Celebrating ALC's 26 Year Anniversary: February 20, 1993, a group known endearingly as "The Faithful Eight" gathered together under the anointed unction of the Holy Ghost with a mutual desire to start an Apostolic church in Oildale, CA. Rev. James Hodge felt the draw of the calling of God to lead the efforts and pastor the home mission's work. We are incredibly blessed that four of the original faithful eight (Bishop James Hodge, Nana Gail Hodge, Sis. Debbie Clayton and Sis, Jan Shively) are still with us 26 years later. Every now and then our church comes together for a church-wide deep cleaning. While cleaning and organizing last week, a treasure was discovered in the very back of a top shelf in our sound room... two DVD's containing almost two hours of video footage of our church's very first building project. Along with that, pictures that were scattered in drawers, boxes, closets and file cabinets were compiled into one large bin and I became engrossed in delving into the history of our church. I was only a child (almost two years old), and my family was living in Las Vegas, NV when the church was founded. When we moved back to Bakersfield, my father, Rev. Chris Hodge, discussed with his pastor, Bishop Leon Frost, about going to assist his uncle in the church start-up. Our family began attending and being heavily involved in the Apostolic Lighthouse Church. My mother, Martha Hodge, was the church's first piano player and my father became the youth leader. As a child, I remember much work but more joy in those early days. However, the weight of what was going on was not realized until my recent journey through the photos and videos that were found. To see the willingness of just a handful of people to do whatever it took to build a church was awe-inspiring; to see their faith in God put into action was revelatory to me - no matter how far removed we are from those formative years, it is going to take the same faith, willingness, dedication and work to continue the building of God's Lighthouse in Oildale! We heard testimony after testimony of God's miraculous provision and the heartbeat of those precious elders during our anniversary celebration. It was brought to the forefront of our minds that we certainly are a blessed people with a great heritage. We recognized the impact of not only our personal heritage and testimony, but the impact of our church heritage. The testimony of the church was not initially formed merely 26 years ago, but goes back to a young man receiving a call of God on his life, and before that many Apostolic ancestors who passed this glorious truth down from generation to generation. It spans all the way back to the Day of Pentecost at the birth of Jesus' New Testament church, and reaches even to the promises of Abraham. Yea, it doesn't end there. Our heritage truly begins in the mind of God before the creation of anything. God had a church in Oildale, specifically the people that make up that church, in mind. Certainly the impact of this revelation would be enough to cause us to be humbled and eternally grateful for the blessings and favor of God! One of the testimonies our Bishop shared was one of miraculous proportions. Before they bought their first building (101 Minner Ave), they were renting a building directly across the street. One day they decided to walk across to the vacant building to pray. They got access inside and began to pray. The presence of God could be felt, and on the far east wall, right where the pulpit stands today, a cross appeared. They rejoiced over the confirmation, continued to worship God and prayed that His will be done. Pastor James Hodge took a picture of the event. For years, the picture was thought to have been lost, but in digging through (literally hundreds and hundreds) pictures it was finally found. Below is a condensed version of the video footage of phase one of ALC's first building project, first service and first baptism in the new building. At the very end is the picture taken by our Bishop of God's physical proof of divine favor on our church. I pray it impacts us to remember, rejoice and be thankful for our heritage, and that it impacts us to never sway from what makes us an Apostolic people and a part of an Apostolic church. Pastor Tyler HodgeSenior Pastor of the Apostolic Lighthouse Church of Oildale.
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