Location: Stillwater, Okla.

Presbytery: Midwest

Organiztion: July 1991

Membership: 46 communicant; 24 baptized

Pastor: Bruce Parnell

Website: StillwaterRPC.org

This year marks the congregation’s 25th anniversary. During our celebration, the congregation took time to reflect on our history and thank God for His faithfulness. We rejoiced that “the Lord has done great things for us!” (Ps. 126:3). And we prayed that God would “teach us how to count our days and set our hearts on wisdom’s ways” (90:12).

Part of our history can be linked to God stirring the RPCNA to evangelize and plant churches. At RP International Conference 1988, the Home Mission Board presented a vision to the denomination: “Seven More By ’94.” The specific prayer was that the RPCNA would have seven more congregations by 1994. But more important was the underlying prayer that God would stir us up as a church to reach out to the lost and to plant new churches. In God’s providence, the Stillwater RPC was one of those seven more by ’94.

As we reflect on our history, several characteristics of the congregation rise to the surface, graces from God that continue to shape the life of the congregation today.

Prayer. The original core families labored diligently in prayer that God would establish an RP church in Stillwater. In keeping with this vital means of grace, the congregation has renewed its commitment this year to the importance of prayer. Following Barry York’s article in Gentle Reformation, we formed “prayer societies,” giving a variety of opportunities and encouragements to meet together and to pray.

Fellowship. From the beginning, our congregation has hosted a fellowship lunch after Sunday morning worship. This has addressed a number of different needs, but primarily it is an expression of shared warmth and friendship.

International. Throughout our 25 years, God has given us opportunities to share the gospel with men and women from many countries. People from over a dozen nations have been part of Stillwater RPC. We have also had the privilege to send members of the church to serve internationally as short-term and long-term missionaries.

Training. Speaking of short-term missions, we have been blessed to receive a number of RP summer mission teams. As we have had an active group of junior and senior high school students of our own, we have used the summer mission teams as a way to help train our young people in evangelism and service. This has included outreach in our community, vacation Bible school, door-to-door distributions, evangelism training, and service projects.

Resources. Based on the expertise and enthusiasm of a couple of tech-savvy students at Oklahoma State University, we started to post audio recordings of the preaching and teaching at Stillwater RPC in 1999. It started as something of a “tape ministry” with a view to providing access to services to those who were sick or shut in. But now, after 17 years of posting online, our website hosts around 80,000 minutes of audio and is accessible free of charge around the world.

Church Planting. The Lord enabled us to help plant a daughter church in Enid, Okla. Having a congregation just an hour away has been a blessing as we share times of joy and sorrow, fellowship and celebration, and common ministry. Between our two congregations, we pray that God would further establish the work of our hands so that we might be able to plant other churches in Oklahoma—specifically in Oklahoma City.

Prayer requests

Pray for the first fruits of the gospel as the church reaches out to neighbors and international students.

Pray for wisdom and provision in church planting as the Stillwater and Enid congregations plan together to reach out into Oklahoma City.

Pray that God might provide a building for the church.