by Garris Elkins | Oct 24, 2012 | God, Love, Miracles, Prayer, Restoration
I live in an area surrounded by beautiful mountains. This area used to be part of the old Oregon Territory that was comprised of the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and bits of Montana and Wyoming. Before statehood, if someone was “going to Oregon”,...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 9, 2012 | Church, Evangelism, Faith, Honor, Humility, Identity, Love
As young church planters, Jan and I knew very little about what it meant to plant a church. We had a calling and a measure of faith and that was all. When we entered the ministry very little was available in resource materials on how to plant a church. I think...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 4, 2012 | Church, Honor, Hope, Love, Transition, Vision.
Living in Berlin, Germany brought to me many memorable moments. One of those moments took place because of a decision I made to stop and buy some fruit. After World War II, the Soviets were one of the major powers to occupy postwar Berlin along with the United...
by Garris Elkins | Sep 15, 2012 | Church, Family, Forgiveness, Hope, Love, Trust
When our kids were in grade school we pastored a wonderful church on the coast of Oregon. The coast culture is a great place to live. We still look back on those years with great warmth and affection. Shortly after we arrived, we sensed that God was beginning to...
by Garris Elkins | Sep 9, 2012 | Faith, Family, Hope, Humility, Leadership, Love, Tranistion, Trust, Vision.
Thirty-one years ago I was a struggling young pastor. Jan and I, along with our two little children, left all that was known and familiar to us and journeyed north to Montana to plant a church. This was our first attempt at starting a church and our first...
by Garris Elkins | Sep 8, 2012 | Family, Holy Spirit, Love, Marriage
From my earliest memories, I can remember my father’s tattoos. He had one on each arm. On his right arm was a beautiful old style tattoo where he had inked my mother’s name, “Lavert.” On his left arm was another tattoo with the word, “Mother”. My father...
