LEBANON – Roger Sherrer was looking for his package. A parcel company carrying an order for some sports memorabilia had not shown up on the expected delivery date. It was to have been delivered to the church office at First Baptist Church in Lebanon where Sherrer is one of the pastors. But instead the package accidentally went to a family in a town about 70 miles away.
That was a “divine appointment” that the Lord set up, Sherrer said. Through this misdirected package he was able to meet a little boy with cancer, along with his family, who very much needed a pastor. Pastor Sherrer said, “It was the most impactful knock on a door I had ever made.”
So the way it played out was the church office got a phone call from a lady in the Versailles area saying she received a package with Sherrer’s name and the church name, and it was not hers. It had been delivered along with with a large shipment of medical supplies.
Sherrer decided not to try to arrange for the parcel company to pick it up and redeliver it to his office. He needed to go to the Lake of the Ozarks area for a hospital visit anyway, so he took a detour to Versailles located a little west of there.
He said the address was in a very rural and remote location and he drove and drove. His GPS lost signal, and he was on his own to find the address. Sherrer admitted he was not very happy with his parcel company. But as the lady got him his package, he realized he had been sent to the home of a very sick little boy. The boxes of medical equipment and supplies revealed that a 9-year-old, chronically ill boy lived there and required constant medical care.
The boy’s name is Johnathan Rand. His mother, Jenny, and grandmother Donna take care of him around the clock. His brain cancer is considered stage 4, and they don’t know how much longer he will live. He has been sick most of his life.
Sherrer’s heart melted. The grandmother handed the package to him. But it was very obvious to the pastor that the Lord had sent him there for a purpose. He assured them that he and the church would be visiting and helping them as they provide care for Johnathan. He said “I’m going to be a pastor to them forever.”
The church heard of the visit in a sermon the next Sunday. People began offering to help the family. Gifts and financial help were soon being offered. Jenny and Donna had to admit Johnathan to a hospital in Columbia around the holiday season this past year.
So while Sherrer was regularly visiting the family, he also arranged for others to come see Johnathan. Sherrer is a former Laclede County Sherrif’s deputy, so he had several law enforcement and first responder connections. He arranged for some gifts to be delivered to Johnathan in the hospital by several fire and police department officers in the Columbia and Versailles area. Agencies that participated were: Columbia Fire and Police, Laurie PD, and Sunrise Beach FD. They brought toys and blankets for Johnathan.
Johnathan is in a wheelchair stroller and has a lot of medical equipment connected to him. He is cheerful in spite of his physical condition. He is non-verbal, and he has a sweet disposition. He responds to the pastor with eye movements. Sherrer has spent a lot of time with this family in the last 7 months.
At Christmastime the pastor reminded the Lebanon FBC that the innkeeper in Jesus’ birthplace of Bethlehem was in the right place at the right time. The misdirected package put the pastor there in a similar situation.
The Rand family are believers in Jesus, though they do not get to attend church very often. Donna, the grandmother, told the pastor, “When we noticed the label on the package was addressed to a church, we knew this package was not delivered here by accident.”
The church has embraced the family. As Pastor Sherrer puts it, “It was a reminder that in an accidental encounter God can use a negative situation for eternal consequences.” He agreed that it was an opportunity for them to “be Jesus” to that family in need of a warm touch.
Sherrer is the senior pastor of teaching and connections at the Lebanon church. He serves as part of a team of pastors as they lead the congregation. They all agree that the connection with the Rand family has been a positive thing for First Baptist.
“When Johnathan is reunited with God someday, this family has a pastor and a church standing with them,” Sherrer concluded.