Pastor’s Point: Pointing to Jesus

One day, Pastor Brett Meador had an appointment at his office at Athey Creek Christian Fellowship in Wilsonville, Oregon. That individual didn’t arrive. However, in the Lord’s perfect timing, someone else did show up at the church’s door.

“A fellow walked in and asked if he could talk to the pastor,” says Meador. “You could tell he was a hard working guy. He drove a truck with all kinds of heavy-duty equipment and was very tough looking. He had one of those gruff voices.” It was clear to the pastor the man was not at peace.

At first, Meador thought perhaps the man had come because he had a problem with the church. Meador asked how he could help him.

“I haven’t been to church since I was a kid,” he said, and began to get emotional. “My life is lost. I’ve got nothing.” The man then burst into tears.

The pastor realized he had misread the man’s motives for coming to see him. The man then asked, “What do I need to do to become a Christian?”

Meador was relieved. He was thrilled to help the man find his way to Jesus. “It was really one of the easiest times I’ve ever had sharing the Gospel. He was so ready to receive it.”

Teaching God’s Word Since Age 12

Pastor Meador has been teaching the Bible most of his life. He grew up in south Oregon where he was raised in the church and inspired by his pastor’s verse-by-verse teaching of the Bible.

“At the age of 12, I decided I wanted to be a pastor,” he says. So he started teaching the first grade class at Sunday school and has been teaching people God’s Word ever since.

What God Is Doing At Athey Creek

A large headline on the website of Athey Creek Christian Fellowship reads: “We want everything we do to point to Jesus.”

Meador realizes the importance of outreach, and he knows it takes an entire church to do it. He exhorts his members to live out their lives among their neighbors, and in doing so to share the Gospel. He wants them to witness in a way that’s natural, not contrived. So in addition to living out their faith among their neighbors, Athey Creek’s members help feed the homeless and are very involved with the schools.

Between the rise of liberal theology and the growing secularism in the USA, Pastor Meador thinks that Christians are going to face more challenges in terms of being bold in their faith. “It used to be that even people who didn’t believe the Bible had a certain respect for it. I am seeing more hostility, to the point of trying to keep people from having the right to share God’s Word openly.”

A Long Time Supporter Of Gideons

“My first connection to The Gideons was in middle school. I got a really cool New Testament,” Meador says. That moment left an impression on him.

There is a Gideon in his own family. “I was excited when my grandfather told me he was going to be a Gideon.” He says his grandfather helped coordinate distributions. “He was always carrying around boxes of Scriptures.” His grandfather is 92 years old now.

Meador encourages men to become Gideons. Some of the men in his church are now Gideons. He also always checks for a Gideon Bible whenever he stays in a hotel.

“We pray for The Gideons. We enjoy giving to the Gideon ministry,” says Meador. “What better thing can a person do than to place a copy of God’s Word into the hands of someone?”

As for the big burly man who showed up at Meador’s office that one day, the pastor says this new child in Christ has attended every worship service since. “Even someone as tough as nails needs the One who was tougher than the nails that held Him to a cross.”

We thank Pastor Meador and Athey Creek Christian Fellowship for their support of The Gideons International. And for their boldness in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.