Harvest Family Prayer Watch
February 21st 2009 05:19 pm
Ralph Arthur
It’s with the deepest sorrow that we tell you that our dear friend and pastor Ralph Arthur has passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning.
Please fervently pray for Cheri and their children at this most difficult time.
They are being ministered to by pastors, close friends and family members at this time.
Memorial service information will be made available as soon as possible, and further announcements will be made in the services tomorrow.
Love in Christ,
The Admin Team
Update: Statement from Pastor Greg Laurie concerning the passing of Pastor Ralph Arthur
Tags: Pastor, Ralph Arthur
Pastor Ralph,
We’ll always miss you and the Christ centered life that you lived. One day we will see you face to face again.
Allen Meigide
My prayers are with you and your family. It won’t be long and we will all be together again in heaven. Until then, let us enjoy His love and the Peace that passes all understanding.
Dear Cheri and family,
We think of you often and pray for you! Everyone misses Ralph at Day 7, there is a huge void that cannot be replaced… but God is faithful. We are joyful when we think of Ralph and where he is. We were reflecting back the other night on the memories we have of Ralph and could not help but smile when we talked about him. Everytime I would run into Ralph at church I could not help but smile really big because his joy in the Lord was contagious:) We love you guys and will continue to pray for God to hold you and comfort you.
Love,
Kim Bueno
Ralph reflected Christs love. Praying for your family.
Pastor Ralph was so loved that even our sweetest God in Heaven couldn’t wait to hold him. My heart grieves for your loss even though our mind knows it’s temporary. Please know how grateful I am for Ralph’s service and testimony and my prayer is that God will help you to have peace in your heart while giving you strength daily to cope.
Adam D.
Dear Cheri,
Melissa and I will be praying for you.
In a world where most men strive for status, Ralph was one of the few who pleased the Lord by being a man of Christ-like character. He was truly a servant-leader (Mark 10:43-44). Melissa and I admire Ralph greatly for that.
We will miss his smile, his graciousness, and his loving nature.
Our hearts go out to you.
In Christ,
Daniel and Melissa Eichelberger
Dear Cheri,
You and your family are in our prayers. Ralph was such a blessing to all of us. My husband, Ralph and I got to first know him from his attending our Kiwanis club prayer breakfast. He spoke and sang and was such a joy, even to some of those “old crusty” Kiwanians. Ralph helped my husband and I through a rough patch with love and godly wisdom. He led one of my friends to the Lord shortly before our friend passed away. Ralph then did a beautiful service for him. Ralph will be so truly missed by all of us.
Your Mary Kay sisters have prayed for you and your family. Most of them didn’t know him, but wanted to be remembered to you.
God bless you,
Jacquie & Ralph Bell
Cheri, our hearts break for you and your family right now. We didn’t know Ralph well, having only spent time with your family a couple times at Dwight & Tweedy’s in Atascadero, but I wanted to share with you the impact he had on us. We were in the midst of moving to Idaho, with many questions about changing churches, and wondering what God had in store for us. Scott & Ralph talked at length about it, and Ralph’s final statement was, “Hey, the Holy Spirit’s in Idaho, too. He won’t quit leading or providing for you when you get there.” Such a simple word, and one we of course knew, but Ralph had such an enthusiastic, loving way of putting it that Scott came away much encouraged. He’s shared Ralph’s words with many people in the two years since they talked that first time, knowing they apply to every area of all of our lives. We have encountered situations these past two years that required an extra measure of trust in the Lord, and Ralph’s words have been a great reminder of the constancy of our Lord, a premise he had no doubt learned in the trenches of life.
We also saw clearly the love Ralph had for you and the kids. There’s no other ministry that means more than the ministry to our families, and Ralph obviously took that call seriously.
We can’t fathom what you and the kids are feeling right now, but we are praying for the comfort only God can supply, and that peace that has nothing to do with our circumstances. We know our God draws near to the broken-hearted, and we trust He will continue to sustain you.
in His love…
Scott & Shelly Thompson
It’s at times of loss when we can really see that our hearts truly long for eternity. Praise God for the beauty of knowing our grief will be comforted and our pain will cease. I’m so sorry for the loss of your husband and dad.
We have prayed for you. May God bless your family with comfort and peace.
Natalie Wade
I pray for the family of pastor Ralph Arthur who just passed away. I cry for the family and may God continue to bless the family at this sad time. I’m deeply sorry for the loss.
To the Arthur family,
My husband and I had the privilege to meet Pastor Ralph last year as we completed our Pre-Marriage counseling. Our prayers are with you during this difficult time. We pray that the Lord would comfort you and strengthen you.
When my friends mom was in the hospital, Pastor Ralph came and was there for the family and friends. He encouraged us from the word of God, and prayed for and with us. I will continue praying for his family. What an amazing man of God.
I was shocked and truly saddened to hear of the passing of Pastor Ralph. He was a great person and a true man of God. I know that he will be truly missed here, but heaven is a better place with him there. Just another good reason to look forward to heaven to be able to see him again. I got to know him when I went to Harvest, when you talked to him, he cared about you. My heart goes out to his family in this time of loss, God bless you Arthur family.
Bryan Davis
I just want to say God bless you. Ralph was a Godly man who loved the Lord. When I needed prayer and counseling over the phone he was there. We will miss him but look forward to seeing him in heaven. The family is in my prayers.
Love always,
Karen Basehart and Family
Pastor Ralph was a kind and passionate man. Thank God that he passed away in peace. May God help his family through this time. Thanks be to the Lord that he is now in heaven with Jesus. I am glad that I got to know this man briefly. His family was blessed to have him, and I pray they continue to be blessed.
Mary Carter
Hi Cheri,
I just want to tell you that we are praying for all you. May God richly bless all of you. Your husband was a Godly and a special man. Also I want to thank you very much for your prayers. Pastor Ralph told me that you were praying for my husband Allan.
With love in Christ,
Delia Newell
My husband and I were blessed to meet Pastor Ralph for the first time on February 12, 2009. We were in need of marriage counseling. Even though we are members of a church in Los Angeles, Pastor Ralph received us graciously. He listened to our issues with undivided attention. After carefully assessing our situation, he ministered the word of God in such a profound way regarding marriage, that I will never be the same. He caused me to realize that “there is no ME in marriage”. He also said that my husband was made in the image of God and since God is Love, my husband’s purpose is to love me. Then he looked at me and said that my purpose in the marriage is to respect my husband and allow him to lead. He gave us the uncompromised word. For that I am forever grateful to him. I was saddened to read in the bulletin today that he had passed. I’ll always remember him, even though I only met him once, his life impacted my life and my marriage in a great way.
My prayers are with the Arthur Family and the entire Harvest Family.
Cheri, Tommy, David, Joshua, Caleb & Andrea:
46 years I have known Ralph, 39 years as best of friends, 36 years Tweedy and I have been in very close relations with you his family(s). Still…we cannot fathom the loss you are all personally feeling. From the moment we put our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, we all long for heaven and the joy’s therein, but when He calls for someone close to us, it’s hard at first, oh, not to have the joy because we can absolutely rejoice with Ralph, that he is in the very presence of He who saved him, but to express joy in the midst of such great loss will be hard… for now. You can take great comfort in those who the Lord has called alongside of you who are there to minister to you, who share your pain, who lift you up in prayer, who encourage you, not forgetting, never forgetting but realizing life for all of us is but a vapor, a breath compared to the glorious riches of eternity where we will be reunited with Ralph and others who have gained heaven before us.
Tweedy and I still reflect back to the time we shared the Lord with Ralph. He went home and attended Harvest the very next Sunday, where he went forward and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He called us that evening and shared it with us and I will tell you right now…he never looked back. The Lord had called him by name, from that very day Ralph had a shepherds heart. We never saw him without God’s word in hand or close by. My observation of Ralph’s life is that he never ever wasted an encounter with the Lord. When God revealed Himself to Ralph either through His word, prayer, or another brother in the Lord, Ralph seized those encounters and made them a part of his life. Every time we saw Ralph he had grown so much in the Lord. It was obvious that God had special plans for him and it is equally obvious that Ralph has fulfilled that plan. I believe we all, who knew Ralph, whether as a co-worker, a friend, a pastor, a counselor, a father, a husband, can say without question or doubt… well done Ralph. We love you, we will miss you and we will see you again. Cheri, Tommy, David, Joshua, Caleb & Andrea, we love you too, we continue to lift you before the Lord and we will see you soon.
Our God is so good all the time.
Dwight & Tweedy Wingate
My heart sank with a deep saddness to hear of Pastors Ralph’s passing this morning at church. My prayers go out to his family. I first met Pastor Ralph five years ago in July. My son Andrew was 13 days old. Pastor Ralph was sent to Loma Linda hospital by the church to pray with my husband and I as our son was to undergo open heart surgery. He was such a blessing to my husband, my family, and myself. As Pastor Greg stated,” He truely was a man of God.” He was equipped with the Holy Spirit and knew the perfect words to say during those tough times at the hospital. We had the blessing a year and a half later as he dedicated both our children to the Lord. His prayers were awesome. Later that year I chose to be baptized and was blessed that Pastor Ralph was able to do it. He loved to see how Andrew was growing. It was great to see Pastor Ralph smile in awe of the miracle the Lord had done for my son. All praise and glory be to God. Again to Pastor Ralph’s wife and family, my family and I will be praying for you just as Pastor Ralph did for us. God bless you.
Pastor Ralph was truly a blessing to me in my time of need. His encouraging and loving words were a ray of light and hope after my mother’s passing. I can’t thank God enough for giving me the opportunity to be ministered to by Pastor Ralph in TLC. He glowed with his love for Jesus and it was contagious. I always left the meetings having a better understanding and feeling more loved by God than I did walking in. I still use his words to comfort me to this day and I will never forget him.
I continue to pray for God’s comfort and love for the Arthur family.
Love,
Jennifer Ball
During a difficult time in my life somewhere around 2001 or early 2002 I became aware that my then marriage was likely destined to end in divorce. In a broken moment seeking strength and hope in the Lord, I ended up at my home church’s doors seeking pastoral care … if nothing else, to strengthen my then my feeble knees, broken heart and my sunken shoulders. As a result I ended up in Pastor Ralph’s Arthur’s office– the perfect place for me to have been that day. I may as well have been at the feet of Jesus Himself or rather in the throne room of God, because quite literally that was where the love and care of Pastor Ralph Arthur’s attentive heart escorted me too. I don’t remember his exact words that day, but I distinctly remember weeping profusely. In the midst of my sighing I heard the sounds of a friend of God, Pastor Ralph. You see, what I heard was the gasping breath and tears of a man with the heart of Jesus — Pastor Ralph. Amongst his many gifts to us, was that he was one who would weep with those who weep (Romans 12: 15).
Thank you God for having gifted us with the man Ralph Arthur!
Bryan Graves
Bryan Graves
Cheri,
My heart goes out to you. What a wonderful husband and shepherd your Ralph was and is. His compassion to the body of Christ and his love and devotion to you Cheri was a beautiful picture of Jesus.
The way he sent you flowers at the Pastor’s wives retreat and the women’s retreat, without fail ….every single time…..shows his thoughtfulness and desire to show you, Cheri how special you were to him.
I’m praying for you every day…several times a day. We love you and we will miss your Ralph…..I so look forward to heaven when Rick and I and you and Ralph will once again spend time together with JESUS.
Sharon Schutte
Our prayers are with Pastor Ralph Arthur’s wife & kids, he will be missed! But what a blessing and comfort to know he’s in the presence of our Lord Jesus, where we long to be on that day! Sorry for your loss. Sincerely,
The Sanchez Family
What a blessed and fruitful man, Ralph Arthur. He was kind and sweet to us and we will never forget him. Our deepest sympathies to his family and prayers to you for comfort and peace that only our Lord and Savior can give you.
Kathleen and Bill Dogendorf