An Introduction by Pastor Tom Hypes
05-25-2004 6:10 pm

Since I am inviting you to read my new articule from time to time, I thought it best to let you know more about me and what I am passonite about in our ministry. I will first admit that I find it hard to find a picture I want to share of myself since I don't take the best pictures, so I cheated...I put my attractive wife beside me to help raise the quality of the picture.

I am Tom Hypes and my lovley bride is Jenni. In a later letter, I will introduce you to my twelve year old son, Ryan. While Jenni was raised in the Prospect area, I moved to Marion several years ago from Columbus to take a Youth Pastor's call. Many things have happened since then that brought Jenni and I together as well as change our personal ministries. Following God's call, we opened The Shepherd's Nook bookstore by the mall. It surprised us mostly because we were really chasing after starting a new church in the area when God redirected our path. The Nook has been a wonderful experience and has been more of heart passion than we could have ever imagined.

The concept of the Nook was placed on our hearts the night we were doing a Bible study on Revelation with our youth group. We were studying the third chapter covering the letter to the church of Laodicea. The letter addresses the luke warm church and we were taken by the simularties with today's church as a whole. So many people have accepted Christ as their Leader and Forgiver yet have given it no more thought than the initial step. So many churches were struggling to the point of plugging in people for the sake of needing a body more than discovering and encouraging what each person was designed to be. We see on a national level those who go to church for the service but not interested in the passion of a relationship with Christ and His children. Yet God said in that same passage, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3: 20)

In other words, He's standing there ready to go! All is right here, and if you just say you're in then let's go! God is giving a personal invite to go deep with our lives full of love and excitment and many of us are just not listening for the knock. When Jenni and I read that, even involved in the youth ministry, we knew God was calling us to go deeper. To get out of our comfort zone and see that His promises were faithful. That was the conception of The Shepherd's Nook and, over God's time, the church plant I now pastor, The Shepherd's Fellowship.

Every aspect of our ministry is to try to show, teach, and challange God's people to answer that knock. My letters to you through Marion On Line will have that same goal. I hope, no, I pray that it will give you some encouragment and some fresh thoughts on your relationship with the Living God who loves you so much.

Blessings!