of that story is we collected that day $369. That's important because when you're living not week to week, but day to day, it was those $369 that made such an impact on our lives. And so then to start that. And so that's all within the first 10 years, there was just a lot of life happening.

And we learned, we knew going into it, first of all, that we were in this together. We've never doubted that. And I think our hearts have always been that whatever we do, we're together in this. We have each other's back, and we'll do whatever it takes to make things happen. But I feel like then as a couple is where we really realized God's faithfulness. And we learned to depend on God even in the low moments that we had. And we just learned of God's faithfulness, and we learned just to really trust him. And I always look back and I know it's just the grace of God that we're here 40 years later, but I also look and think we were kind of young and naive and just. We believed God, what he said, and we just trusted in God's grace and just to carry us through. And that was really what could have brought so many couples apart in those early years. That's really what bonded us together. And we learned just how to lean on each other and to lean on God and to allow God to help us and recognize God's blessings in that as well.

I mean, the Bible says that one can put a thousand of light, but two can put 10,000. And we learned the power of partnership, that if we will lock arms, that we can get through anything that life throws our way. And you can do the same thing. You know, God didn't mean for you to live this life alone, but he wants you to live in community. And that's the power of the local church, that you find community and you find strength with each other.

It's so good. And it leads beautifully into your next principle, that couples that have common interests tend to have healthier relationships. And I think for a lot of marriages, we overthink this. You know, we think, well, I don't know how to start with that. But you two, it seems like it's come so naturally. I'm sure that you've worked at it, but you guys have Just mastered the art of finding common interests, doing things together. Whether it's planting a church, whether it's, it's starting a business, whether it's raising a family, traveling your hobbies, you find ways to blend your lives together and really do live as best friends. And it's something so beautiful to see. So maybe for folks out there that have struggled with that or are struggling at that right now, what are some things you've learned along your journey about the importance of it and even how to get started?

I think very practically you need to make friendship in your relationship a important primary focus. And it can be as simple as just going on a walk. Just think about that, just carving out time out of your day to go on a walk and just be together without kids, cell phones, all that. And it's just in those times that you focus on each other that you help really lay a foundation of friendship.

Well, and you guys have passed this on to your kids as well. And speaking of your kids, we have a collage of some of the early family photos. And what a beautiful family. And you guys now have a multi generational beautiful family here. We'll get to that in just a bit. But Patty, as you look back at some of these pictures, what are some of the stories that come to mind?

I look back at the pictures and I think, where did the time go? You know, this all seemed like just yesterday, but back here behind me is our first Easter at church of the Harvest during those days. And so we were celebrating Easter with Stuart there. And then the top picture, of course, after Samuel was born, he brought a lot of joy to his brother and sister there. We have vacation at the top, which we always made a priority, and then a church function at the bottom. So it's just we always tried to make family a priority that was very important to us. And I think we tried to set boundaries as a couple early on to make kids a priority, make our family and our home life a priority. Where, you know, starting a church and so many needs and, you know, so many things that needed to be done. Yet we decided early on that, that we were going to set our own boundaries. We were going to be at home as a family. Four nights a week was our goal. The other three nights could be church related activities, but our family was important and we made it a point to have dinner together. Some days it was just hot dogs or hamburgers or chicken helper or hamburger helper, whatever. But it was always a priority to us to bring the family together and have a chance to Talk about, you know, school activities and day's events. We let the kids invest in their sports activities and that type of thing. But we also always made church a priority. We wanted to have as much Christian influence in their life as possible. So we had them in church. That was not a discussion during that season. It was church day and they loved it. And you know, between kids ministry, youth ministry, those seasons of life, we just invested in that. It was just very important to us.

And I feel like that along with that, just trying to create experiences that they would remember and that they would, that they would talk about. Years past, we'd always tried to do vacation, a nice vacation. And you've got to realize in the first decade of our lives, we literally were broken. But God made a way where there seems to be no way. And I know for 10 years, this is interesting, for 10 years, every father's Day, I spoke at Central Church on Hilton Head. And the reason I did that, so that that pastor could go on vacation and I could stay in his house for free. And so that's how we did. That's how we developed an affinity for Hilton Head. And we just started doing that. But it was that God's faithfulness and what you'll see in your life is that I really do believe that God will give you the desires of your heart. And if you'll just strive to be faithful to him, he will open up his favor on your life and he'll open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on you. That happened to us early on. In 2003. We were going through a capital campaign here at Stevens Creek Church, and the Lord really spoke to Patty and I to plant a seed. I think it was 25% of our annual salary. I think it was $25,000 to give over and above our tithe. And we put this, and this was a stretch for us, but we just felt compelled to do that. And God honored that. And what we've learned is that when you plant a seed in the Lord's work, God returns that 30, 60 or 100 fold return. We never dreamed it. But about a year later, something started to be released in our lives from that seed. God woke me up on June 6, 2004 at 5:45 in the morning and gave me this idea of creating a giving kiosk for local churches. And he said, you walk through the doors that I will open for you. And I put together a team of developers and. And we created or invented the nation's first giving kiosk for Local churches. And from that, I mean, who would have ever dreamed what would take place after that? And that it would not only serve here at our congregation, but it would serve churches across America. And that changed our lives at that point. And it changed your life no longer. You are a stay at home mom. That Patti took the leadership of that company and has now led that company for 18 years.

And I would add to that too. And it was in that it's in the church and all those things, we look back and we know how God used us as a couple. Marty's got gifts that I don't have, and I have gifts that he doesn't have. But God just let us work that together to do these things and create these things. He is such a visionary. He had the vision of secure give and. And you know, that resonated in my heart at the time, but I couldn't. I'm a planner, you know, so I've got to kind of put it all out there and kind of make a plan. But that's how God used us as a team and all of these adventures that we've been on over the years.

Yeah, and you guys have lived with so much faith, but you've also, you've worked really hard. I mean, just being up close, I think some people have this myth that like, oh, you're pastor, you only work on Sunday or something. These are probably the two hardest working people I've ever been around. When Marty's going through his doctorate program, getting up at 5am every single day. Patty, the way that she was holding down the fort at home and then transitioning into running this business where she was recognized as Augusta's businesswoman of the Year several years ago. And they not only have so much work that they do behind the scenes in this church, but out in the community, out in the nation, like they. God has given them so much influence both in church ministry world, out in the business world where they shine the light of Jesus there. It's just amazing to see through their faith, but also their faithfulness to get up and really do the work. How God has blessed that over and over again and then how generous they've been with that influence to serve others, to help others. And to me, it's just a privilege to learn from you guys, to look what real faith in action, in the real world looks like. Because you guys do it right. I mean, I want to be like you when I grow up, basically.

Well, you know, we kind of wonder, do we work too much? There have been moments of that you know, nine years ago, we launched a low country clothier, and Patty was left kind of leading the charge with that. And, you know, our other two focuses have been in church world. And then the clothing business is completely a secular business. And just to be thrust into, you know, that kind of world with markets and all of that, it gives you just a whole new perspective. So when I speak to you and I understand that you are business leaders and that you work in the real world, I get that. I understand that. And I feel like that God has given us these opportunities just so that we can understand our congregation just a little bit better as we lead through this process.

No, I love it. And just, I can say from experience, you guys have been the same people through it all. Your faith, your integrity, through all the highs and lows. It's always been about loving Jesus, loving people. And that's been your heartbeat from the very, very beginning and still is today. And it's just beautiful. And I know prayer has been a huge part of this journey in the high times and the low times. And something that I've. You've helped elevate the importance and significance of prayer for this whole church. And you've lived that out in such beautiful ways. And so talk a little bit about what prayer has done for your journey.

Well, the point is simply this. Lasting relationships are fashioned in faith and covered in prayer. Lasting relationships are fashioned in faith and covered in prayer. I think my prayer life really changed in 1986, about a year before we started the church. My eyes were open to the power of the Lord's Prayer. And I started praying that on a regular basis. You know, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name. And I started to think about the powerful names of God, says, your kingdom come and your will be done. The kingdom of God is the rulership and the reign of God. And every day in I would pray that prayer. God, let your kingdom come in me. You know, Paul said, the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but it's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. So I said, God, let your righteousness, peace and joy be in me. And then I would pray that over my life, I would pray that over Patty. I'd pray it over Stuart and Sarah and Samuel. Let the kingdom of God come. And let righteousness, peace and joy. I prayed it over Drew. I prayed it over Summit and Forrest and Shepherd. And just on a regular basis, I just declare the kingdom of God. And as we move into 21 days of prayer, I want to challenge you to do that, to speak the name of Jesus. Do you know that the name of Jesus is the most powerful name in your relationship right now? It's the most powerful name in your family right now. At the name of Jesus, fear has to leave. At the name of Jesus, healing comes. At the name of Jesus. Depression, the cloud of depression breaks up. At the name of Jesus, anxiety breaks up. And so I just want to encourage you that this is more than just something that we memorize and we do it part of our religious exercises. This is something that's real to us, it's real to our family, and it's real in this church, the power of prayer. And that's why every year, we set aside two times a year for 21 days of prayer. And so we do that every January, and we do it every August. And so in the seat in front of you, there's going to be several cards. And I just want you to take these cards out. The first card is going to be a yellow card. And the yellow card is seven targets for God's blessing. Now this card here is a card that I want you to keep. And on this card, I want you to name seven people in your life that you want to see the blessings of God. Come on, seven people. All those in our atrium. I want you to do this. Grovetown South Campus, those watching online, this card, yellow card, this is the one you keep. You fill it out, put it on your dashboard, put it on your dresser. Just do it so that you would see it. And you pray over these seven. Seven people that you want to see God bless. The second card is, is the 21 days of card. This is a card where if you have a need that you want other people to join with you and pray over. Okay? And it could be someone that's struggling with cancer. It could be someone a financial need. It could be whatever it is that you want God to move in your life and you want to solicit other people. The Bible says if two shall agree touching one thing, it shall be done. So what I promise you, if you'll write those needs down at the conclusion of the service, we're going to have a song. And that you can bring these cards forward and you can place it on the stage right there in Grovetown, right there in south be Campus. And right here, we will pray over these cards. The church opens up at 6am in the morning. We'll have a prayer service at 7am and every day for 21 days, we're going to be calling out your name. Your needs to the Lord. And we are going to believe that God's going to hear and answer prayer. Patty and I have seen this over and over in our lives. And God's going to meet your need. He's going to get you through what you're going through. And I realize some of you may be going through some difficult things. Some of you may be going through grief and pain. Others even may have this financial burden. Give it over to the Lord. Trust God to meet the need. And I would say pray specific prayers. I was thinking about this last week, and I had this image in my mind. And they put this image to paper. If you'll pull out this card, this is just our five properties that we have at the church. Stevens Creek Road. We've got our Grovetown campus. We've got our dream center, our South Campus, and a potential land purchase. I guess I'm speaking in faith. I've called that our property. It's not our property yet. But you'll see under each one of these pictures there is an indebtedness number. And so I just want you to know that. And at the top, it says, praying for a zero balance. And so when we look at Stevens Creek Road, this property here is probably worth $12 million. We owe $3 million on it, but we're sitting good. But we want to see that as a zero balance. So we're praying, God, give it a zero balance. Okay, on the second row, there's a house. And this house represents your house. This is your house. And some of you say, I don't live in a house. I've got an apartment. This represents the house that you're going to have a dream for. And so put that mortgage on that number, that mortgage number on this piece of paper, whatever your balance is. And we are praying for a zero balance to your house. You know, so many people will tell you, don't worry about that. You'll always have a house payment. Well, you may always have a house payment, but why not pay it off? Just why not? Patty and I paid off our house several years ago. And to be real honest, it was probably 29 years of paying mortgages. Okay, maybe 30. And so there are some payments that you're going to have. There's going to be miracle payments. Others of you will be just like us, that you just have the diligence of making those monthly payments and your prayers to remain strong in that. But I want you to be blessed financially. In fact, that's why we have complimentary tools available for you. Our text number is 706-222-7123. And if you would like some financial tools, we partner with the Dave Ramsey Organization. And so you can text the word Ramsey to that number and it will take you through a series of prompts that will open you up to complimentary tools from Financial Peace University and some small group opportunities for you to get a hold of that. We know that in the early days, it was the financial stress that really was some of the greatest pain that we have ever had. I want you to know that God understands your pain and he is here to give you strength and he's here to reestablish hope that we have the name of Jesus. I speak the name of Jesus. You know, one part of our journey is over seven years ago, we were able to move my parents here and we were able to walk with them in the last seven years of their lives. And that was really hard for us because my parents had five acres of land, they had a nice house, they had everything going. And then my mom came down with Alzheimer's and so we moved them to here so that we could take care of them. And as you know, six weeks ago, my dad died. And one thing we realized that in the last seven years, we've been getting rid of stuff. All the stuff you're working for, that you're longing to have, you're longing to purchase, all that. It's just stuff that when it comes to the end of your journey, it's not going to mean anything. It took us seven years to get my parents down to where they are when they passed. And my dad literally had a few changes of clothes and had one chair. My sister took those clothes to an agency and my uncle picked up the chair. And that's it. We work and work to get all this stuff, but in the end, it doesn't matter. In the end, what matters is your relationship with Jesus Christ. And I am thankful that he transitioned from this life to a life with the Lord. But we understand that your life goes through seasons. There's emotional challenges and difficulties, but through it all, through it all, we have sensed the presence of God. That name of Jesus standing over my mother's bed, just speaking the name of Jesus when she really couldn't communicate to us and she couldn't really tell us what she was thinking, would just say, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, and it would, like, bring peace. And that's what I want for you. I want you to understand that the name of Jesus is going to bring you Peace.

And we're going to pray in the name of Jesus here in just a moment. And I'm going to invite Pastor Marty to pray a blessing over all of us. Pastor Marty and Patty to pray for us. But before we get there, I want, as a church, us to pray a prayer of blessing over them. And as we do, could we put up a picture of their family right now, children and grandchildren. And before we pray for you, what, what are the things you're praying for your family in this season?

We're praying a couple of things. You know, we're praying for God's spirit to rest on us, and we pray the same prayer that you do. God, get the junk out of our lives and let us be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's our prayer. God, get the junk. Because we can get junked up pretty easy. So we're praying over that, over our family, over our kids. Get the junk out of our lives and let us be filled with the Holy Spirit. I'm holding little shepherd, and he is a joy of our family. And Shepherd's a special one. Shepherd has been blessed with Crouzon syndrome, and we don't know what the future holds for him, but we know that God holds him in the palm of his hands. And he will go through surgeries and he'll go through other things that as he learns how to move through his life. But we cover him and we. We believe the best for him.

Let's stand together, church, before Marty prays for us, would you just join me in praying for this incredible couple who has blessed every single one of us in immeasurable ways? Father, I lift up our leaders, our founders, Pastor Marty and Patty. Thank you, Lord, for their leadership, their faithfulness. Thank you, God, that they followed you so diligently with their whole hearts, God. And because of that, the world looks different. Because of that, our lives look different.

I thank you for that, Lord.

I pray that you would bless them in the days ahead. They've prayed so many prayers of blessings over us. We pray your blessing over them, over their children and their grandchildren. We lift up little shepherd to you specifically, God, that you would give him an extra measure of your grace and peace and healing. We pray, God, that you would let this family's best days be ahead of them. And I pray the years to come for Marty and Patty would be even more influential and even more filled with joy than the years behind them. God, thank you for them. And in all the places on the earth, you could have sent them to lead and have an impact. Thank you for sending them to us. Thank you for entrusting them to us. And as they have led and loved and served us so well, help us to love them so well. And we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen.