MANISTEE — The Rev. Patrick Pointer knows when he stands before his congregation at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday at Manistee Assemblies of God, it will be very emotional for him.
After 20 years of faithfully serving the needs of the Manistee congregation, Pointer is stepping away from ministering to focus his attention on his health issues. For the past two years he has been battling multiple health challenges, which started when he was diagnosed with bone cancer in June 2021, which he was able to overcome.
From that point on, he has suffered a vast array of other health issues, the causes of which have puzzled even doctors at the University of Michigan. Pointer therefore decided to submit his resignation to church authorities on 2 January.
“The big decision was made because it was just time to step down and focus on my health,” Pointer said. “I’m not really retiring either, it’s just that I have to step down now. We really don’t know what the future holds at this point, and we have no plans to leave the community at this time.”
He said serving at Manistee for the past 20 years has been wonderful for him, his wife, Joni, and their children. The bond he created with his troupe is second to none in his opinion.
“We love the community, the church and the people we serve now and for the last 20 years,” he said. “I have to say that this has probably been the hardest decision I have ever made.”
Pointer said the congregation and others in the community have been very supportive of her fight to improve her health.
He said, “We definitely have a strong love relationship and that’s one of the things I’ve always appreciated about the congregation of the church, we’ve been here for all 20 years.” “We have a congregation that has always loved people and made them feel very accepted.”
However, he stated that it was in his best interest to step away from the ministry at this time until he had more definite answers regarding his health. He has not ruled out returning to the ministry in the future.
“I am an ordained minister in the House of God and this is a life-long commitment to ministry,” he said. “Despite what I’m going through right now, I continue to serve others.”
Pointer has achieved this by creating an online presence documenting his medical journey that he hopes will inspire others who are facing serious medical challenges.
“I do it with a Facebook page called ‘Fight’n the Fight and Keep’n the Faith,'” he said. “This is a page that anyone is welcome to visit and see as it has tracked everything health wise since I was first diagnosed with cancer and cancer cure to date.”
He said that when he posts to that page, he asks for prayer to tell his story in the moment. Another part of why she has the page is to encourage other people who are facing health challenges of their own.
“I have people from all over the world who are part of that page,” Pointer said.
Pointer said he also misses doing something else he enjoys, which is making swords and scabbards for museums, archaeologists, historians and reenactors all over the world.
“I did this to supplement my income and have not been able to do so for the last 21 months,” he said. “My last two swords I did for the Creation Museum in Kentucky.”
Pointer said she hopes to have answers to her health problems in the coming weeks and months. He said he has gone through countless trials as he continues to seek answers.
“My body has been attacked in so many different ways that I’ve seen 32 different medical teams in the last 22 months, and most are at the University of Michigan,” Pointer said. “My case has everyone baffled because each team finds something in their department and then refers to oncology.”
Pointer also had COVID-19 and is part of a long-term COVID study at the University of Michigan, but doctors do not think her problems are to blame for that disease.
He and his family hope that by taking time off to focus on his health issues, Pointer will find some resources, along with treatment, so that he can return to a normal life.
After the service at the church on Sunday, he will be honored with a dinner at the Bungalow Inn.