Pastor Steve Johnson of Oak Grove Church of God, just outside of Columbia City was asked recently to deliver a brief litany during the 75th anniversary of the township fire department, and the re-dedication of a memorial.
The creation of this fire department is an interesting story. If you were to look at the metrics, having two fire departments so close together, and in a town like Columbia City with a population of 10,000, is strange, and it was even stranger in 1951. While the Columbia Township Fire Department is just outside of the city limits, by car, it’s a 3-minute drive down two streets. It might take a person 15 minutes to walk the distance.
But, when you look at that drive from a map, it all makes more sense. Running through the middle of that brief drive is a railroad. And for people living on the south side of that railroad, there was a time, 76 years ago, when every on-coming train cut the southerners off from the fire department. An untimely train could make the difference between a small fire being put out, or an entire barn going up in smoke. For some, it could be the difference between life and death.
The creation of the Columbia Township Fire Department was an important moment in the life of Columbia City and the surrounding community. Its existence was crucial for the safety of the town and the people living on the outskirts of it.
Now 75 years later, the importance of that hasn’t been lost on the community, nor has all the hard work the fire department has done over those 75 years.
The litany by Pastor Steve provided an opportunity for the church to help bring additional meaning to an event already tinged with emotion and nostalgia.
It’s not the first time the fire station has asked Pastor Steve to be involved. A few years ago, he also helped dedicate a new fire engine. “We had a really neat dedication, and I wrote a litany for that and they really seemed to like that.”
What do fire stations and fire trucks have to do with God? Pastor Steve thinks about it this way:
“I think it’s to let people know that God's involved in their life. I know some of the people in the fire company and I think it's a really neat time where they realize, no matter where they are in their relationship to the Lord, ‘wow this is a really important event in the life of the community and God should be involved in it’”
And it’s as simple as that. If it’s important enough for us to gather together and to make symbolic gestures, then it’s important enough to bring before God.
The anniversary and the memorial rededication are important events in the life of the community. Many members of the Columbia township have served voluntarily at this fire station, sacrificing much for the safety of their fellow citizens. The act of gathering and corporately commemorating has a galvanizing effect on the community members. It helps them to remember what it means to live a life of service and sacrifice for people.
Pastor Steve went on to say that, “I didn't include God in every one of the lines. But, there were things what we thank God for, and we're thankful for those who've gone before us. And then people [say], ‘[the church] kind of have the same idea about community that I do!’”
Being active in the community, and bringing God with us when we go, makes an impact on people who have a loose relationship with the church. People hear all kinds of things through their phones and social media about what the church represents now. When the community has an authentic experience with an involved church, it disabuses us of misconceptions about what the church is and isn’t.
Furthermore, Pastors are not bounded by the walls of the church, and neither is God. As many of our pastors know, they play an important role in the broader community, offering prayers both individual and corporate, spiritual guidance, and sometimes benedictions at the behest of non-profits, schools, fund raiser events, and sometimes even government functions. As Pastor Steve said:
“I think just having a Bethel… having a building with doors makes people think we do something on the inside that you're not allowed to see. Anytime we can get outside doors and do what we do anyway, but in a public manner, I think that's really healthy for the community.”
For some, it will be a subtle reminder that God is active and interested in all our affairs, and so is the church.
More generally, it is good for us to remember that nothing is precluded from conversation with God. The divide between “sacred” and “secular” has been rent. Immanuel (God with us) and the Holy Spirit (God in us) means that God is active and present among us when we gather for corporate worship, or for a fire station anniversary, and it’s important to remind people that all things are proper conversation with God.
This October, during Pastor Appreciation month, we’re grateful for the ways our pastors shepherd their churches, and shepherd the wider community. Engaging in civic affairs as a pastors is one way that the church makes inroads into life beyond the walls of our church buildings and it’s a witness to God’s love and compassion for mankind.
The Columbia Township Fire Department 75th anniversary was held on September 12th, 2026 and the memorial stone, first dedicated in 2005, was rededicated. A set of columns with names of all those who had been members of the fire station who had passed on since 1951 was added. Pastor Steve rededicated the memorial with a short message on "My Brother's Keeper" and a litany he wrote and a prayer. Flowers were laid by family members when a name was read.
CGGC eNews—Vol. 20, No. 42
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