Pastor Gordon Pawson

Holiday Park Baptist Church got hit with two floods, one in the fall of 2004 and one in January of 2005 that essentially wiped out their lower floor. Then they needed to replace all the duct work in the church and repair a roof leak On top of that the church had made a commitment to replace their kitchen with a new commercial one. That’s a lot for a small church within a year, especially in finances. Although these incidents were creating financial burdens, the church still responded to others by giving a significant amount of money to the victims of the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

The church is not a stranger to hard times. After being founded in 1960 to serve the new Holiday Park suburb of Plum, a new building was under construction when a 30-inch snowfall destroyed the building before it was occupied. In the 1980’s another new facility was needed that was built and occupied in 1989. A recession came at the same time that resulted in many laid off employees and others being transferred. It greatly affected the church and a gradual decline began to take place.

Yet, Holiday Park Baptist Church is growing today.

“A generous church”, is how Pastor Gordon Pawson characterizes members. “When they make a commitment, they are very committed”, he added. That commitment doesn’t just reflect in finances, but in every aspect of church life. The focus is not so much on programs as it is on relationship. That relationship, he explains, is all about getting closer to God by loving Him with “our whole heart, mind and soul”.

Holiday Park Baptist Church

In addition to Sunday Worship with a Children’s Church at 10 a.m., there is G-FORCE for 4the graders through 6th on Sunday evenings 6 to 8 p.m., and BLAST, a youth program from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Both the G_FORCE and BLAST have a 5-member live band play at their group meetings. Made up of adult church members, the live band is not your staid music group, but a very modern, up-to-date band that uses the latest effects in delivering worship music.

Adults also meet for some interesting studies on Sunday evenings at 6 p.m. They recently finished a ‘Financial Peace University’ course and are currently studying ‘Parenting’. These are practical studies designed to give each one sound biblical guidelines. The Sister ACT is another group where women meet on Wednesday evenings to share insights on passages of scripture and ask questions about areas they need understanding. ACT stands for accountability, connecting and truth. There are home groups also that meet at various times throughout the week in addition to SPEEDERS, a 55+ group that meet for fellowship and work on reaching out to others.

You can call Holiday Park Baptist Church at 412-793-2242 or visit their web site at www.hpbchurch.org.

Watch the video interview with Pastor Pawson at: http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/1630