Meet Blackwell Methodist Church's new pastor

Blackwell’s Methodist Church has welcomed Chris Stinnett as their new pastor- this week, Stinnett talks about the power of faith and what brought him to Blackwell. 

Born in Enid, Stinnett is a 1979 Chisolm High School graduate who went on to pursue a degree at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva before he found himself married, becoming a father of three, and spending long and grueling hours in the oilfield. 

“After a divorce, losing my children, and with almost no income I was losing battle after battle,” said Stinnett. 

“Payments weren’t being met, and I was just constantly searching for something better. After a year of paying my dues, attending a voluntary Sunday Bible study, and an evening of soul searching I found myself wondering if I ever truly had surrendered myself to Jesus,” Stinnett recalled.

“I remember falling to my knees and wholeheartedly re-dedicating my life to Jesus, right then and there,” said Stinnett. 

“I became convinced that I would do whatever I could to make sure others would know about what a life with Jesus could do for them- most find Jesus after scraping the bottom of the barrel, the lowest point in their lives. I wanted to show them there was a chance to give their life to Christ before all of that.” 

After finding the Lord, Stinnett began in ministry to children and youth before being called to the life of a Pastor.

But how did he end up in Blackwell? 

“It’s a wonderful story,” Stinnett joked, “ask me sometime!” 

“I can earnestly and honestly say that the Lord wanted me here in Blackwell, working with the people of the Braman Community Church as well as the Blackwell Methodist,” Stinnett said.

“It’s a story of God’s timing and letting Him put things together for me while I was ‘patiently’ waiting for Him to show me where I need to go. So I made it here, but as far as what it is exactly that I’ll be doing for these families and these communities? We will have to see.” 

“As a Pastor, I believe we all want to see our churches grow. I agree, but maybe not in the same way,” said Stinnett on what the wants to see in the church. 

“I might find some who disagree with me here but growing in numbers is not the main idea I search for in church growth- I always welcome growth but church shouldn’t be a social club.”

“Church should be a place for spiritual healing, spiritual growth and individual relationships with God,” Stinnett explained,  “The Church (as a whole) is hurting. The churches, (individually) seem to be in some kind of healing process constantly. Someone hurt someone’s feelings so we give up and go somewhere else. That is fine with me as long as you are going to church.”

Stinnett continued: 

“The Bible tells us that we are not to give up on meeting with each other. But is also tells us we need to be in communication with God and with each other. In the book of Matthew it tells us that if we have a problem with someone, go to them. Communicate. Work through it. So many broken relationships are because of miscommunication. We all need healing.”

Stinnett’s favorite part is, as cliche as it sounds to him, the people. 

“I love talking to people. Hearing about them. Working with them. Learning about them and learning with them and of course when the opportunity arises, helping them know Jesus or work on becoming closer to Him.”

“Faith to me can come in many shapes and sizes. Some of us are stronger in faith than others. In order for our faith to grow we need to be in His word.”

“Not just when we decide we can take the time to read the Bible, it needs to be every day. Being in His word helps us get to know the character of God better and will help to change our perception of who He really is. That is when our faith will grow and we will begin to be more obedient to Him and His word causing our lives to totally change as we begin our journey with God leading the way.”