Becky Manning – Denver, Colorado … Bob Reynolds, lead pastor at the True Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church (TLC) in Denver, Colorado, will retire on June 30 after serving more than 50 years in church ministry. Personable, fantastic, incredible, a great team, good teacher, reliable, tireless, relatable and humble are just some of the words the TLC family used to describe Bob and his wife, JoAnn Reynolds.

Born in Hamilton, Illinois, to a father who was both a heavy smoker and an alcoholic, and a Seventh-day Adventist Christian mother, Bob was the middle of six children. He states he was an average high school student who didn’t think college was for him. He felt he needed to stay home to help care for his family since his father was dying from bronchial emphysema.

However, as mothers often do, Bob’s mother had a different plan for her son. She believed God had something else in mind for him and encouraged him to attend college. And so, it was then that God brought a pastor named Leon Murphy to the little Adventist church Bob attended with his mother.

Bob describes Pastor Murphy as an “older man with white hair, a soft, gentle voice and a friendly personality.” For those who know Bob, he could have been describing himself.  Pastor Murphy approached Bob’s dad twice, telling him that Bob should go to college. Each time, his father refused. But Pastor Murphy did not give up, and on the third try, his father agreed. But there were more obstacles to overcome.

Union College then and now Union Adventist University (UAU), in Lincoln, Nebraska, was 350 miles away, and Bob had never been more than 50 or 60 miles from home. Pastor Murphy provided the necessary transportation, and, within a week, Bob was working on campus and settling into college life.

Sadly, just 10 days after he arrived at UAU, Bob received the news that his father had passed away. He boarded a train to take him home, thinking all the while that he would stay there to help his mother. His faithful Christian mother would have nothing to do with that idea and told Bob, in no uncertain terms, that he was going back to college, and so he did.

The summer after his freshman year, Bob worked in Illinois and met his wife, and future life partner and faithful helpmate, at the local Dairy Queen. JoAnn, an only child, had been raised Presbyterian. Bob gave Bible studies to JoAnn for two years, and she was baptized in 1969, just one month before they were married.

JoAnn went on to become a registered nurse and, during Bob’s senior year at UAU, he became convicted that God wanted him to enter the ministry. To that end, he attended the Seminary at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and graduated in 1972.

Bob went on to serve as youth pastor at the Hinsdale Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hinsdale, Illinois. During that time, he was asked to serve at three churches in Southern Illinois. He was ordained in the Illinois Seventh-day Adventist Conference in 1975.

Subsequently, Bob served as Youth Pastor at Denver First Seventh-day Adventist Church, after which he chose to teach at Gem State Academy in Caldwell, Idaho, where he taught for three years. Beginning in 1981, he spent the next three years as the Youth Director for the Idaho Seventh-day Adventist Conference.

From there, Pastor Bob was called to become Youth Director for the Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Conference, serving there for one year. He then returned to the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) to become its Youth Director. In 1987, Denver First Church called on him to become their Youth Pastor, where he worked the following 13 years.

Bob and JoAnn and their two daughters were faced with difficult decisions and challenges during those years. Yet, it was during this time that Bob and several others felt called to begin a church plant. It was named True Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church, and in 2001, with a congregation of 25 people, the first service was held. Little did Bob and JoAnn know how their “plant” would grow in the years to come.

Since its inception, TLC has blossomed and grown into a congregation of over 160 members. Not only has the church increased its membership, it has also formed many ministries: Jude’s Bassinets, who have provided baby items to over 130 new mothers; the Pantry Ministry, providing food and other necessities to the community all year long, but especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season; Christmas for Kids provides gifts for children in the community; a Prayer Ministry, which provides spiritual connection for its members and the church at large by using prayer partners; a weekly Book Club for both men and women, a thriving music ministry which utilizes the talents of many of the TLC members, and several adult Sabbath School classes which provide meaningful spiritual food to their members.

I Corinthians 3:7 says, It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.

“Pastor Bob and JoAnn planted the seed for TLC. Their faithful, loving leadership has nurtured its growth. God has truly blessed their years of dedication. Your TLC family will continue doing the watering, yet we know that TLC is thriving because God is making it grow. What a legacy!” remarked Becky Manning, TLC member.

An open-house retirement celebration for Bob and JoAnn will be held on June 30 from 2:00-4:00 p.m.in the Fellowship Hall of Lifesource Adventist Fellowship at 6200 East Hampden Avenue in Denver, Colorado. All are welcome.

—Becky Manning is a member of the True Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photo supplied.