Westminster Presbyterian Church
7110 W. Gore Blvd.
Lawton, OK 73505
Phone: (580) 536-0444
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, times vary
If nobody answers, please leave your phone number and a brief message.
Brief Church Mission Statement: We believe the church is the body of Christ and the members of the church are His disciples. It is our purpose to provide opportunities for fellowship, worship, and service; to motivate all who seek the kingdom of God to use their talents and abilities to help bring people to Christ in a loving, caring family environment, and to witness to the Lawton community.
Brief Biographical Sketch of the Rev. Mark Henslee:
Pastor Henslee has served a variety of congregations since completing his seminary preparation at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary: a summer season church outside of Yellowstone National Park, a church in the potato and barley growing country of Colorado, an island congregation in a fishing community in southeast Alaska, and a historic church in a resort/retirement island community in northwest Washington state. Hospice chaplaincy and serving on a regional critical incident team are other ways Mark has ministered to people. Mark and Kathy, his wife, have been blessed to live in some of the most beautiful places in western North America in being obedient to God's call.
The vocation of ministry follows career work in motor freight, agri-business sales and management, and as a musician. Mark and Kathy have been married almost thirty-one mostly wonderful years. Their tribe includes two great, almost-grownup adult children, Will and Rachel, along with Juston, a great son-in-law, and Brandon, a joyful two year old grandson, plus a couple of cats, Wagnes and Spotze. Mark approaches life as a multi-faceted adventure and enjoys reading, walking outside, playing and listening to music, watching college football and basketball, great food, rigorous handball, visiting with people, and taking short naps in his chair.
A Statement of Faith -- Mark T. Henslee
January, 2005
I believe in One God, the Holy One of Israel, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven, who in sovereign freedom relentlessly seeks fellowship with human beings in a covenant relationship of gracious love. Choosing to self-reveal as Father, Son, and Spirit, the three-in-one God is Creator of all things in heaven and on earth, seen and unseen. This self-disclosure takes place in the scriptures of the Older and New Testaments, in the incarnation of the eternal Word in Jesus, in experiences of believers by the Holy Spirit, and in the glory and processes of nature. God brings order out of chaos, gives Light into darkness, and is the source and sustainer of our being. The Almighty One is just and righteous, faithful in promise keeping, and loves without measure. God is holy, in that God can allow nothing sinful, wrong, or impure to exist in the presence of God. One recurring promise of God is to be God-with-us and to make us God's people. This is one indicator of God's good purposes and offers hope that God is not yet finished with us.
I believe in Jesus the Christ, the God-man who is the Son of the Father, the Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, fully human and truly God. In the life of Jesus the experience of being human, from birth through death, was taken into the experience of God, with one crucial exceptionÑJesus did not sin. Thus He was able to administer the perfect sacrifice of himself on the cross to satisfy the judgment God makes on human sinfulness. The effect is that God's purposed at-one-ment is accomplished and all humanity is now reconciled to God. Our sins forgiven, we are set free from the weight of sin and fear of death because God has won over all forces that would destroy or diminish life. The sign that this mediation is successful for all time is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christ's Ascension into heaven to be at the right hand of God the Father. In his ministry of teaching and healing, Jesus promised his presence until the end of all time, and continually offers his presence through the mystery we encounter in the Lord's Supper. Jesus invites us to the Kingdom of Heaven as brothers and sisters.
I believe in the Spirit of God that we identify with the presence and activity of God-with-us as revealer of the gospel and wisdom of God to human hearts and minds. The Spirit reforms us according to God's will, sustains and gifts us, prays for us, enables and guides the church in its mission, unifies the church in its various expressions, moves freely in the world and shows us the mystery of the gospel. The Spirit never points to itself but always glorifies God through Jesus Christ. The Spirit never imposes and so is subject to our neglect, denial and refusal. Our refusing the Spirit sorrows God yet honors the gift of freedom God gave humans in Creation. The Spirit brings us to faith and manifests itself through gifts given at our Baptism whereby we become part of the Body of Christ, the church, and begin the life of faith. Faith is embodied in service of God and other humans.
I believe the purpose of the church is to help people establish and build relationship with God in Jesus Christ and with other people. Our task is to discover the joy of living as God's grateful and obedient people. We witness through our behaviors what we believe, and assisted by the Spirit fulfill our call to bear witness to the character of God. Engaging the Bible as the authoritative witness to God and God's grace, the confessing tradition in which I serve, and my sanctified human experiences, a vital faith emerges that lets me stand strong in the storms of life because of confidence in the grace, presence, and providence of God. I know I am loved and give thanks for God's steadfast love made known in Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Savior.
For more information, call the church office at 536-0444.
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, times vary
If nobody answers, please leave your phone number and a brief message.