A Life of Impact Friends of Steve Dickie honor his ministry as he bids Eastminster farewell. After 18 years of faithful ministry, laughter, friendship and leadership, minister Steve Dickie will bid farewell to doing life at Eastminster. Following God’s call to the next stop in life, Steve and Linda will take a sabbatical before beginning a new ministry adventure. It’s bittersweet for our church family as we say goodbye to a dear friend, mentor and colleague, and remember the mark he has left here. Steve’s friends from Eastminster and the community submitted notes of encouragement, fun memories and hopes for the future as we honor the impact Steve has had on so many of us. The Friesen family came to Eastminster from some tough, divisive circumstances. We knew no one at Eastminster. The first Sunday we attended the adult classes, Steve Dickie met us in the hall and saw us wandering, somewhat lost. He lovingly greeted us and welcomed us to Eastminster. He welcomed us to the class he was teaching. Little did we know how providential that was. Steve, through his compassion, his love, and his teaching embraced us. The next six months, each class that Steve taught was meant just for us. It is as if God lead Steve to speak just to our hearts. The healing we received will endear the memory of Steve and Linda Dickie to our hearts. Thank you, Steve and Linda! Steve Friesen Our earliest memory of Eastminster is Steve Dickie’s genuine attitude and optimistic encouragement to us as visitors. We kept coming back each week because Steve remembered our names, and was intentional in reaching out and building a relationship with us. We quickly discovered a common bond – baseball – and Steve instantly became one of our biggest fans and cheerleaders, as Rob was a pitcher for WSU and I worked in the athletic department. As we moved into the next stages of life, marriage and professional ball, Steve continued to be an advocate for us on and off the field. During the off-season he got us plugged in to the Intimate Allies Sunday School. This group has produced some of our deepest friendships, greatest mentors (and family), and a chance to be a part of Eastminster’s growth and community, as the class has more than tripled in size. As each baseball season approached and dragged on for the long seven months, Steve would drown us in prayer for travel, the trials of separation, (that Rob would get traded to the LA Angels), and that we would be given opportunities to share the gospel.
He was central in shaping the idea that baseball was not only a job and lifestyle for us, it was our ministry. I could write pages of stories of how God used us and blessed us during this time. They run the gamut, from Rob giving his testimony to a packed stadium, to God intimately intervening and providing housing for us when we were stranded in California, pregnant, and not being able to afford one more night in a hotel. While God certainly gets the glory for everything, it was Steve’s encouragement and support of two crazy kids chasing a dream while living for Jesus that brought us through some bleak times and gave us hope to continue in the amazing journey we were called to. At the beginning of this year, when Rob decided to retire from the sport, I said, “That’s fine, but you have to break the news to my dad…and Steve Dickie.” Steve, of course, just smiled with complete understanding and immediately jumped into helping us transition, and figuring out where to serve next. We’ve truly been blessed to know Steve, Linda, and Josh over the past seven years and look forward to our opportunity to support them in the next chapter of their life! Rob and Brittney Musgrave Steve, We consider ourselves very fortunate to have become good friends with you, Linda and Josh over the last several years and your smile and cheerful attitude will be greatly missed. You have blessed our family in many ways and undoubtedly countless other families at Eastminster and throughout the Wichita area as well. The Lord has great plans for you in the next chapter of your life and we are excited to see where this leads you! Many Blessings, Sam, Kathy, Taylor and Jacob Murray I’ve known Steve (and Linda) for about 18 years now. Our family was blessed to walk through their adoption of Josh with them