Anne Ministries Honors Pastors
By Chastity Ogburn
Avery County
“ I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5
I remember sitting in the office with my Pastor 25 years ago. I was broken and in a very low place in my life. My marriage was struggling but my problems went much deeper. I was broken because I was still carrying the sin of my two abortions that occurred at the age of 16. I had been bound by guilt and shame for over 7 years. That day I broke my silence and voiced for the first time to the Pastor of my past abortions. My Pastor looked at me with tears in his eyes and accepted me with the love of Jesus. I had never told anyone. Every day I heard the enemy’s voice reminding me of what I had done. Fear consumed me. This day was different. My Pastor was there for me and God used him that day to point me to Jesus. He pointed me to the one that had already paid the price on Calvary that could make me free from all my sin and shame. His blood that was shed for me covered it all. I believed in God’s forgiveness but I had not been allowing myself to accept His forgiveness in my life. I thought my sin of abortion was too great and I had gone far beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness and grace. The truth was Jesus accepted me. He loved me. He forgave me. That day I embraced God’s forgiveness in my life. His mercy and grace poured out on me and my chains were broken. I was forgiven and freed from the sin that for years had bound me. John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” I walked out of my Pastor’s office that day with my relationship with the Lord restored and made alive again! Sin no longer separated me. My Pastor connected me with a dear lady that was the director of our local pregnancy center to help me begin a healing journey from my past.
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. I wanted to share this story because I am so thankful for my Pastor that 25 years ago was there for me and allowed himself to be used by God. He showed me the love of Jesus. Friend, God places people in our lives every day. We are called as Christians to be like Christ. How can we show the love of Jesus to those He places in our lives? We never know what others are going through and it may be that God wants to use you to be Jesus to them. God can use you to show them the love of Christ that they so desperately need and their life will be forever changed.
Anne Ministries wants to honor all our Pastors preaching the truth of God’s word and sharing the love of Christ. We want to show our appreciation and thanks this month by asking our Pastors to stop by the ministry at 305 West Mitchell Street, Newland for a special gift the week of October 11-13th after 2:00 pm. Don’t forget to show your Pastors this month how much you love and appreciate them
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In 2018, the Lord put on my heart the calling to reach out to those hurting from loss. Anne Ministries began in September of 2018. Anne means “grace” and that is what this ministry is about, extending God’s grace and allowing Him to heal your deepest hurt. This ministry reaches out to those hurting from abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. The ministry expanded in 2021 offering pregnancy support services to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. Chastity and her family attend Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newland, NC. You can purchase her book, His Grace Covers All, on Amazon HERE.
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