5 JANUARY 2019 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS 60 Years of Life, 40 Years of Ministry 60 years old - In February 2019, I will celebrate 60 years of life and 40 years of ministry. My birth year, 1959, had some admirable moments. Barry Gordy founded Motown records, in 1959. Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway on March 11th and the next day, Hawaii was granted state- hood in the U.S. And of course, my parents, Bishop Acen and Dr. E. LaQuilla Phillips brought home their first- born son. Sixty years ago, I experienced a series of first events in this world. My first breath, first feeding, and first cuddle. As time passed, I experienced my first hope and disappointment, my first love and rejection. Sixty birthdays later, life has brought many first; some bitter and others sweet. Turning sixty has helped me learn: “every day brings a new first for that day”. I thank God for my first breath today, my first meal from His table on today, and for a warm spiritual embrace, my first cuddle today, to remind me He is present. 40 year ministry journey - My call to ministry came while I was a resident in the dormitory of Drew Hall at Howard University. That year, as a college freshman, my journey was altered with the first- step in a new direction. One step forty years ago launched a journey that led me to Albuquerque, New Mexico to pastor my first Church, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, and launch a charismatic ministry five years later to develop a multi-cultural teaching ministry, Ekkelsia Word Ministries, far ahead of its time. Over time, you learn to accept the road the journey gives you. I had to accept returning to Denver, my native city, leaving my un-achieved ambitions behind. I have lived twenty-seven years of this forty- year journey, responding to my call to ministry, in my hometown. 60/40 years -When I combine sixty years of life and forty years of min- istry together I have more than one hundred blessings for which I am thankful, but I am limited to what I can list here. My list begins with five amazing and spiritually, gifted, adult children they are the best fruit of my sixty years of life, and with me, have endured forty years of ministry ser- vice: Del Jr., Tiphane, Daphne, Afriye, and Desare. The journey to Denver twenty-seven years ago brought me to a congre- gation that loves me, supports me, allows me to learn and grow, as I wait for God to lead me so I can do my best to lead them. There is not a body of believers anywhere like the members of The House Worship Center (THWC) and I am grateful to God for this assignment and I love the people that He has assigned to me. In 2015, my most unexpected joy was restored when I married the woman I will love for the rest of my life, – Aleina. She is my extraordinary testimony that God answers prayer because she is God’s answer for me. Our marriage included the blessing of her two adult children, Mychal and Jene, and an expansion to the list of grandchildren, now up to seven. The journey of every man will one day come to an end. In my final jour- nal entry, I hope to borrow the words of Apostle Paul and the pen of his scribe to say to all that must continue their journey in life: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”. TESTIMONY By Pastor Del Phillips Del Phiilips