HARRISONVILLE, MO–When Ernie Cecil became pastor of Antioch Southern Baptist Church, a gallon of gasoline sold for $1.05.
At Antioch, Pastor Ernie (as he is known by his congregation) has performed 251 baptisms and 158 funerals. Furthermore, he has joined 94 couples in matrimony, including the oldest couple to be married in Missouri history.
On Wednesday, January 10, Pastor Cecil and his wife Pat returned from a 13-day pilgrimage, having spent 10 days in Israel and 3 days in Jordan. The trip was a gift from the elders of Antioch in celebration of Reverend Cecil’s 25th anniversary as church pastor.
After Sunday morning services on October 29, the church elders presented the Cecils with the gift of an all-inclusive 13-day tour of the Holy Land. Clearly touched, Pastor Ernie described the trip as “every pastor’s dream.”
[bctt tweet=”Pastor Cecil’s trip to the Holy Land was “every pastor’s dream.”” username=”BRKC_Baptist”]
On January 14, addressing his congregation for the first time after the tour, Cecil humorously described the trip as, “more awesomer than I thought it would be.”
With sixty-five miles of walking during their visit, the Cecils explored such highlights as Jesus’ empty tomb and the ruins of the synagogue in Nazareth where Jesus famously declared the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Luke 4:16-21).
Twenty-five years is a milestone for the Cecils, but with an evangelism training conference and a mission trip to Costa Rica planned for this month alone, Pastor Ernie is showing no signs of slowing down.
