Times staff
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
NEW PORT RICHEY — The Rev. Tim Santinga, the pastor at Living Word Church who expanded the church's world mission efforts and often had a Sunday service broadcast on 107.3 FM, will officially retire this weekend.
About 300 people are expected to attend a potluck dinner Saturday at the church's activity center, 5151 Rowan Road, to celebrate Santinga's 32 years of ministry in west Pasco — including 16 years as the founder and head of Living Word.
The next day the congregation will celebrate the installation of its new lead pastor, the Rev. Brad Davis, who has moved here from New Orleans with his wife, Julie. Santinga will preside over installation services at both the 8:25 and 10:45 a.m. Sunday services.
Santinga came to west Pasco in 1978, when he was called to be senior pastor of Palm Grove Reformed Church on U.S. 19 in Holiday. He and his wife, Judy, and their family remained there until Santinga founded the non-denominational Living Word Church in 1994.
In the early years of his local ministry, Santinga began the West Pasco Bible Institute, which later became part of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago's Extension Studies.
For many years Santinga's 8:30 a.m. Sunday service was broadcast live on the radio. His heart for world missions was adopted by the church, which now has an annual budget of more than $100,000 to support 35 missionaries. The church also sends several of its own people on short-term mission trips, often teaming up with Bible Basics International, which last month saw more than 1,400 people in Honduras dedicate themselves to Jesus Christ.
Even in retirement, Santinga will continue his ministry at Living Word. He will preach at 6 p.m. Sundays starting Oct. 17. He will also participate in the 7 p.m. Wednesday teaching and prayer services.
Davis, the new lead pastor, will take the reins of the church Sunday. His ministry career as pastor spans 26 years in two churches. Davis earned his undergraduate degree from Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa; his master's degree in theology from Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.; and his doctorate in ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary.
For information on Living Word Church, visit livingwordnpr.com.