“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.

“They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’

“At once they left their nets and followed him.”

–Matthew 4:18-20

Gary Emmons has the brains of an engineer but the heart of a pastor.

The long-time associate pastor at Christ’s Church of Fountain Hills (CCFH) recently retired after serving the non-denominational church for 26 years.

The congregation honored Emmons with a surprise celebration during Sunday morning worship services.

Don Lawrence, founding pastor of CCFH, directed the celebration, outlining how Emmons became a pastor.

“Sometime in 1989 I preached a sermon in which I challenged all of our members to take their commitment to Jesus to the next level,” Lawrence said. “There was a very good response from that sermon, including three individuals who, each on their own, the following week came into my office and said that for them, the next level would be full time ministry.

“Two of those three are in full-time ministry today. One of them is Gary Emmons.”

Lawrence called Emmons a “modern day” Peter, Andrew, James and John.

Emmons left the security of a nice job and career to become a pastor.

He graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in engineering and owned his own company before selling it and completing a master’s in ministry degree from Pepperdine University.

While working on his degree, he also worked part-time as CCFH’s children’s pastor.

Upon his ordination on Sept. 15, 1991, he was hired as the full-time children’s pastor.

Through the years he also took on the role of youth pastor, became an associate pastor and was pastor of senior adults upon his retirement.

“So, I have had the joy of working with Gary for 26 years,” Lawrence added. “He has been much, much more than just an associate pastor; he has been a good friend, a confidante, a teammate, a partner in ministry and much more.”

While Lawrence shared a few comical stories about Emmons’ tenure at the church, he also relayed some that tugged at the heartstrings.

Emmons served as treasurer for the Ministerial Association’s Good Samaritan Fund for about a decade, meeting with folks who were going through difficult financial times.

“As such, he would meet with individuals who typically didn’t have a church,” Lawrence said. “Most were not Christians. Gary didn’t just cut checks and hand out money to these individuals. He spent time talking with them, patiently hearing their story. Caring. He prayed with them. Occasionally, there would be follow-up visits.

“It wasn’t about the Good Samaritan Fund. It wasn’t about the money. It was about the people.”

While on mission trips to Mexico, Emmons would often remind participants that the mission was more than simply building a small home – it was about building a relationship with a family.

“He helped us keep our focus on what was truly important,” Lawrence said. “People. Families. Individuals. Everything else we do in ministry, all the programs, all the activities, all the meetings...are secondary. People are what the church is all about.

“And Gary got it. And he practiced it. And he lives it.

“If I could sum up Gary’s ministry in one statement, it would be, ‘He had a heart for people.’”

Gordon Pittsenbarger, a retired contractor and an elder at CCFH, said he considers Emmons a good friend, Bible teacher and counselor.

“He’s taught me how to pray and what to ask for in prayer,” he added. “I admire Gary for all the different ministries he started and classes he has taught. He has gone out of his way so many times to help people.

“And he’s also been my welding coach!”

Cindy and John Lewis started attending CCFH in 1994.

“We had four young children and were looking for a church with a wonderful youth program, and Gary provided the best,” she said. “No words can describe our gratitude.

“He taught, loved, laughed, sang and baptized our children.

“He became our wonderful friend and mentor. Gary Emmons is truly a gift from God.”

For his part, Gary Emmons said he was truly surprised by the recent “heart-warming” celebration and appreciated the fact that it was incorporated into a regular worship service.

He thought a final mission trip to Rocky Point, Mexico in mid-November to build a small home for an impoverished family would be the perfect way to officially say “good bye” to the congregation, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

He looks back on his 26 years here and appreciates the challenge that Lawrence laid out decades ago.

“It was a leap of faith on my part,” Emmons said. “I was getting serious with God before coming to Fountain Hills, but I always knew there was something more.

“I didn’t have a personal relationship with God, but I wanted one; I wanted to go deeper.”

Emmons said he realized that he ultimately wanted to help people become closer to Jesus and develop that personal relationship.

“I especially liked those years of working with children and young teens,” he said. “I liked teaching. I liked showing young people that by establishing salvation through Christ that it was also preparing them for the future – education, marriage, career, that sort of thing.

“They can start relying on their Heavenly Father to lead them in all things.”

Emmons said through the years he saw so many people who lacked true joy that comes from a personal relationship with Christ.

“That’s one of the main things that kept me going,” he said. “It still keeps me going.”

He and his wife, Kathy, will continue to live in Fountain Hills, and Emmons still teaches a Sunday morning Bible class and conducts a traditional worship service at MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care.