CCHO is celebrating 50 years of ministry! Throughout 2019, we will be sharing stories of the lives that have been forever changed by the work God has done through our family of ministries (CCHO, Encourage Foster Care and Encompass Christian Counseling). On this penultimate #ThrowbackThursday of our 50th year of ministry, we wanted to share a collection of 50 photos from these past five decades. Enjoy a visual trip down memory lane in story #48 of our 50 Stories for 50 Years of Ministry series.
As we prepared to celebrate our 50th anniversary here at CCHO and our family of ministries, we started poring through old photo albums filled with rich, wonderful history. We’ve shared some of those photos in previous stories in this series, but with 2019 about to give way to a new year and the next 50 years of ministry, below you’ll find a gallery of 50 photos from those old albums. You’ll find pictures of men and women who were instrumental in first getting this ministry off the ground in the early days; you’ll see faces (many of them blurred to protect their identity) of some of the children who have been part of this ministry; we’ve included photos of many incredible past and present employees; and there are some from events over the years and building projects here on campus, including our new Children’s Leadership & Recreation Center.
There are so many smiling faces in these photos, moments of people investing in the lives of others, glimpses of men, women and children experiencing their worth in Christ. There’s no doubt we’ve missed opportunities over the past year to express gratitude in this space for so many people who have played a vital role in these five decades of ministry. We could have celebrated dozens of other pivotal moments along the way. Indeed, this gallery could have been loaded with hundreds more photos.
But, of course, these 50 years haven’t really been about CCHO, the people who have been involved in the ministry, or even the countless people to whom CCHO has ministered. We wouldn’t be at this point, celebrating a wonderful legacy while also eagerly looking ahead to what’s next, if not for the One who made this all possible. CCHO, Encompass Christian Counseling and Encourage Foster Care exist because God has a plan and a purpose for this agency, and as the first day of the next 50 years inches closer, we’re more excited than ever to see what our magnificent Creator has planned next!
