Power Hour | Ep. 13 | How To Build A Legacy That Lasts

In this special episode of the Power Hour, we take time to honor the life and legacy of our founding pastor, Steve Isaak—a man whose faith, obedience, and leadership helped build something that continues to impact lives today.

Titled “How To Build A Legacy That Lasts,” this conversation goes beyond memories. We dive into what it actually takes to build a life that outlives you. Looking at the example of Moses, we unpack the kind of faith, surrender, and obedience required to lead well, finish strong, and pass something meaningful on to the next generation.

Legacy isn’t about platform—it’s about faithfulness.

Whether you’re leading a church, building a family, or simply trying to live a life that matters, this episode will challenge you to think bigger than today and live in a way that echoes into eternity.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build something that truly lasts, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more leadership, faith, and church growth conversations from the Power Hour.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Today everybody, we are back for another episode of Hour Hour. As always, this is uh Pastor Kyle and Pastor Ty. And uh we have uh a little different feel for one today. Um we as a church um as just a family of believers, we were very saddened this last Sunday uh with the death of our founding pastor, Pastor Steve Isaac. And uh it it's gonna be a little different podcast than we normally do. Part of it will be a bit of a tribute uh because of all the men that I've met over my life. He is he is one of those men that that he he deserves a tribute. Um, I mean, what an amazing just pillar of the faith. And uh, you know, I've I only knew him for a few months, and uh uh, but during that time I was able to help him in different ways around his house and uh kind of get to know him and and chat with him with uh just various topics. And I remember the last time, uh one of the last times I saw him, we were able to pray over him, and I remember I only knew him for a few months. He only knew me for a few months, yeah. He still wanted me to know how much he loved me. Uh, and that just speaks to who I think Pastor Steve is. So we are going to get into a bit with Pastor Steve, some stories, and then I also want to take some time and talk about legacy. Uh, because you know, at the end of the day, we all are constantly focused and distracted by the world, and it's easy to get so caught up in the now that it's easy to forget what we will leave behind, and that's the legacy that we are going to talk to. Um, but I'm gonna pass it over to you, Ty. I know you you've known Steve a lot longer, a lot longer than me, and had a different relationship with him.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Yeah, I you know, I guess the best way to start would be to start from the beginning. I remember when I was interviewing to become the pastor of powerhouse, and I knew right away, I was like, you know, there's a lot of people I'm excited to meet, I'll preach all those things. But the only thing that was on my mind is I've got to meet Pastor Steve, his wife Sue, and me coming here is dependent on how well, you know, we get along, just being honest. You know, he was a huge influence on the church still. He he planted the church, founded the church, pastored the church for decades, and um, that was just a really important piece. And I knew within five minutes of meeting him that I was like, I'm not worried at all. This is a pastor that I love, that loves me. We share similar hearts, similar visions, and man, not only could we work together, I think we were blessed to work together. Uh I just remember I was able to share so much with him about the vision for the church and him sharing the history and his vision for the church. And uh, you know, I'm not naive. I I know I'm sure I made some changes or did some things that wasn't his favorite, but he was always so honorable and so loving. And I think one of my one of my favorite things about him is he was my pastor, you know what I mean? And not just like, hey, Pastor Steve is a founding pastor, but Pastor Steve's someone I could go to when I needed a pastor, when I needed someone to pray for me, to counsel me for advice. Uh and that's you know, I know a lot of guys that have worked with their predecessors and not been able to form that kind of relationship. And it's just, I don't know, it was an amazing blessing. It was an amazing blessing.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, there's something about it. Um, I love the fact that as younger pastors, uh, we were able to both of us in different ways uh connect with a pastor that was our predecessor, and yet he didn't see us as us coming in challenging what he had done, but instead carrying on the vision further. Um, you know, it was kind of funny. My last church, I it I also had a pastor Steve, and uh, you know, he uh, you know, is still doing great and is still there helping lead the church through the transition. But there were so many times that I could come to him and be like, I think I'm going to do this, or I'm thinking about doing this. And sometimes he was like, Yeah, he's like, I don't think I might do it like that, but he's like, I trust you. And uh he was always very, very honoring, and then there was other times he's like, can we wait for a little bit? He's like, I just I think if we did this next year or something like that, and you know, he uh provided a lot of wisdom at the same point, and uh it's so important. We don't see that as much, just the you know, the older generation. I don't think it's from a lack of desire, but it's just it doesn't tend to happen as much where the the older generation is able to uh help the younger generation what what they feel like God's put on their heart.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Yeah, I I think one of my favorite memories was a more recent memory. Uh a few months ago, maybe not even that, maybe it was just weeks. Uh Pastor Steve was talking to me about how he was excited that me and you, some of our staff, got to go to a church planting conference in Texas. Yeah. And he was telling me, hey, this time next year I want to go with you.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

And I just love the fact that, man, in his heart of hearts, he still had the same vision, the same mission, the same heart, where it wasn't I'm done, I'm checked out, but it was casting a vision for the future. And like, man, I still want to be a part of people knowing Jesus, of new churches being planted, of people being reached. And I think that's what made him so powerful in my life. Is I felt like Pastor Steve is who I hope to be when I'm 70 years old. You know what I mean? He he still had a heart for the lost, he had a heart for people, he had a heart for seeing churches planted, people reached. And man, you know, nowadays it's still challenging to plant churches. Like, don't don't get me wrong, it's one of the most challenging things to do. But nowadays, we have so many resources and so many pastors and so much technology. He planted churches when it was not cool. Right out of his garage. Yeah, right out of his garage when there was no funding, when there was no money. He just had a heart, a vision, and a desire to be obedient. And uh even this week, our superintendent sent me an article from the newspaper of Steve being interviewed for planting the church, and I think he's actually bringing it with him. Um, that's cool to sh to have at the church. But it just reminded me that uh Steve's still my hero, you know what I mean? He's someone that I think we could look up to and emulate and say, man, the the the culture may change, the times may change, but that's still the kind of pastor I hope to be.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Yeah, I can't help but think uh especially a lot this week. Um, you know, we we were just looking out at uh Soda Springs walking around that campus and uh uh interviewed a potential uh campus pastor for that, and then everything that's happening in Fort Hall and seeing this huge revival that's been going on the last few months out there. Um, and then just even in American Paul's with over 500 people coming through the door Easter weekend um at our church and just all the excitement of what is both happening and what will happen, like that is happening because of Pastor Steve. Like he he had a vision, he looked around and he he wasn't satisfied with what he saw as far as churches reaching the community and decided it if no one else, Lord send me. And he started something out of his garage, and it was in his garage for years, too. Had a story recently about how they had over like 120 people in their garage, uh, like for an Easter Sunday, just absolutely insane that they were able to pack that many people, and it's like just looking at what we are now in the position to do, it it's because of the faithfulness of Pastor Steve two decades ago that makes this even possible.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Yeah, yeah, I agree. And I remember um my first time at we have a local diner called MJ's, and I remember my first week being here, Pastor Steve treated me out to breakfast, and there you go. He and I are big eaters together. So we're sitting there, we're having our chicken fried steak with eggs and potatoes and a stack of pancakes, and he's just talking to me about what the Lord showed him for the vision of the church and asked me, you know, what is God putting on your heart and what is the vision that God has given you? And um just I don't know, of not only a pastor that was faithful in the past, obedient to the Lord, uh greatly loved anywhere. I've never heard anyone have a you know a bad thing to say about Pastor Steve, but still a heart for the future. And I think it kind of brings us into our topic today of legacy is man, how do we not do our own thing but celebrate and build and continue to build upon the foundation that pastors like Pastor Steve have built? Because in today's culture and generation, there's a lot of pastors retiring there's a lot of churches open looking for pastors, a lot of churches struggling, and it's and it's time for young pastors to stand up and step out. But you know, I I think that one of the great tragedies of not just now, but just forever, as long as I've ever heard of, is forgetting the the heroes and the stories of the past while you build towards the future, you know what I mean? And so how do we honor the legacy by remembering the history, honoring the history, but also keeping the same spirit as we march into the future? And I think, man, if all we're focused on is the history, then we're attending a funeral. And if all we're focused on is the future, we're building without really understanding what we're building up on. And so I think legacy is this unique thing where it's it's the tension of both is remembering where we come from, what God has done in the past, who God has used in the past, while also believing that God's gonna continue to use us in the future. Uh I think even I think of even my the message. I've been um preparing a message for Pastor Steve's legacy service here the later this week. And I'm uh I don't know, I have the special honor of I'm I'm I'm I'm holding on to two of his Bibles. His wife Sue was um very gracious and allowed me to grab two of his Bibles, the one he studies from and the one he preaches from. And I'm excited to preach from his Bible this Saturday. And um I'm preaching on Moses and Moses getting a vision of the Lord for the promised land, seeing all of God's promises and God showing him, but him not being able to be the one that fulfills them. And it it reminds me of our time as pastors, is just like Pastor Steve, Pastor Steve had a vision that hasn't yet fully been accomplished. God gave him a vision bigger than he could fulfill in his lifetime. God's given us a vision bigger than we can fulfill in our lifetime. But it's not about what we can finish, it's about being obedient with where God has pointed us and establishing things so that the next generation can carry the torch.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

And man, I I know for me and you both, we've both in different ministry contexts, youth ministry, young adults ministry, worship ministry, wherever we've gone, we've both had great success in those seasons. Yeah, but I think we both share the same tragedy that when we leave, we've watched those ministries crumble and fall apart and eventually die. Right. And then someone started over from new. You know, we we both come from the from from youth ministries where it's like every new youth pastor changes the name of the youth group and starts all over and loses those kids and gets new kids, and it's like restarting every time. You see a lot of churches where it's like every pastor that comes in wants to change everything about the church and do this or do that. And man, I think looking back at even you know, in my in my being a passionate rookie, I think I missed it in ways. And how much how much more can we accomplish rather than coming in and trying to steer the ship in a different direction, continuing where it was left off and moving the vision forward?

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Yeah, I think the uh the difficult thing is no one wants to build a foundation because a foundation is not it's not sexy, it's not attractive, it's not uh in a lot of it. It's not usually seen. It's not usually seen. And it's like, you know, you start building a house and it's like, oh, the foundation is set. That's that's cool. But it's when walls start going up that you you start seeing it, and people start getting excited. And I think a lot of leaders today, they they want to jump to that that phase where people are getting excited and they're seeing this this new ministry being built and developed. And unfortunately, they miss the the important side of the the foundation. Like our our church at Powerhouse right now, uh it's doing incredible things, and some of it's flashy, some of it's not. Um, but at the same point, we're also developing leaders, and we're preparing for the fact that you know I'm I'm in my late 30s. Uh, you're just barely behind me, you're right there as well.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Those two years matter to me, though, I'm just saying. They do. They do.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

My back reminds me of it. Um, I got you in the hair department at least. That's you know, that's true. But at the same point, it's like when you look at the entire world and the history of the world, uh, and then you look at the history of a church, you know, something like say we stay here our entire ministries and uh we're here for the next 30 years, which would be awesome if God allowed us to do so. 30 years is not is not a lot of time. In the grand scheme of things. At some point, we're gonna have to step out, and it'll be up to to someone else. You know, I I appreciate the fact that Steve thought about that. Um, I know a lot of pastors, they unfortunately they stay at a church too long uh because they they don't know either how to build a foundation or or how to step out. And I've seen it over and over again, it makes it really difficult on the next pastor coming in because too much was set in stone that that needs to change. Um, but I look at Pastor Steve, he was the pastor um of a church that he started for about 10 years and then decided it was someone else's turn to to carry on. And because of that, there's there's a legacy that was able to be built off of that foundation that I don't think would have been built built otherwise. And I appreciate the fact that you know, even excuse me, even with him stepping out, like he never just disappeared out of the church. It was still his church, and he he still attended and he attended faithfully right up to the end. I mean, he was there just a few weeks ago during Easter.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah. Man, I there's so much I could say, it's hard to know, hard to know what to say, but I agree with you. I think that knowing our season, I appreciate that Pastor Steve's identity wasn't built in just being the pastor of the church, but he's able to serve not just in my ministry, but my predecessor's ministry faithfully, humbly, uh being supportive, but also being um still powerful and dynamic. Man, there was no doubt that Pastor Steve could still bring the word like nobody before. I remember my first month here. I asked Pastor Steve to help me with our Christmas Eve service, and I said, Hey, uh, would you do communion? And he was excited and thankful to do communion, and it was powerful. I remember when he did communion a food uh for Good Friday. I remember when he did communion uh just on a Sunday, and it was some of our most powerful times in church. And man, there was no question that Pastor Steve was still anointed. He'd come to conferences with me, he'd pray over me. You know, one of the one of the greatest honors of my life is I got to kind of break the rules. And usually I was ordained last year, and usually it's only the the presbyters, those that are like, you know, nominated to like the leaders of leaders, you know, the pastors of pastors, the people that are like uh voted and appointed, and they're they're the big wigs of the AG that get to pray for you. And I asked, I was like, hey, could we make a special exception? Can I have Pastor Steve be one of the people that pray for me? And they graciously allowed that. And one of my favorite pictures I still have on my phone today that I'll cherish forever is Pastor Steve standing behind me with his hands upon me, praying blessing and favor on my life. Praying, I remember him specifically telling me that he's praying that God would take me farther than he ever took him. And that's a big, that's a big thing to do. But uh just how humble and how powerful he still was is I I'm thankful for a man that it wasn't a lack of ability, it wasn't a lack of of anointing, but it was just uh a firmness in his identity. He knew that God could still use him, whether he had a title or not, whether he had a um, you know, whether he was in charge or not, but he was able to bless as someone that could support, that someone that could lead, that someone could do all things. And man, whatever, whatever I can glean from him, whatever mantle he was able to lay upon me, even preaching uh from his Bible, reading his notes has been powerful. And um I just hope that he's someone that I can continue to remember and glean from from decades and decades, because he's again the kind of pastor you hope to be when you're 70. You know what I mean? That kind of pastor you hope to be when when it's time for you to pass the baton the next season, the kind that supports, the kind that's humble, the kind that's still anointed and powerful and ready to encourage and equip the next generation to continue the legacy. You know, I think of Moses to Joshua, I think of Jesus and anointing the apostles, I think of Paul to Timothy. I just those powerful moments where um they're able to humbly identify, guide, empower, equip the next generational leaders and allow their legacy, allow their work, allow their anointing to continue past their own lives. And uh I'm gonna talk about it at the funeral too, but one of the other things besides Powerhouse Church that Steve gave his life to was something we support called Light for the Lost, which is an organization that prints materials in different languages that missionaries can use, Bibles and study guides and all those things. One of the big ones is the Fire Bible. Some of you might know this, but he was the Light for the Lost director in Idaho for a long time, and he's still probably the most well-known one, and even nationally is well known and his passion visiting other countries, uh, working to get Bibles and specifically like these fire study Bibles in the hands of so many people, and uh even seeing his fire study Bible right here next to me as we're talking, and and um I don't know, I say let's say that I I was recently asked to jump in as Light for Lost Director for Idaho, and I'm gonna be able to do that and be able to continue his work there, and it's just been so powerful to again not reinvent the wheel, not move in a different direction, but just consistently march in the direction that my predecessor, my pastor, appointed before me and be able to honor him, continue his work, and be just another step, another season in the work of God that goes all the way back to the beginning of time. It's just humbling and it's powerful.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

You know, you see, there's a lot of leaders out there that can lead, uh, that can take control to cast vision and direct accordingly. Um I think it's a lot more rare to find someone who not only can do that, but then is also willing to give up control, knowing that what he is building is not his own. It's just powerful.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

It is, it is.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Uh anything else you want to say, Pastor Ty, before we close up?

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Uh I just encourage anyone. Um, if you're younger, glean what you can from those that went before you. If you're a young leader, a young pastor, ask their stories. Their stories are inspirational, they're powerful. Ask, ask their best wisdom, ask their best advice. Be hungry to learn from past generations. I encourage anyone that's older, man, really believe in the next generation. You know what I mean? Really encourage and equip them. Yeah. Make you know, I think legacy is more than just what we build, it's who we build and who continues the work. And I just would encourage both sides, young, old, and somewhere in between, let's not only keep building, but let's keep an eye out for who we can bring alongside with us to continue. Building when our time is done. And I'm just again so thankful that Pastor Steve was someone that was so faithful with that. That was faithful with what God put in his hands, but also faithful with the people that God brought around him.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Yeah. That's right. Just remember for our listeners, it's it's important to live in the now, to not live in the fear of what's to come. Because as Christians, we know uh just like Pastor Steve right now, he he is receiving his reward. He is in paradise. Uh as the word says, um truly believe that Sunday night he heard the words, Well done, good and faithful servant. Amen. Because he took honestly a lot of talent, uh, probably even more than me. And uh he invested that back into the kingdom. And uh he did the good work uh every day of his life, and now we get to to stand on those shoulders and that legacy that he has. Uh, you know, I'll just encourage everyone listening if you're if you're young, start building for the future. Uh it it starts with with relationships um through Christ, uh it through the Holy Spirit, through his father, and then it continues on to relationships with those around you. You know, the greatest legacy you will build is is one that is carried on by those you love and you care for the most, but also those that maybe never uh even heard of you. You know, I I know we are about to get into Soda Springs and some other campuses around eastern Idaho, uh, and there will be people that will be coming through the doors that probably have never heard of the name Steve Isaac, and yet his legacy um it will be the reason why uh we're there, gives us the ability to be there in the first place, and uh we're going to continue to see lives transformed and people experience the power of God because of uh his legacy. So I'll just encourage you, if you're young, start building that foundation now. If you're older, it's never too late to start. Uh, you know, I I have a relationship with uh with Pastor Steve that only lasted four months, and yet he made an eternal impact uh on my life as well. It it's never too late to get started. Um, so we would encourage you if you can be praying for uh uh the family family during this tough time with his wife Sue, his kids, his grandkids, his great-grandkids. We we get to celebrate uh his life this Saturday, which will be be amazing. But we just wanted to take a little time and do something a little different uh today. So hopefully you you enjoyed it. Uh be looking into uh legacy, be looking into the legacy of uh you see the early Israelites going from Egypt to um to the promised land and each generation building on the next as it led to Jesus coming and giving us the ultimate sacrifice. But we love you guys, we pray that you have a great rest of your week, and we will see you on the next one.