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“Blessed” was uttered on several occasions this weekend as Living Rock Church celebrated 10 years in Luverne.
The church’s first and only minister, Pastor Billy Skaggs, referenced how God was instrumental in getting the church off the ground.
“He has blessed us in the past with blessings upon blessings upon blessings,” Skaggs said. “He has blessed us for 10 years.”
The initial blessing came in the form of five families whose unsettled lives brought a church to Luverne.
Bill and Jill Spieker of Kenneth, Dale and Deb Bullerman of Adrian, Steve and Terri Steensma, Luverne, Tor and Lori Boen, Luverne, and Dave and Sheila Meyer, Luverne, are the Living Word Church founders.
“We were kind of in a state of limbo,” Jill Speiker recalled.
She said they attended the Church of the Gate in Sioux Falls and discussed the idea of a planted church. The Skaggs’ son-in-law was a pastor there and knew Billy was an ideal pastor for the new church.
Skaggs said he and his wife, Cindy, knew instantly that leaving Georgia and coming to Luverne was a good move.
“I was just following the Lord,” he said. “This is the longest stint I’ve had in one spot.”
Skaggs said the church was blessed to find a home in the former furniture store on East Main Street.
Another blessing came as 16 friends and family agreed to fund his salary for the church’s first 18 months to encourage church growth. From 10 individuals in 2011, Living Rock Church has grown to 350 members in 2021.
In 2016 Josh Hayden joined Living Rock Church as the youth and worship pastor to assist Skagg, who has undergone two kidney transplants, the most recent in 2017.
The non-denominational church is centered around lessons of the Bible and Skaggs said he strives to make his weekly messages applicable to everyday living.
“Instead of coming in and attending only on Sundays, we ask people to join life groups and study the word that way weekly,” he said. “We have been here 10 years, but we are not done.”