In this sermon Mr. Smith presents a history of the church primarily over the last 80 years showing the growth under Mr. Armstrong and the decline over the past twenty years.  He presented information both nationally and in our local congregation on the age of the leadership and showed that due to their age most of the current leaders will not be in those positions in ten years.  He then encouraged the younger members of our congregation to continue to grow so that they can step forward to fill the positions as the current leaders step down due to age.  He then encouraged all of us to follow Matthew 9:37-38 and pray that God would bring more membership into the church to help with the work of the church.

Gary Smith

United Church of God Pastor

Gary Smith was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but spent most of his youth in the Pasadena, California area. He graduated from Ambassador College in 1976 and he and his wife, Liz, moved to Peoria, Illinois. For the next six years he worked as a nursing home administrator in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas.
In 1982, he and Liz began to serve in the full-time ministry. Since that time, they have served in a number of congregations in the Midwest.
Gary and Liz now pastor in Houston, Texas near their two children and grandson.