EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of articles featuring GPTS alumni and their current ministries. In this one, Rev. Gabriel Fluhrer, describes his work as pastor of Shiloh Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Raleigh, N.C., one of the seminary's supporting churches.
By Rev. Gabriel Fluhrer
Raleigh,
N.C. is an area known for the intersection of technology and education. The
Research Triangle Park, the largest conglomeration of its kind in the U.S.,
supports thousands of high-level tech jobs, while Duke University, The
University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University are all about
30 miles from each other. Raleigh is therefore an affluent and intellectual
place, at once full of life and yet spiritually dark.
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| Gabe Fluhrer |
In May
of 2012, I became the organizing pastor of Shiloh Presbyterian Church (OPC),
which was then meeting at a school in Cary, N.C. Cary is about ten miles west
of Raleigh, the state capital. Prior to coming to Raleigh, I finished the
coursework phase of my Ph.D. at Westminster Theological Seminary in
Philadelphia, concentrating on apologetics. I was ordained to the gospel
ministry at Second Presbyterian Church (PCA), Greenville, S.C. in 2008, where I
had the privilege of serving with Dr. Richard Phillips. My wife, Callie, and I
have two little girls and, by God’s amazing grace, are expecting our third in
February 2015.
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| Irfon Hughes |
Beginning as a mission work, Shiloh
was officially organized as a church (particularized) in February of 2013, after extensive officer training. In
April of 2014, we held our first worship service in our newly purchased and
renovated building, about a mile from downtown Raleigh in the historic Five
Points district. The Lord has provided many new families from diverse
socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds for Shiloh and, by God’s grace, we have
experienced fairly rapid growth. Our members love to reach out to neighbors,
co-workers, and fellow students. To keep pace with this growth, we hired an
additional pastor to assist me in my labors. In May of 2014, we welcomed the
Rev. Irfon Hughes, a long-time PCA minister who many of you will know through
the Banner of Truth, to our pastoral staff. Rev. Hughes’s extensive knowledge
of the Puritans, his deep piety, and his outstanding preaching have been a true
benefit not only to my own soul (and those of my dear family), but to the
entire congregation as well. Rev. Hughes is also a prodigious visitor, regularly
checking on members at their homes, in the hospital, and at nursing homes.
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| Particularization Service |
From the
outset, we have been committed to the principles of ministry so clearly
articulated by GPTS. I preach expository sermons on the Lord’s Day, both
morning and evening, expounding the New Testament in the morning and the Old
Testament in the evening. We hold a weekly prayer meeting as well as mid-week
fellowship groups, where members discuss the sermons and pray together. Our
elders take the responsibility of shepherding very seriously, with the result
that every family at Shiloh receives a pastoral visit in their homes at least
once a year by me, and regular pastoral consultation from their shepherding
elder.
* * * * *
Shiloh's Invitation to Fellowship:
“Shiloh
is a place you can come and find welcome in the name of Christ. If you’ve got
questions, you’ll find a safe place to ask them. If you’re brand new to
Christianity, we hope you learn and grow with us. If you’re convinced, we hope
you’ll join us in serving Jesus together. Simply put, we believe the gospel of
Jesus Christ is the most amazing thing in the world. We’re excited about it and
we want others to know the same joy, peace, and love we have found in Christ.”
