Thank You!

By Pastor Steve VanAmburg

This will be my last blog on this website, but I wanted to take a minute to express my sincere gratitude to my church family at the Community Alliance Church.  I’ve had the privilege of serving there for over 15 years with these wonderful people.  Also, I’ve been pastoring churches for over 40 years, since 1982, and now it’s time to retire.  The sendoff that my church family gave me was wonderful.  I felt so blessed and overwhelmed by the great love that was given to me.  The words “Thank You” doesn’t adequately describe my feelings of love and my gratitude for all that was done.  But to be honest, I have been blessed with that love for the 15 years I’ve been privileged to serve there.  I truly have been blessed.  Thank you to all of you for your prayers, loving gifts, your well wishes, and all the love that you have shared with me through the years.  It has made my heart full!

Some would wonder, “What are you going to do next?”  That’s a great question.  My wife and I are in the process of moving to Lillian, Alabama where Naomi grew up.  For over 40 years she's followed me to Florida (a couple of times), Alabama, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. It's time for me to take her back to her family in Lillian where she grew up. We’ve been working with a builder to construct our retirement home.  Some might ask, “Why are you retiring?”  That’s another good question.  I’m 67 and I’m glad that I was able to work to this point.  About 8 years ago, I had colon cancer surgery, and 10 inches of my sigmoid colon was removed.  And by God’s grace, I’m still here.  In March of 2025, I had triple bypass heart surgery, and praise God, I’m still here.  But over the last year I’ve had hospitalizations for heart arrythmias and kidney stones, etc.  God was telling me, it’s time to retire.  There’s nothing like a hospital stay to reinforce what God is telling you.  I’m just glad that I could continue to serve as long as I did and retire at the same time my wife did.  We’ve been married for almost 45 years and we’ve done everything together.  It’s nice going into these retirement years together.

          Despite my retirement, I do look forward to serving the Lord in whatever he has next for me.  I'm praying for the next pastor who will become a part of this loving congregation.  I’m sure he’ll do a wonderful job.  If God opens the doors for me to speak or serve in some capacity, I’m open to whatever He has in store.  But right now, I’m enjoying God’s blessings and my wonderful church family.  Thank you for the honor of allowing me to serve you.  I’m very blessed because of it.  And look out friends and family, now I have more time to spend with you.  I’m especially looking forward to watching my 9 grandchildren grow up.  It would be so great to watch them play baseball, football, basketball, or even watch their cheerleading competitions.  I see a lot of fun family time in my future.

          Yes, I am a blessed man.  Thank you Community Alliance for allowing me to be a part of your lives and thank you for being a part of my life.  You will always remain in my heart. God has blessed me abundantly through you!  Know that each of you are deeply loved by Naomi and me. Thank You!

And by the way, if you're not plugged in to a local church, may I encourage you to find a loving church home. It will help you heal, and grow, and find out the wonderful things that God has in store for you. You'll be glad you did. And if you're in the Winter Springs, FL area check out my family at the Community Alliance Church. I know you'll be blessed and loved by them!