How,
“together with all of you who are rooted
and grounded in love”, we have come through this past year better able to “comprehend what is the width and length and
depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we
may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)
For
many this, “ability to comprehend”, has
come about through many struggles and tears. We live in a fallen world and no
matter how hard we try and fix it by serving the homeless, or bandaging up the
wounded, or taking in refugees; it is still a fallen world with millions lost
and hurting, even right here in our church family, who need the glorious Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And
so, I’m excited, as I see growth in many here in the way they are reaching out
with that Gospel. But also, how they are continually reaching up to God from
whence our help and our strength comes from and pressing into Christ our
Saviour. So I’m excited about God, and what He’s done in 2015, and about what
He is going to do in 2016.
I’m
excited, and very thankful, for our Sunday School and Children’s Church program,
and the teachers who, week after week, bring God and Christ into the
classrooms. I find it encouraging that Sunday School is doing so well in a time
where many churches have all but abandoned a Sunday School program. I’m excited
for the way we, young and old, are learning together, not only in our Sunday
School but also in our newly shaped Wednesday evening study and prayer time.
I’m
excited, and encouraged to see steady growth in our younger adults, watching
them step into leadership roles, not being afraid to make mistakes; and thankful
for our “older” leaders not being afraid to let them. We have a very rare thing
in our Official Board with 70% of the Board being under the age of 25. Someone
on the Board of another church said that 100% of their Board was over 70! Jesus
used young people!
I
was excited to see 3 people baptized this past summer, again a mix of young and
old; from 14-70-ish! And I was excited to see us welcome 4 people into official
membership; all having been brought here by God through some pretty amazing and
tough circumstances and trials.
Looking
ahead to a new year, I’m excited for this to continue with hopefully many more coming
and becoming involved. Not simply to be involved for the sake of being
involved, but to join in the excitement that I see in those who are involved by
being a part of other people’s lives as they serve together and learn together.
I’m
excited that we have an opportunity to partner with Lorraine and Kgotso
Mashongoane in an exciting new ministry in Lesotho Africa as they leave the
umbrella of Teen Missions and the MSSM program. As we partner with MSC (Missionary
Service Committee) to provide all the legal and foreign affairs type things, it
will be a challenge to learn how to truly be a “sending” church by being more
closely involved in their support, ministry direction, and their spiritual well-being.
I’m
excited to see how, in the church, the new Boards and Committee members work
things out together and how I will have to adapt to having a helping hand doing
some of the administrative duties with our hiring of a part-time secretary.
Pray for Linda and I as we work out what that looks like. (Sister-in-laws
aren’t the easiest to work withJ)
I’m
excited as I anticipate putting together a challenging New Year’s series on
being a disciple; one who “loves completely, lives courageously, and
serves compassionately”. Pondering through the texts that I was given
in November has definitely been affecting my view of discipleship, dramatically,
and I think this series will affect all of us as a church as we move forward.
So
with that, I encourage you to ponder these texts:
“Now before the Feast of the
Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to
the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the
end.” John
13:1
“Then Jesus told his
disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return
for his life?” (Matthew 16:24-26)