This coming week will mark the end of an important era in the life of the Churches of God, General Conference office here in Findlay. Kris Cupp, Director of Strengthening Churches will retire from the CGGC after 43 years of good and faithful service. We’ve been blessed over the years to have several employees dedicate 30 years or more in serving the church through the ministry of the General Conference, but Kris shattered all the records. We held a celebration in her honor earlier this month in conjunction with our spring Administrative Council meeting and what follows are some of the comments and reflections I offered during the evening’s festivities.
Kris started work at the General Conference before the present office (now the Wilkin Center for Christian Ministries located at 700 East Melrose Ave. in Findlay) was even constructed! Dr. Richard Wilkin was the Administrator of the General Conference and he hired Kris in March of 1979. I was in elementary school at the time and a couple of our current staff hadn’t been born yet. Jimmy Carter was the U.S. president. Apocalypse Now, Alien and Escape from Alcatraz were the top films that year. Some of the popular television of the day included classics like Three’s Company, That’s Incredible, M*A*S*H, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazard, Alice, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time. Ironically, the top Billboard song the week Kris started was "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.
Kris certainly has survived! She’s navigated 14 general conference sessions, all 6 administrators/executive directors, more staff changes, strategic plans or other adaptations and shifts than I can imagine. She did this all with a commute from the village of Leipsic, OH about 20 miles west of Findlay. I did some quick calculations and found that a conservative estimate on mileage would be somewhere north of 350,000 miles. Kris has faired better than the standard Honda or Toyota.
I imagine that Kris wasn’t foreseeing a 43-year career when she interviewed with Dr. Wilkin so many years ago. Not only did Kris work here for 43 years, but she also started and raised a family during that time (she was actually expecting her first-born son, Adam, when she began her work at the CGGC). She’s watched her own children go on to raise their own families which resulted in her favorite title: Grandma (The Cupp family pictured below).
Kris has shared several times over the years how her work in the General Conference office had a profound impact on her own faith and development as a follower of Jesus. Pastor Joe Miller, who served as the editor of Church School Curriculum as well as editor of The Gem when Kris was brought on, had an influential role in her growth as a follower of Jesus. In the true model of Jesus, Kris took what she has received and poured it into others. Over the years I’ve watched Kris as she’s been the one to pour into others, to help them make sense of what it means to follow Jesus. She has walked with many of us through the joys of new births and adoptions as well as the sting of death. She’s been a friend, a counselor, a confidant and an encourager to many of her coworkers and colleagues over the years. She took what she had received in faith and she kept passing it on into the lives of others.
The great command of those who follow Jesus is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. I’ve witnessed Kris do both here, faithfully and consistently. She has a passion for Jesus and a desire to see others find the joy that is only found in Him. Anyone who has spent time with Kris has probably seen her heart for Jesus because it just naturally bleeds through her life and the way in which she interacts with others. She’s loved our staff too (and not all of us are as easy to love as Jesus). She’s taken a genuine interest in the people she’s worked with – she knew about our lives and families outside of work because that’s what you do when you care about people the way Kris cares about people. She celebrated our staff on birthdays and at other important milestones, not because it was her job but because it’s just what naturally poured out of Kris and her gifting. We’ve got a lot of work to do to carry on the tradition Kris has set in throwing parties and celebrations.
Jesus says the greatest among you is the one who serves. Truth be known, Kris didn’t really want any kind of celebration or special attention at this moment (and I’m confident she didn’t want a blog post about her either). She’s not one to seek the spotlight. She’s quick to point out what she lacks or how others are more deserving of a moment like this. I’m sure that Kris wouldn’t describe herself as great, but I think Jesus would. She has served the church, walking alongside congregations, working hard to match resources to their needs. She has served her coworkers in ways in which were seen and unseen. She served us by loving us, encouraging us, supporting us and then there’s a long list of things that never appeared on a job description, but Kris did them anyway (like cover taking care of the trash when our custodian is on vacation). Over the years Kris’ role has changed, been renamed, been added to and reworked again and at every point she has served well. She rose to the challenge to make sure the job was done and done really well.
Kris set the bar incredibly high! On one hand the words “well done, good and faithful servant” are most appropriate but I also know that Kris isn’t done yet. While her time at the CGGC has drawn to a close, the Lord is going to continue to use her to make a difference in peoples’ lives, hopefully with a lot less drive time and much less stress. Thank You Kris! Thank you for your faithful service for forty-three years. Thank you for faithfully loving God, loving others and leading so well.
I know many of you may want to reach out and offer your own words of thanks, encouragement or congratulations. Reach out to Candice Shoemaker at and she can give you a mailing address for Kris. I’d also encourage you to watch the video posted below, I expect that it will be a nice walk down memory lane for some of you – lots of beloved friends from over the years.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 16, No. 12
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