One of the joys of being a founding pastor of a 15 year old church is that we have people who have been on staff a long time. Lowell Ballew is the fifth staff person who has celebrated ten years, or more, on staff at CCCC.
Ten years in one place says a lot about someone. For ten years you make friends, you have integrity, you grow with the church, you endure disappointments, you add team members, your role changes, you solve problems and you get to see families grow and kids grow up.
Ten years ago, we were a five year old start-up, church meeting in the a school with about 600 weekend attenders. Today, over 4000 gather weekly in one of the five weekend services in two locations. Ten years ago, we had been without a worship leader for 22 months. A friend of mine recommended a young guy serving at a church in Garland, TX, who was from Frost Texas, the only city in Texas that has the distinction of having Frost on the water tower 365 days a year. Lowell says that about his hometown.
I invited Lowell to come lead on a Sunday and he did an incredible job. He was very gifted and surprisingly humble for such a talented person. Besides that, he was a real man, he was athletic, competitive and interesting. Most importantly, he and Shay had a real heart for God and the mission of Jesus in the world. Lowell Ballew brought his wife, Shay, and their baby boy Aidan to League City in December of 1998. Since then, Liam, Jude and Olivia were born.
So we celebrate! For ten years we’ve shared the joy and the challenges of Clear Creek Community Church. For ten years we’ve been enamored with incredible guitar riffs and amazing music and songs of worship and songs that a church can only pull off if there are really talented people serving. For ten years I’ve been grateful to serve with a guy who loves God and loves people and has a heart for the world.
Lowell and Shay, we hold you in high regard.
- Bruce Wesley
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2 comments:
Lowell, your humbleness and not needing to be in the "spotlight" says it all about you as a vessel of God. Thank you for your service and may God bless you and your family this Christmas season. May a shield of protection cover you and your family always.
Joe Moughon
Congratulations, Lowell! Mere words can't express my gratitude and joy at the impact you, Shay and your family have had on my life. Your contribution to the music ministry at CCCC has been incredible and the music is what originally drew me to the church. At that time, I was very sick with chemotherapy side effects and could hardly go anywhere, but I managed to come to the services as often as I could because the music was so healing to me. The rest, as they say, is history!
Lowell, I have always been impressed by your humility and your kindness. When I first started at CCCC, I didn't even know you were the "leader" because you always stayed in the background allowing others to be in the spotlight. This, to me, is the gracious attitude of a true leader.
Best wishes on your continuing career and I selfishly hope you stay at CCCC for many years!!
Jill McCadden
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