A couple of passing showers caused the gathering crowd to cast nervous glances skyward.

Rain clattered off the sheet metal roof. It was minutes before the Easter Sunrise Service by the First Baptist Church of Yantis. 

After everyone had been chased under the pavilion at Swearingen Park on Lake Fork, the rain stopped. And the service, begun on time at 6:35, was smoothly underway.

There was a crease in the eastern sky between the cloud layers. It was reassuring. It was Easter morning.

To open the ceremony, Pastor Danny Parker offered prayer. His prayer was a simple prayer of thanks. “Thank you for the cross, and thank you for the resurrection,” he led. 

The congregation of FBC Yantis joined in the traditional hymns ‘O How He Loves You and Me’ and ‘Because He Lives.’ It was a good effort by the 50 in attendance.

Parker wove a path through a dozen scripture passages, each giving a piece of the resurrection story. The pastor described how Easter was the transition of the world from darkness to light; how Jesus bore the sins of mankind. 

As he recounted the earth shaking and the curtain in the temple being torn asunder, Parker commented, “Creation itself recognized what had happened.”

Parker moved through the events of the resurrection, from the angel’s message, “Do not be afraid. He is not here, he is risen…” to the effect on the apostles.

The pastor noted, “The timid, afraid apostles came to set the world on fire because they recognized that He had risen.”

The service concluded with words of exaltation and a challenge: to seize the opportunity to come to Him and have sins forgiven.   

Just as service was ending, A.G. Sessions, the on-duty guard of the Sabine River Authority, joined. The previous year, he had also joined the service and had sung a hymn. 

This year, and with a dedication to the memory of recently-passed Sheriff’s Deputy Melissa Pollard, Sessions gave a moving rendition of ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow.’

Before the service, there had been some differing opinions about how long FBC Yantis has been doing the sunrise service. It was generally agreed that it has been around 10 years.

Use of Swearingen Park requires some advance work.

Congregant Reed Gammill had the reservation duty – staking claim on the first come, first served pavilion near the pier.

The retired dairy farmer had no problem securing use of the pavilion at 4 a.m. that morning. 

It was just over a decade ago when churchgoer Lonny Eaves had committed his life to Christ.

With the help of All4One Ministries, Eaves has turned his life around and freely offered the value of his personal journey. 

Eaves was just one example of the welcoming and genuinely friendly folks in attendance at the service.

Steve and Judy Prather were also in attendance. Judy advised that she could remember attending Easter sunrise services as a little girl. 

Young folks were also present at FBC Yantis’ service. Pastor Parker was especially proud of the many youth group members in attendance.