Editor’s note – Milestones tempt us either to boast or to move on too quickly, forgetting the hand that carried us there. This reflection on a senior adult ministry’s second anniversary offers something better: a pattern for marking any season of God’s faithfulness. The author’s three words – remember, rejoice, renew – trace a rhythm any church, family, or believer can borrow, whether celebrating two years or twenty. We’re running it because gratitude that doesn’t look back rarely presses forward well.
A Milestone of God’s Faithfulness
In every season of life, God gives His people moments that become markers, times when we pause, look back, and say with Samuel, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” Two years ago, our senior adult ministry began as a seed, a prayer, and a hope. Today, it stands as a living, growing testimony of God’s kindness, His sustaining grace, and His faithful work among His people.
Just as God commanded the Israelites to remember and mark the moments when He acted on their behalf, He calls us to do the same: to remember His faithfulness, rejoice in His goodness and blessings, and renew our commitment to Him as we continue the race He has set before us. In doing so, we honor and acknowledge the One who has carried us every step of the way.
Remember
Scripture repeatedly calls God’s people to remember. Not because He fears we will forget facts, but because He knows how easily our hearts drift. In Deuteronomy 6:12, He warns, “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord.” Forgetting leads to wandering; remembering leads to worship. When Joshua led Israel across the Jordan, God instructed the people to set up memorial stones so that future generations would ask, “What do these stones mean?” And the answer would be clear: “The Lord cut off the waters of the Jordan before His people” (Joshua 4:6-7). Remembering is not nostalgia. It’s obedience. It is how we teach the next generation that God is faithful, powerful, and present.
So today, we can remember the prayers whispered in quiet moments. We remember the lessons that strengthened weary hearts. We remember the fellowship that lifted burdens and restored joy. We remember the kindness of God woven through every gathering. These memories are not simply stories; they are stones of remembrance declaring, “God has been good to us.”
Editor’s note – The memorial stones in Joshua 4 are worth lingering on. God didn’t ask Israel to remember privately; He asked them to build something their children would trip over and ask about. Our own stones of remembrance, whatever form they take, exist for the same purpose: to hand faith forward, not just to feel good about the past.
Rejoice
Remembering naturally leads us to rejoice. When we look back and see the fingerprints of God, our hearts cannot help but lift in gratitude. Scripture calls us to this posture. Psalm 9:1-2 says, “I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart … I will be glad and rejoice in You.” Paul echoes the same truth in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” And Habakkuk, even in hardship, declares, “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:18).
Our rejoicing is not rooted in what we have accomplished. It is rooted in what God has done. Every testimony shared, every answered prayer, every moment of fellowship is evidence of His grace. When someone says, “God met me here,” we rejoice. When someone says, “I’ve grown,” we rejoice. When someone says, “This ministry has strengthened my walk,” we rejoice. Joy becomes the soundtrack of remembrance.
Editor’s note – It’s easy to let a ministry milestone become a celebration of effort and attendance numbers. The author heads that off directly: the joy belongs to what God has done, not to what we’ve built. That distinction keeps gratitude from curdling into pride.
Renew
Yet celebration is never the end of the story for God’s people. After remembering and rejoicing, Scripture calls us to renew. Renewal is the forward-leaning posture of faith. It is the willingness to say, “Lord, continue Your work in us.” Paul captures this beautifully in Romans 12:2: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Isaiah promises that those who wait on the Lord “will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). And Paul reminds us that even as our bodies age, “inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
As we move forward in our walk with Jesus, we do so with a renewed commitment. We are not finished. We have not arrived. We are still growing, still learning, still serving, still shining. Renewal means we keep pressing toward the finish line, as Paul describes in Philippians 3:13-14, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. It means we refuse to live in yesterday’s successes and instead ask God for fresh strength, fresh grace, and fresh purpose.
As believers, we are to grow in God’s grace and in the community of faith. This growth brings us to remember we are valued, encouraged, discipled, and strengthened as a Body. It’s about creating a place where Scripture is honored, fellowship is cherished, and Christ is exalted. Renewal means we continue that mission with joy, humility, and expectancy.
Editor’s note – Second Corinthians 4:16 carries particular weight in a senior adult ministry. Aging bodies slow down, but Paul insists the inward man is being renewed daily. That’s not a slogan for growing older gracefully; it’s a promise that grace doesn’t retire.
Pressing Forward Together
So today, each of us and all of us hold these three words close: Remember. Rejoice. Renew. We remember His faithfulness behind us. We rejoice in His work among us. And we renew our commitment to follow Him into the future He has prepared.
Samuel’s declaration becomes our own: “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” And because He has, we can trust that the same God who brought us here will lead us forward. Our journey does not simply mark another calendar milestone. It calls us into another opportunity to grow, love, serve, and shine for His glory.
May our hearts remember with gratitude, rejoice with gladness, and renew with hope. And may God continue to use us for His glory to minister and serve His people with strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.
A Word from the Editor
Samuel raised his stone and called it Ebenezer – “thus far the Lord has helped us” – and that single sentence carries a whole theology of gratitude. It looks backward without staying there, and it looks forward without forgetting what got us here. Whatever milestone you’re marking this year, anniversary, birthday, or ordinary Tuesday, the same three movements apply: remember what God has done, rejoice because He did it, and renew your hope that He isn’t finished.
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Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: A great testimony to faithfulness in serving the Lord, Randy. Congrats on how the Lord has used you in His work… multiplying ministry.
This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.