Incoming Leaders
Houston, Larry
My first memorable experience with God was at the age of 12 while sitting in a Sunday morning worship service in my neighborhood church. One of the elders was singing an old song about a potter and a broken vessel. The lyrics of that song became as the words of God speaking life to my soul’s broken condition perfectly that day.
The trajectory of my life was forever changed that morning as I confessed my sins, proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord, and received the gift of salvation. I have been walking with God ever since and endeavoring to become a true follower of Christ.
God's Call to Ministry
I believe Holy Spirit has guided me in ministry through a lifetime of God-ordained events, divine relationships, and divine encounters. My journey has not been the easiest, but I can testify that the Lord has never forsaken me just as He promised in His word. The church where I began my journey with Jesus and served for over 40 years came to an abrupt end one Sunday morning in September of 2017. Since that time, I have gained a new appreciation for the Scripture in Psalm 46:10 that says in part, “Be still and know that I am God; …”.
I’ve suffered enough hardships in ministry to know that God uses our wilderness experiences to help transform us into disciples of Jesus. It’s through my challenges that I have developed a passion for helping other ministers and volunteers to weather the storms and fulfill the call of God upon their lives.
I can see clearly, now, how God has called me to mentor, coach, and develop other ministers. Inevitably, this calling also involves helping to strengthen families which starts with valuing and cultivating relationships with my own wife and daughter. Ultimately, I cannot truly serve others from a healthy place where God’s Spirit abides unless my own soul mass is being fortified through a life of worship, prayer, discipleship, and the word of God.
The Free Methodist Church
My first encounter with the Free Methodist church happened in the Fall of 2017 when my wife (Yvette), our adult daughter (Nyla), and I began visiting Light and Life West in the city of Long Beach, CA where Charles Latchison is the lead pastor. After experiencing “the people loving people” at West and having several meaningful encounters with God there, we decided to make Light and Life West our new church home.
The interesting thing is that our daughter actually joined the church before we did. This was an overwhelming blessing to me realizing the devastating circumstances that caused us to seek a new church home. Only weeks prior to our daughter joining West, our previous church had abruptly closed its doors and would no longer be the place where our family would gather to worship corporately. After what we had been through, and seeing how God had met each of us intimately at West by His Spirit, we were convinced that we had found our new church home. Who knew it was a Free Methodist Church? 🙂
I have, now, chosen to extend my journey as a CMC by seeking to be ordained as an elder in the Free Methodist Church because I have a passion for serving God and caring for His people. While taking the Free Methodist courses History and Polity along with Wesleyan Theology, I discovered The Freedoms of the FMC, and I believe in them.