| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
New Methodist Pastor and family welcomed to the community By George Kolbenschlag When they arrived in Columbia in late June The Reverend Rob Hoffman and his family immediately felt welcome. Hoffman, the new pastor at Columbia United Methodist Church, found people here, "very accepting, both at the church and in the community at large." "Our welcome in Adair County has been comforting and reassuring. People who don't even know us have welcomed us and helped us with the issues involved in coming to a new community," he added. Pastor Hoffman and his family are used to new experiences. He came from a wide-ranging service background including pastorates in small rural churches, in the coal country of eastern Kentucky and in inner-city Louisville. He says his diverse background confirms his belief that "People are people, and we all have to deal with some of the same issues. It does not matter where we live. Our basic needs are the same whether it's in the valleys of eastern Kentucky, in the inner-cities, or in Adair County. Most of us just want to be able to work for a living, earn enough to support our families and find satisfaction in what we do." Hoffman, his wife, Tracy, and their three children, Maggie, Georgia and Sam, brought with them an avid interest in community service and a desire to serve the Lord wherever they are. Maggie, 20, their oldest, is a student at Western Kentucky University. She is presently serving as an "intern" at Madisonville, KY United Methodist Church. She is studying math education, but is also exploring additional ways to serve the Lord through the United Methodist Church. Georgia, 18, will begin her college at WKU this fall and Sam, 16, will be a high school junior at WKU's Gatton Academy. The Gatton Academy is a public academy of math and science and an early college entrance program located on the WKU campus. Georgia is also a Gatton graduate. Tracy Hoffman will be teaching English to grades 11 and 12 at Cumberland County High School. When he was a student at Bowling Green State University in northern Ohio studying computer science and business, Pastor Hoffman had not thought of entering the ministry. That changed when he was in his early 20s and noticed a change in his father when his father became an active church member. At that time, Hoffman says he thought, "it was not exactly what I wanted, but I was impressed, and remember wanting to know more." His father asked him to attend a gathering of the Promise Keepers. Promise Keepers is self-described as "a Christ-centered organization dedicated to introducing men to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, helping them to grow as Christians". It was at that gathering that Hoffman "became curious, was touched, and realized I needed something more and needed to make some changes in my life." He did change the course of his life, enrolling in the theology program at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and starting on the path to becoming a pastor. When he graduated in 2001, he decided to remain in Kentucky and was assigned to serve two small United Methodist churches in Upton, Kentucky. From Upton, he moved to the Wesley United Methodist Church in Ludlow, Kentucky where he served for three years before moving to an inner-city appointment in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville. He was assigned to the Portland Promise Center where he was director of the United Methodist Learning Center, an after-school program for inner-city children. While there, his children attended an inner-city school, which he said "was a wonderful and positive introduction to a culture new to them." Following three years in Portland, the Hoffmans were assigned to the Methodist church in Hindman Kentucky. While at Hindman, Pastor Hoffman continued his interest in serving the community. The Hindman church provided the community with meaningful worship both in the church and within the community at large. Concerning the future of Columbia United Methodist, he says he's excited about what is going on in the church and hopes he can continue his avid interest in church/community involvement. He is an advocate of small study groups and believes, "Our culture is changing, and the church needs to meet those changes at the local level. People have become less likely to accept change from the central bodies of the church. That seems true in all denominations." He adds much of that change can grow from small group discussion. When asked of his first impressions on arriving in Adair County, Hoffman said "It's beautiful countryside. In Hindman when you are on the top of the mountain it's very beautiful, but I find the rolling hills of this area a welcome change." Reverend Rob Hoffman says it took him a while, and his father's influence, to put him where God wants him to be. He adds, "I'll do all I can to answer that call." He also keeps an open mind and recognizes that God continues to send others from whom he can learn God's will. This story was posted on 2019-08-07 08:33:17
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic News:
Laura Gupton presentation at TRAC Partly sunny, high 84F, slight chance of showers 7-County Area Courts for Wed 7 Aug 2019 Semester begins today for Adair County School employees Purdy Sano Road closing for construction Aug 12 Jail Committee to meet Mon 12 Aug 2019 Cumberland Thunder at Gradyville Baptist Church Governor and First Lady Host One Mind Conference August 2019 KDFWR Traffic Safety Checkpoint locations Back to School Bash at Calvary Temple Church View even more articles in topic News |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
