Dennis Stastka, 72, of Robertsdale has accumulated a long list of areas in which he has served in his church, including being a volunteer worship leader for 25 years and church pianist. His community service is extensive as well. His mission is to serve others, which he continues to do while undergoing treatment for stage 4 kidney cancer. Stastka, who attended what was then Livingston University, has been an independent insurance agent for 52 years. He and Joan, his wife of 50 years, owned their own agency for 20 years. The couple has three daughters and 11 grandchildren. Their family room has a plaque that reads, “Our blessings call us ‘Meme’ and ‘Papa.'”
Ministry description: Layman, deacon, chairman of trustees, leader of facilities committee, member of steering committee for possible expansion of worship center, member of missions committee, trustee for Baldwin Baptist Association
Church name: Bethel Baptist Church, Robertsdale, in Baldwin Baptist Association
Life verse: “I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7–8).
Describe where you focus your greatest ministry efforts.
I am a board member for the Women’s Care Medical Center and Youth-Reach Gulf Coast and am on the advisory board of Under His Wings. I also have served 40 years on the support group for the Baldwin location of the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches. As chairman of the missions board of International Missions Association (an independent missions effort under the leadership of Southern Baptist evangelist and missionary Johnny Tucker), I have had the pleasure of serving for 35 years and have been on missions trips to Guatemala, El Salvador and the Philippines.
Q: Who was or is one of the most influential people in your faith life? Why?
A: My mom, Dorothy Stastka, and my dad, Jerry Stastka, who always set the example of servanthood, besides making sure I was in church and involved from the very beginning of my faith walk.
Q: What has God been teaching you lately?
A: After my diagnosis with cancer (in October 2022), God has been teaching me to literally take one day at a time. I initially asked God, “Why me?” and then I realized that I should be asking, “Why not me?” I am hoping and praying that God will use me to encourage others on their faith walk as I travel this journey of cancer. I have been so blessed by literally hundreds of Christians praying for me nationwide and even on foreign soil. God has been so good to me, and I’m surely not deserving of any of His blessings!
Q: Have you ever read a book or heard a song that changed the way you think about God and faith? What was it and what did you learn from it?
A: “God Will Make a Way” and “He’s Been Faithful to Me.” These two songs speak for themselves in relation to my life’s journey with God. … Another favorite song that I’ve sung many times in our church is “Oh May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful.” My prayer is that one day when I’m home with my Jesus, folks I have left behind can say, “He was faithful to the very end!”
Q: Does your church have any special traditions that mean a lot to you? What are they?
A: We just celebrated Legacy Day, which honors our seniors, and we called it “Old-Fashioned Day.” Sometimes, we get caught up in taking care of and teaching our youth and children, and it is very important that we do; having 11 grandchildren, I can relate. But we need not forget those who have been so faithful to God and His bride, the Church.
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