After 29 years as the Pastor of the Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist Church, Pastor Robert Van Horn has announced his retirement in the fall of 2019. While we will miss him as our pastor, we are blessed to have had him as our spiritual leader, pastor, teacher, and friend for so many years! Pastor Robert and his wife Lana are not planning to remove their membership from our church, but are going to spend their winters in Florida and come north to join us again in the the summers.
At this time, Pastor Robert is continuing in his role as our Pastor throughout the summer, with an indefinite retirement date sometime before the end of October 2019. In January a Pastoral Search Committee was appointed consisting of Chip Thorngate, Darwin Van Horn, Dean Fox, Marissa Patterson, and Christopher Van Horn. This committee has been revising & preparing a job description for the new Pastor as well as beginning the process for identifying and selecting potential candidates. As a church we have already begun praying for the right person to become our new Pastor. (If there is a time gap between when Pastor Robert leaves and a new Pastor is selected, the Deacons will have the responsibility for arranging coverage of the weekly worship service.)
Pastor Robert has certainly left his mark on the many lives he has touched through baptisms, teaching Sabbath School, Camp Joy staff & board member, special music and drama, hospital visits, baby dedications, children’s stories, workshops, leading praise time, youth retreats, sermons and more. One area most appreciated about Pastor Robert are the many times he has dropped other things just to help someone out — from a flat tire to moving a piano! Another way we have been blessed through the years is Pastor Robert’s ability to bring people together over a meal, whether grilling out, hosting a banquet, holding a seder, enjoying a church potluck, or inviting people into their home.
Yes, we will miss Pastor Robert Van Horn & Lana as our church’s Pastor and wife. We wish them many years of enjoyable retirement as they continue to serve God in a different way. We are also excited & hopeful to see who God will lead to become our new Pastor, Shepherd, Teacher, and Friend.
“Treasures in Heaven” was the theme for the monthly Kids Bible Club held June 1, 2019. We started off with an opening including the song 
This will be the last monthly Kids Bible Club for the school year, but invitations were passed out for the 
The second summer Bible Club will use the same materials, but be held at JFK park in Reynoldsburg, OH at 7-8:30 pm each evening July 8-12, 2019. The program includes games, songs, skits, a bible lesson, crafts, and a snack. All kids ages 4-12 are invited to attend. There is no charge.
For more information or to register, call the church at 740-927-0574. (If there’s no answer, leave a message and we’ll call you back!)
On Saturday night May 4, 2019 our May Kids Bible Club had the theme “SLIME TIME – or How Can Jesus Help in Sticky Situations”. It was a fun evening beginning with a slime skit (see video below) followed by a Bible lesson looking at several people in the Bible who had some bad days and the amazing miracles our powerful God did for each of them. We studied people like Moses, Daniel, Lazarus, Jonah, the disciples and Paul & Silas.
For craft time each of the kids got to make their own slime and after that we had a series of “Minute-to-win-it” games all using different kinds of slime! We cleaned up and enjoyed a snack before we ended for the evening. It was a fun time for every one there!
We will be taking a break during the summer and plan to start up again in September. There will be 3 different Neighborhood Bible Clubs this summer held in Summit Ridge Estates, in Reynoldsburg, and in the playground area outside of the church. Look for more information about those as we get closer to the summer.
We have so much to celebrate! The sacrificial death and powerful resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus, was the focal point for our church service on Sabbath Day, April 20, 2019. Scriptures were read throughout the service from Luke 23:26-46, John 20:1-10, and John 20:24-29. We also had special music, favorite hymns, worship dance, drama monlogue of Thomas the disciple, communion, foot washing, and a sermon teaching on the proofs of the resurrection. Thanks to all who joined in sharing this special service! Enjoy the pictures below:
Our April Kids Bible Club held on April 6, 2019. The theme for the evening was “Let Your Light Shine” and we talked about how light is stronger than dark and Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:16 when he told people not to hide their light, but to let it shine so “others can see your good deeds and glorify God.”
The older group read several Bible verses that talked about light, did a science demonstration with a lit candle covered with a glass jar, and covered a flameless tea candle for their craft.
It was a great evening! Our next Kids Bible Club will be the first Saturday night of the month on May 4, 2019 from 6:30-8:00pm. All children 3-12 are invited! The theme for May is “Slime Time – or how can Jesus help us in sticky situations!” 
Our SCSC team is 
The theme for our monthly Kids Bible Club on March 2, 2019 was “Be A Kindness Superhero”. Attendance was a little less than expected, but the twelve kids (and 9 adults) who were there had a lot of fun learning about kindness with a superhero theme! We started out singing 
All kids ages 3-12 are invited to this monthly Kids Bible Club held the first Saturday night of each month, 6:30-8:00pm, at the 
Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist 