Tribute to Rev. Ralph Reed, Jr.

Details: Category: News; Published on Friday, 24 June 2011 14:00; Hits: 246

The first of March, 1980 was a day that changed my life. I had been offered a job in Cody and came up to interview for the job. When we got to town we called Bro. Ralph Reed, who had moved to Cody a few months earlier to start a church, and he said he'd be over in a few minutes

Shortly came a knock on the door followed by a smiling cherub that changed my life. Over the next few years it seemed like we were always together, church, hunting, fishing, playing games, even for a while living next door and working together.
But first of all he was our pastor. When I began to feel my call to the ministry, he was right there to support and encourage me. Most of all when the opportunity to go to Apostolic Bible Institute arose he was there encouraging us to do what we felt from God. Even though the church was headed in to a tough time, he never asked me to stay. He was always most interested in us doing what God wanted us to do.

Over the next 25+ years we spent many hours on the phone with each other and got together whenever we got a chance. There were four things that were always most important to him - church, his family, hunting and music, not always in the same order. I watched as each of his children grew up and he did what he could to help them grow into men and women of God. I saw four of them go to Bible school. I saw them get married and watched the pride he had in his children and their spouses. I saw how he took the spouses into the family and how spoke of them like he did his children.

Then came the grandchildren and I saw how much he enjoyed them. I watched his sons and son-in-law become licensed ministers and whenever any of them did something he was always wanting to share it with me. He was so proud of every one of them.

There may not be a great building or a large church that Bro. Ralph Reed built to God, but there is a great church built to the glory of God in the lives of his family and the people he poured his life into as he ministered to them.

Rev. John Sides

The family of Bro. Ralph Reed wishes to express a very big heartfelt thank you to all our friends and "family" of the Rocky Mountain District. We would like to say thank you for all your prayers, the phone calls, the cards, the beautiful flowers, plants and love offerings. We so appreciate all that was done for our family during this very difficult time. Your thoughtfulness will always be remembered. We could never say thank you enough.

Bro. Reed loved the unity of the Rocky Mountain District. "How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity", was often heard from him. His greatest desire was to see revival in each and every church. We ask that you would continue to scatter the ashes of this precious gospel that Bro. Reed loved so much. May the Lord bless you all as you continue to serve Him.

Sis. Georgia Reed, Stephanie, Stacey, Joann, Ralph, & Nathaniel Reed.