The Chapel Digest - November 2025

Gratitude: Thankful for the Past, Hopeful for the Future

 

A couple of weeks ago, I began cleaning out my office to prepare for the office relocation that is part of our Continued the Story building expansion. While digging through a desk drawer, I came across an old journal with entries from over a decade ago. As I flipped through the pages, I was reminded of challenging seasons, uncertain moments, and many other things that were a big deal at the time but have since been forgotten. 


There were times that Angie and I were uncertain what our future would look like, where God might call us, or where our kids would grow up. Reading through it, I could now clearly see what I didn’t see back then: God was always working and was faithful in every detail. He provided, guided, revealed, comforted, challenged, and worked things out in better ways than I ever could have planned. Seasons that felt confusing now read like testimonies of his grace and power. 


Reading through that journal made me think of Paul’s advice in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Paul reminds us that we give thanks in every season and situation, not just the good ones. When we trust in God’s power and love, it gives us the supernatural ability to be thankful even in the middle of uncertainty or difficulty. 


Christian gratitude is a declaration that even when we don’t understand the story we’re living, we trust the One who is writing our story. Reading those old journal pages reminded me that the God who was faithful then is faithful now. It encourages me that every challenge I face today is tomorrow’s story of God’s faithful provision. 


As we approach Thanksgiving, I would encourage you to carve out time this month to look back on the historical faithfulness of God in your life. Read through some of your old journals, pull out the scrapbooks or photo albums, or scroll through your social media memories. As you do, pause to remember and celebrate God’s extreme faithfulness to you. Expressions of gratitude will fill your heart with joy for what He’s done, and build your faith in the story He is writing today.


Chris Dow

Lead Pastor

The key to thankfulness is not to view God through the lens of our circumstances, but to view our circumstances through the lens of God’s love and sovereign purpose.

- Anne Graham Lotz -

COMING UP THIS MONTH

SUNDAY Morning Services - 8:15AM, 9:30AM & 11:00AM

Sunday, November 2nd

8:15am, 9:30am, 11am | Donut Sunday

6pm - 8pm | Home Groups


Tuesday, November 4th

9:30am - 11:30am | Rooted Women’s Bible Study


Wednesday, November 5th

5:15pm - 6:15pm I Family Meal

6:30pm - 7:30pm | Adult Discipleship Groups | Chapel Youth | Chapel Kids | Nursery  [see groups]


Saturday, November 8th - 9th

Chapel Youth Fall Retreat | Sky Ranch [sign up]


Sunday,  November 9th

8:15am, 9:30am, 11am | Sunday Services

9:30am - 10:45am | Next Steps

12:15pm - 1:45pm | College Lunch


Tuesday, November 11th

9:30am - 11:30am | Rooted Women’s Bible Study

7:00pm | Chapel Men Thunder Game (Sold Out) 

Another game available Dec.5th [sign up for Dec.5 game]


Wednesday, November 12th

5:15pm - 6:15pm I Family Meal

6:30pm - 7:30pm | Adult Discipleship Groups | Chapel Youth | Chapel Kids | Nursery  [see groups]


Thursday, November 13th

6pm - 8pm I Young Adult Home Group


Saturday, November 15th

6pm - 9pm | Young Adult Bonfire


Sunday, November 16th

8:15am, 9:30am, 11am | Sunday Services

6pm - 8pm | Home Groups


Wednesday, November 19th

5:15pm - 6:15pm I Family Meal

6:30pm - 7:30pm | Adult Discipleship Groups | Chapel Youth | Chapel Kids | Nursery  [see groups]


Sunday, November 23rd

8:15am, 9:30am, 11am | Sunday Services

12:30pm - 4:00pm | Christmas Decorating [sign up to serve]


Wednesday, November 26th

NO WEDNESDAY ACTIVITIES - THANKSGIVING BREAK


Sunday, November 30th

8:15am, 9:30am, 11am | Sunday Services

Wednesday Night Schedule

Join us for a family meal served on Wednesday nights, starting from 5:15pm - 6:30pm. 

Adult Groups, Chapel Youth and Chapel Kids run from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. Nursery is available.


MENU

November 5 - Team Flo

Chicken Alfredo

Olive Garden Salad

Garlic Bread

Carrot Cake


November 12 - Team Candi

Chicken Pot Pie

Autumn Salad w/Apple Cider Vinegarette

Green Beans

Pumpkin Delight

November 19 - Team Amy

Rotisserie Chicken

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Rolls

Christmas Pea Salad

Apple Cranberry Dump Cake


November 26 - No Activities Thanksgiving Break

Darrin & Sarah - Middle East

Darrin and Sarah have been married for nearly twenty-six years and are parents to four children: Abi, Caleb, Jaxon, and Elle. Their story is one of patient obedience and a steady “yes” to God’s call over time. From their home church in Muskogee, Oklahoma, their passion for ministry grew through local service, short-term trips, and a shared desire to reach people who had never heard the gospel. Even when life’s direction seemed to settle into pastoring and family life, the Lord kept stirring their hearts toward cross-cultural ministry.


Before they were married, Sarah told Darrin that she planned to be a missionary and couldn’t see herself with someone who didn’t feel that same call. That early conviction would later shape the direction of their life together. Years later, while pastoring a church in Morris, Oklahoma, Darrin sensed the Lord whisper the word “transition.” Though it wasn’t clear what that meant, it marked the beginning of a season of preparation. Through prayer, faithfulness, and a canceled mission trip that confirmed God’s timing, they began to see that the Lord was indeed calling them to a new chapter.

In 2013, at a national Assemblies of God gathering, both Darrin and Sarah had powerful, personal encounters with the Holy Spirit confirming their call to serve in a creative access nation. Separately, God spoke to each of them about going, uniting their hearts in the same mission. Later, through reading a missionary biography and a series of providential conversations, God made the direction unmistakably clear that they were to serve in Turkey as part of a Live Dead church planting team. Two years later, on Christmas Day 2015, the family landed there, stepping fully into the life of cross-cultural ministry they had long prayed about.


In Turkey, Darrin and Sarah joined their Live Dead team in the work of planting churches among unreached people groups. They helped establish a Christian association where people could freely come, receive Bibles, and talk about Jesus. Their first term, however, brought unexpected challenges, including political unrest, a government coup, and the arrest of a local pastor. When their team leader was suddenly diagnosed with cancer, Darrin and Sarah stepped into leadership after only eighteen months on the field. Despite the hardships, they saw God’s faithfulness in every step.


After several years serving in Turkey, the family transitioned to Istanbul and later to the United Arab Emirates, continuing their work of training and supporting church planters in the region. Darrin also became a certified leadership and personal development coach, skills that have proven invaluable for mentoring new pastors and ministry leaders across the Middle East. Through every change, their focus has remained the same: to help equip local believers to plant healthy, reproducing churches in places where the gospel is rarely heard.


Now, as Darrin and Sarah prepare to enter a new chapter of ministry in the Middle East, their hearts are full of both gratitude and anticipation. Their upcoming assignment will focus on partnering with the Middle East Assemblies of God to train and mobilize local leaders for church planting and missions. They ask for continued prayer for wisdom, health, open doors, and strong partnerships as they coach, equip, and empower a new generation of believers to carry the light of Christ into the darkest places.


As they return to the field, Darrin and Sarah are also walking through a season of personal transition, leaving three of their children here in the States while taking one with them overseas. They ask for prayer for grace in that adjustment, and for strength as parents navigating distance and change. They also invite our church family to pray Luke 10:2—that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into His harvest field. Please pray for wisdom and favor with government officials, for boldness among local believers, and for peace across the Middle East in this tense time. Above all, Darrin and Sarah ask that we remember God’s deep love for the people of this region and the truth that Jesus deserves to be heard about everywhere.


Continue The Story Progress Update

Construction has started! Phase One of the Continue the Story project includes the Sanctuary Addition, New Youth Center Lobby Addition, and converting our existing offices into our new nursery. Much of the work to this point has been preliminary planning and scheduling subcontractors, finalizing the construction timeline, and little bit of demo and dirt work to prepare for the addition of the Sanctuary and the West Wing. Thank you for being flexible, faithful and patient as construction progresses!