Journeys and Reflections

Journeys Reflections and

a Lifetime of Ministry

Tom and Sarah Kirkpatrick

In January 2020 Tom and Sarah Kirkpatrick retired from over four decades of active service to the Church of God. In reflecting on his years in the ministry itself, Dr. Kirkpatrick said, “I don’t think anything matches the satisfaction of helping a person, if even in a small way, to make a change in his thinking and doing that will bring him more into alignment with what God wants for him.”

Calling The Kirkpatricks each have a long association with the Church of God that began in the l960s. Tom started listening to The World Tomorrow broadcast while he was in high school. He remembers being intrigued by the programs refuting the theory of evolution and studying The Plain Truth magazine. After visiting with a minister of the Church, he attended services of the Radio Church of God in Wichita, Kansas, in 1965.

Sarah attended services as a child with her parents. The family came in contact with the Church through the broadcast and began attending services in the 1960s in Knoxville, Tennessee.

A decade later, Tom and Sarah met at Ambassador College (AC) in Big Sandy, Texas. In 1977 they were married in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Church employment Since his early days at AC, Dr. Kirkpatrick has been employed by the Church of God in several capacities: as a teacher, an administrator, a financial manager and a pastor.

After earning a master’s degree in accounting from Wichita State University, Tom Kirkpatrick served for five years as budget officer, chief accountant and instructor at AC in Big Sandy, Texas. When the college closed, they moved to Denton, Texas, where he received a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of North Texas. Sarah finished her B.A. in home economics education from Texas Woman’s University and received a teaching certificate.

They next moved to Boone, North Carolina, where their three daughters, Tarah, Caroline and Bonnie, were born and where Dr. Kirkpatrick was ordained a Church elder. For nine years Dr. Kirkpatrick served on the faculty of Appalachian State University. “We loved Boone. … The Boone years were good ones, both professionally and, of course, with the Church. We still have dear friends we first met there.”

When AC in Big Sandy reopened as a four-year institution in 1989, Dr. Kirkpatrick served there as chairman of the Department of Business Administration. In 1996 doctrinal changes prompted his resignation from the Worldwide Church of God. He became an associate pastor to Jim Franks in the Houston (North), Texas, congregation in the newly formed United Church of God (UCG).

In 1998 through 2008 they lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked as Church treasurer and operation manager for Financial Affairs. In 2008 they moved south to pastor the congregations in Birmingham and

Gadsden, Alabama. From 2010 to retirement in 2020, the Kirkpatricks served the brethren in Birmingham and in Trenton, Georgia, as part of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association (COGWA).

Anchor points In describing their anchor points during times of change, Dr. Kirkpatrick states, “God is true, and changes not, and that is the combined message of verses like Romans 3:4 and Malachi 3:6. ...

“We just can’t figure it all out by ourselves. We’re not that good, and we’re not that smart, and we’re just not that much on top of things. We have to trust God to work out many things, and know what to say in many circumstances, and proceed in many conditions.”

Home Since retirement, the Kirkpatricks have settled in Aiken, South Carolina, and attend the COGWA congregation in nearby Augusta, Georgia. Dr. Kirkpatrick says that Aiken is a lovely town. In 2018 Southern Living magazine named Aiken the “Best Small Town in the South.” Its location is convenient for their keeping in touch with friends and family. Two of the Kirkpatricks’ daughters, Caroline and Bonnie (and her newborn daughter, Madeleine), and their families live about half a day’s drive away. Daughter Tarah and her husband, Brandon, and their son Oliver live in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

In addition to their participation in the Augusta congregation, Dr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick both enjoy reading. Mrs. Kirkpatrick says she also has “a passion for gardening and entertaining, and decorating our home.”

As an overview of his employment with the Church, Dr. Kirkpatrick states, “To help a person—someone God has called to be a firstfruit in His Kingdom, through counsel, or teaching, or preaching, or praying for him … that is as good and rewarding and humbling as it gets.” OA

On the Road Again Milestones in Tom and Sarah Kirkpatrick’s life and service to the Church:

1970

1972

1972-1977

1980

1983

1980-1989 BBA in accounting, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas MS in accounting, Wichita State University; CPA certificate Budget officer, chief accountant, faculty, AC, Big Sandy, Texas Ph.D. in accounting, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas Ordained as an elder in the Church of God Tenured graduate faculty, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina 1989-1996

1996-1998

1998-2008

2008-2010

2010-2020 Chairman, Department of Business Administration, AC (later, AU), Big Sandy, Texas UCG associate pastor, Houston (North), Texas UCG church treasurer, operation manager for Financial Affairs, and office manager, Cincinnati, Ohio UCG pastor, Birmingham and Gadsden, Alabama Pastor, Birmingham, Alabama, and Trenton, Georgia