Alva Wesleyan Pastor John Smith preached his last sermon in Alva Sunday. He and his wife, Beth, are headed off to Corpus Christie, Texas, where they will plant a new church.

After the service this past Sunday, emotions were strong on everyone's faces as the Smiths shared warm hugs and caring words with just about every member of the congregation. The couple were thrown a going-away party the previous week at the church, with 150 or more in attendance.

Pastor Smith said he would miss his church family in Alva, where he and his wife have lived for 13 years, and where his children attended Alva schools. But the couple feels God has called them to this new venture, and they are naturally excited by the new challenge.

Pastor Smith said his most important achievements while living and working in Alva have had to do with connecting the church with the larger community, such as when they started the food pantry more than a decade ago.

"As pastor of the Alva Wesleyan Church, my heart was always to lead a church that loved on the community in the same manner that Christ loved on us," he said, and noted the words of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."