The Story of
the Tree

The following day, Pastor Keith began stripping the dead bark from the log and cleaning away the cobwebs and dirt. Beneath the rough exterior was a surprisingly beautiful piece of wood. Keturah suggested having it sanded smooth and sealed, and in the meantime, she decorated it with garden gnomes and sunflowers.

By mid-2024, the log still sat unfinished. That summer, the Mosher family hosted a missionary from India in their home. During his stay, they cleared their home of anything that could resemble idols, including the garden gnomes. The log was left bare once again, standing quietly in their garage.

On April 24, 2025, a friend named Adian shared with Pastor Keith the meaning behind his own name. Adian had been studying the names of God and their origins, and Pastor Keith learned that his name, derived from a Scottish surname, traced back to the Celtic root kayto- meaning “wood.” The detail felt significant, though its meaning wasn’t fully clear until the next day.

The following morning, another friend, Andrew, came over to help the Moshers begin Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. As they wrapped up, Pastor Keith remembered that Andrew’s family owned a woodshop, so he invited him into the garage to look at the log. Explaining their vision for it—sanded, sealed, maybe stained—he asked Andrew’s opinion. Andrew noticed the slanted top and suggested cutting it flat to use as a table base. When Pastor Keith called Keturah in to consider it, she immediately said no—the shape couldn’t be changed. Then Andrew looked at the log again and asked a simple question: “Is this going to be the pulpit in your church?”

In that moment, both Pastor Keith and Keturah were struck with revelation. The log was not simply a discarded piece of wood; it was to become the pulpit of their future church—the place where Pastor Keith would preach the Word of God.

The next morning, during his daily walk, Pastor Keith prayed: “Lord, if this tree is to be Your pulpit, what will be the name of Your church?” The answer came immediately: The Carpenter’s House. He then asked God for a foundation verse, and one was given:

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit."

That evening, Keturah shared her own heart about the tree. She had overheard Pastor Keith discussing with Andrew the idea of staining it, and she gently told him it shouldn’t be stained. To her, the tree was perfect as it was—rescued from the side of the road, full of cracks and imperfections, yet still beautiful. In her eyes, it was a picture of redemption: just as Jesus finds each of us in our brokenness, sees our beauty, and brings us home.

For Pastor Keith, the tree soon became more than just a symbol. It was a sacred gift from God, entrusted with a great responsibility—to preach the truth of God’s Word from behind it. When he examined the rings of the tree, he discovered that it had been planted 26 years earlier—the very same year he and Keturah had moved to Las Vegas. The timing was no coincidence. To him, it was a breathtaking reminder of God’s sovereignty and the unseen ways His hand guides every detail of life.

The story of the tree is more than a family memory—it is a testimony of God’s providence. Pastor Keith’s prayer is that it not only inspires hope, but also draws people to experience the presence of God for themselves at The Carpenter’s House. Here, in this place, the invitation is simple: to encounter the mighty Creator of the universe who sees us, redeems us, and makes us His own.

In 2023, Pastor Keith Mosher and his wife, Keturah, were walking through their neighborhood when Keturah noticed a large log placed out by a trash bin. It was rough and weathered—covered in dead bark, cobwebs, and dirt. Intrigued, she stopped to look at it and asked her husband to bring it home. Pastor Keith’s first response was, “What are you going to do with a log?” Though she didn’t have an immediate answer, Keturah was certain she wanted to keep it. Trusting her sense of purpose, Pastor Keith returned with a furniture dolly and hauled the log back to their home.