Pastor John Steinberg Sr. Passes December 29th

From JD Quinn:

My Tribute To Pastor John Steinberg Sr.

Today, at 7:59 am, God called one of my heroes of the faith home to be with Him. In the last few days I had the opportunity to see Pastor John, and on the first occasion I was able to sit with him as he shared, in a quiet and weak voice, how good God is and imparted some Words of Life into me. But before I share those last few words I just want to take a moment and share a few thoughts.

My first interactions with Pastor Steinberg and his family came as a young child. We would see them at Camp Meeting events in Ketchikan and Terrace BC. He was always so full of life and energy and you couldn’t go too long in a service without hearing the distinct declaration of “GLORY” shouted from his lips. He was a worshiper, a man of faith, and a student of God’s Word.

The first picture in this post was taken 10 years ago and is of Pastor John kneeling at the altar in the Craig Church of God, doing what he loved best, worshipping! This was taken on one of my last Ministry trips to Craig before moving to Georgia in 2012. On many of these ministry trips I would watch this man as he led by example. He would be the first to arrive and last to leave, and would always do what no one else wanted to do. Truly a man of integrity and a strong work ethic.

The second picture was taken by my sister-in-law, Samantha, just a few weeks ago, and once again we find Pastor John in a posture of worship. Even in his weakened state, he knew where his strength came from.

In my last conversation with Pastor John, we talked about the goodness of God and then he paused and began to talk about Gideon. He said that God had allowed him to go through all those trials so he would fully trust in him. That no matter what, God was there and he could lean on him. I know this was how he lived his life until he breathed his last this morning! He also told me to look in his Bible, because he had his sermon notes from his last message preached from a pulpit on this earth. It was titled, “Exalting the Exalted Lord”. I asked him if I could take a picture of it and I’m sharing it with you today as the final picture of this post.

Pastor John, I miss you already and as I choke back the tears I do not grieve as those who have no hope, because just like you, my hope and salvation is found in Jesus, and you are in the presence of the Exalted Lord that you preached about so many times. You were a Pastor, Mentor, Example, and Friend! I love you and will see you soon!

Services for Pastor Steinberg will be held Friday Jan 3rd @6:30pm at the Lighthouse Church of God in Ketchikan.