My Church
Every church has a history. To some people history may be written facts that happened. To others it is the people that make up that history. So what is different about my church and its history? Anastasia Baptist Church was founded in 1967 in St. Augustine, Florida. We have a very diverse church with many different services. ABC is not just made up of a building; it is made up of the community of believers there. Even though our church has over 1600 in worship on Sunday, it is still like a small church. With small groups, it helps community within the church.

In 1967, Ancient City Baptist Church saw a need for a church over on Anastasia Island. They bought land but held services down in a store front on Anastasia Boulevard until there was money to build. They built the first building in 1969 and added on in 1974 for more space for children, youth and the congregation. Our Pastor, Ron Moore came in 1981 and they completed the U-shape with buildings for class rooms and a fellowship hall in 1982. My family came to Anastasia in 1990 when I was eighteen months old. Mr. Keith came in 1993 as minister of music and senior adults. In 1994 we started a campaign for a new sanctuary. Bobby Crum came in 1995 as the youth minister. The worship center was not completed until 1998. In 1998 Walter West came as minister of education and administration. Bobby switched to contemporary music and young adults in 2000. Mason Reigger came in 2000 as the Youth Minister and Dan Ott came as the minister to adults in 2004. Keith Pate left January 2005 to go to Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Montgomery. Dr. David Elder came in August 2005 as the minister of music. We just finished a new building that is for a fellowship hall, class rooms, and a temporary worship facility. This facility will hold around 1100 in worship. This is some of the basic history of my church in facts.

My church has a mission. "Our mission is to reach St. Augustine and St. Johns County for Christ through Spirit-filled worship, compassionate evangelism, transformational teaching, gift-oriented ministry and meaningful relationships." ABC is like a small church because the way people treat you. All of the years I have been there, the more I have realized how much they mean to me. I arrived when there were only 200 members in 1990. As a child, the members of the church were like a family to me. As I have gotten older, I have learned many things from each of them. Many of the members took care of me when I was little. There have always been many places to serve at the church.

It is not just a church that offers just one type of service but three types of services. We have a contemporary, traditional, and blended. The church has thrived since I have gotten there and it grows at a rapid rate. Now, it has about 1600 on a weekend. This has all taken place in sixteen years. It is not just a bunch of buildings; it is the community of Christ. It is a group of believers. It is a place that a whole family can worship, no matter what differences in worship preferences. The church still seems small because you know many people. If you are not there someone is always wondering what is wrong. If you wanted to change services every week and attend a different bible study, we have them for different ages, you will fit in somewhere. We offer many activities for different ages. If we do not have it they are willing to help you start that group if you know of one that will minister to other peoples needs.

It is like a home. I have spent all day at church and still did not get all I needed to get done. If God was not with the church it would not have grown this much in these years. I have learned how to meet new people and learned to let people go. Many examples I have had in the church have died through the years and some have moved away. I have been there through two constructions. The first building I was there to see them build was the sanctuary that held 650 people. The second is the newest one that I did not even get to see the first service in because they were still working on it when I left. I have watched the church grow all these years but have remained to know many of the people that go there. All churches have some kind of history and that varies from church to church.

My Mentor

My Mentor

Everyone has a mentor. That mentor helps you with many different things. Who is my mentor and what makes him my mentor? My mentor is my former Minister of Music, Reverend Keith Pate. Mr. Keith taught me that you cannot just be a minister, but more importantly, a servant and a loving person. He taught me an appreciable amount about music and spirituality. He helped me get through situations that would have been much harder to manage if he had not been there. Mr. Keith is like a father to me; he is someone whom I have admired my whole life, especially since I was called into the music ministry. Also, he continues to educate me about my future endeavors.

First of all, Mr. Keith has taught me to think of others before myself. The entire time I have known him, he has thought of others before himself. Not only does he worry about the songs he has to lead or the special music he has to plan, he thinks about the congregation and the individuals in the choir/orchestra. My mentor showed me that simply listening to someone can lift his or her spirit; just a simple smile can make someone feel special. If something was wrong, Mr. Keith could look at that person and automatically sense that he or she was feeling down. Anytime an individual needed help, he was there for him or her. He did not just brush you aside like many others do.

While my mentor is helpful during difficult times, he also participates in happier moments. In children’s choir, he taught us a lot about music. He knows all the children he had in children’s choir by name. He still cares about us and how we are doing. In children’s choir, he did not just teach us songs; he taught us elements of music. For example, Mr. Keith taught us about the scales, basic music theory, and solfege. He made music fun for each choir member.

Most importantly, I have learned from Mr. Keith that it is not just about listening, but also caring for others and making them feel like they are not alone through hard situations. The day I had knee surgery, he came to visit me in order to pray for me and the doctors. When something happened and someone just needed a person to talk to, he would listen.

Many times in my life, he has reminded me that people care about me even if I feel like I have no friends. When he told the choir/orchestra that he was leaving to go to a church in Alabama, he called the people that it would be harder on to let them know before he told the whole group. Mr. Keith treats each person as an individual instead of just a member of the choir, orchestra, or congregation; I think that is one of the most important things that he taught me besides the importance of reading the Bible daily. It is important to read the Bible because a person learns more about Jesus and how he or she is supposed to live.

Even if he does not realize it, Mr. Keith has been like a father to me for the past few years. He came to my church as the minister of music when I was five. He has taught me so much that I will not realize until later some of the lessons he has taught me.

One day after orchestra practice, when I was in ninth grade, I was talking to him and decided to finally tell him I had been called into the music ministry. His face lit up like a lightning bug and he asked me how long I had known. I told him I had known since seventh grade. However, if I had told people then, they might not have believed me. Then, he realized one of the reasons why God brought him there was to be an example to me. He will always be an example to me, even as I grow up. I call him every week and talk to him because he is always interested in what is going on. I do not think he knows how much the calls mean to me. Sometimes, just talking to him makes me happy (especially after a long or bad week). Mr. Keith will never know all the people he has touched in his life. He taught me many life lessons that will help me now and in the future; that is what makes him such a great mentor.

Everyone needs a mentor that can teach them new ways of looking at life. While parents may tell you one thing, a person outside the family will tell you the same thing in new words which can be easier to understand at times.

יהוה



יהוה is the covenant name of God. The name appears in Hebrew scripture (Old Testament) six thousand eight hundred and twenty-three times. The first time it was used was Genesis 2:4 (Jehovah Elohim). יהוה consist of four Hebrew letters and they are Yod, Hey, Vav, and Hey. It is called Tetragrammaton which means the four letters in יהוה is the unutterable Name of God of Israel. These four letters can be translated into YHVH, but this is the closest they can get it. When they translated the scriptures, they replaced the Tetragammaton with “the LORD” (it is put in all capitals).

יהוה has been lost over the years because the Jews were scared to use the Covent name of God so they would not profane it. Instead of using the name יהוה, they use Adonai so that יהוה does not get defiled. This is how the name became lost for many centuries. “The mystery attached to the Name of the Almighty, is related ‘to be’ (I am, I was, I will be) which is the Hebrew verb ‘Hoveh’ (the ‘v’ pronounced as in ‘victory’), meaning ‘to be’, in the present tense. YHVH, therefore, means: ‘YAH Hoveh’, which means ‘Yah is …’ (YAH being His abbreviated (actual ?) name as reflected in Psalm 68:4 in some translations”(Restoration). When they tried to restore it, they believed that the Masoretes reversed the vowels for Adonai and applied them to יהוה. They then pronounced it “Yahoveh” or “Yahveh”. They do believe that “Yah” was actually part of the original word, but the rest is a mystery, the Hebrew Tetragrammaton is the only correct form, and they do not know how to pronounce יהוה. In the KJV Bible “YHVH is transliterated as ‘Jehovah’ in four passages where the name is particularly stressed (Exo 6:3; Psa83:18 [H19]; Isa 22:2; Isa 26:4] and in three passages to form transliterated constructs (e.g., Jehovahjireh (Gen 22:14; cc Exo 17:15; Jud 6:24)) (Hebrew Names of God).” “The sacred Name of God was uttered aloud only 10 times once per year (during Yom Kippur) by the Kohen Gadol. When the people heard the Name, they prostrated themselves in deep reverence (Yoma 39b) (Hebrew Names of God around paragraph 24)”. Now they say HaShem instead of saying יהוה which means the name.

In Hebrew they don’t write most of their vowels, and the others are only written to help to read the information. When vowels were put in, they were above or below the consonants. “Another tradition regards the name as coming from three different verb forms sharing the same root YWH, the words HYH haya [היה]: ‘He was’; HWH howê [הוה]: ‘He is’; and YHYH yihiyê [יהיה]: ‘He will be’. This is supposed to show that God is timeless, as some have translated the name as "The Eternal One". Other interpretations include the name as meaning ‘I am the One Who Is’. (Tetragrammaton from paragraph 6)”Yod, even though it is the smallest of the four letters, is the most important. It is the indivisibility if God because it can’t be divided. Yod is the tenth letter of the Hebrew Aleph-bet, and the number ten “signifies the perfection of Devine order”. It come into play later on the in the Bible including the ten plaques, the antichrist’s ten nations, Abraham’s faith was tested ten times with trials, and many more. The second letter is Heh. It is an exhalation of breath or a “small puff of wind (YHVH)”. Heh is both the second and the fourth letter the Name. The Third letter Vav is the sixth letter of the aleph-bet. This is the Wisdom of the aleph-bet.



Dolphin, Lambert. “The Names of God” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://www.ldolphin.org/Names.html
“Hebrew Names of God” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/names_of_g-d.html
Keathley, J. Hampton, III, Th.M. “The Names of God” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=220
“Names of God” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://www.mustardseed.net/html/tonamesofgod.html
“Names of God – Elohim – YHWH – Yahweh – Adonai – Abba - Tetragrammaton” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://mb-soft.com/believe/txh/namesgod.htm
“The Names of God: His Titles Revealed in Scripture” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://www.allaboutgod.com/names-of-god.htm
“Restoration of the Sacred Name” Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from http://www.revelations.org.za/NotesS-Name.htm
“Tetragrammaton” Retrieved on April 6, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YHVH
Zondervan’s Compact Bible Dictionary. Retrieved on March 28th, 2006, from page 610 for YHWH