Guest Post: Congratulations Pastor Steve!

On Monday, December 7th Pastor Steve Hickey was awarded the 2009 Humanitarian Award by the Alpha Center in Sioux Falls.  This prestigious award is presented to individuals or organizations that have generously and sacrificially supported the work of the Alpha Center through their time, financial support and prayer.  Pastor Steve was most deservedly presented this award for his tireless commitment to the most innocent among us - the unborn.  He has repeatedly stood boldly, without hesitation, in support of life.  We consider him a defender of the unborn, an advocate for the women but most importantly, we consider him friend. 

For those of you who know him well, you are aware of the difficulty he has faced because of his steadfast commitment to this issue in our state.  Pastor Steve, you continue to exert great leadership amongst those you serve and daily allow those around you to see the heart of God through you - even when its hard.  Thank you! There will come a day when Jesus Himself will greet you with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Kimberly Martinez, Executive Director for the Alpha Center, Sioux Falls

SH: There are certainly many others deserving of this award and many of those people were there Monday night. Even so, while President Obortion is awarded his much-deserved and hard-earned Noble Peace Prize this week, ;-), I'm honored and humbled and thank the Alpha Center for their accolades of me. For those of you who weren't there I'll tell you what I was saying when this picture was taken. I was commenting how, while they were introducing me, I strongly sensed the voice of the Lord say "you have not resisted yet to the point of shedding your blood." Some of you will recognize it's actually a line from the Bible but it came strong in my mind and gave me some perspective that the highest awards in heaven go to those who lay down their lives (resources, influence, time, effort, and for some, blood) for others.