Norman — Spending 25 years in the same job is an accomplishment. In the ministry, with all the moves often associated with such work, it can be even more rare.
Apparently not at First Baptist Church of Norman, where two of its ministers are celebrating the mark in the same year.
Jim Stewart, the church’s associate pastor, and Vickie Riggs, FBC’s Pacesetter minister, who works with the seniors of the church, have been fixtures in the church for a quarter-century.
“In the ministry, the norm used to be, at least among Baptist staff people, the nationwide average was about two to three years at any one location,” Stewart said. “When I moved my family here in 1985, I had no idea I would raise my three kids here, and this would probably be my home until my retirement.”
Stewart is most well known in the community for the first 23 of his years with the church as its minister of family life, leading the many activities that take place in the church’s Family Life Center.
“I still have people that see me and say ‘what time does the basketball league start,’” he said, quickly pointing them in the direction of his successor Clint Taylor, who is doing “a great job” with the ministry.
Riggs’ time in the church actually began as its receptionist. She left for a time before returning to work with Stewart and his predecessor Doug Cheves at the FLC. That started her working with the church’s senior citizens, and she later went on to lead the church’s Pacesetter ministry.
“Working with senior adults has been the thread all the way through it,” she said of her time at FBC.
Until recently, Riggs also had been leading the church’s community ministry for a number of years. Its growth led to the creation of a new position earlier this year, which has allowed Riggs more time to focus on the seniors of the church.
“In our church that is age 55 and above, and there are over 700 of them in our church,” she said. “I’ve been here so long, a lot of folks who were very active when I came now are homebound. I want to spend a lot of time with them. So I couldn’t do both and do them well.”
The church has a wide range of activities for its seniors, including its homebound ministry, weekday activities, quarterly concerts open to the community and the group also takes several trips a year. Riggs and seniors from the church have traveled as far as New Zealand and Australia.
But much of the work also is day-to-day things being done in Norman.
“A lot of my folks are from Oklahoma, so we’re going to do some trips and call it ‘hometown tours,’ where we will pick one of the senior adults, plan a trip there and let them be our guide, tell us what it was like when they were there,” she said. “I think it will be a fun thing. It’s interesting when they’re the tour guide.”
Like Riggs, Stewart’s work had been focused until he felt the call a couple of years ago to do something different, and circumstances worked out to where that something different didn’t involve him changing churches.
“When Dr. Wade Smith came here as our pastor, I felt maybe my gifts were moving in a different direction,” Stewart said. “So I talked with him and he and I agreed the role of associate pastor might be a good way for me to close out my tenure here at the church.”
Stewart’s work is with education ministry, renewing Sunday school classes and also discipleship ministries in the church.
“It was kind of a natural for me to move into the type of position I am in right now, because I was gaining some strength in discipleship and education in the last 10-15 years,” he said. “I’m really enjoying it. It’s a different challenge.”
Stewart hopes to work another four or five years. Riggs jokes she may want to work “one more day than Jim does” before retiring herself.
For now, both are still going strong at what’s been their home for a quarter-century.
Christian Potts 366-3544 cpotts@normantranscript.com
