Pastor’s Year End Report 2020 Pastor’s Pondering of 2020
It’s the second day of 2021 Bonnie’s out for a walk and I’m sitting in my favourite comfy spot in the den thinking about all of the things that have happened over the past year in our community, congregation, and in our own family. To be honest, it’s a bit of a sad reflection, there are members of my own family and close circle that aren’t seeing this New Year and we didn’t have the opportunity to say our good byes. It is a very sad time, and yet it’s also an amazing time seeing God work in a year that most want to write off. I for one am so grateful that He is, and has been, exactly who and what He has promised He will always be; faithful in all things.
Now, here it is, very early on the third day of the new year, Sunday morning, and I find myself sitting in the church sanctuary looking in my Bible. I’m reading words that speak to exactly what I had pondered yesterday. Words found in Isaiah 43; “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (vv1-3) And further on he writes in v19; “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
In this first week of the New Year, looking back over the year that was 2020, I can see times that were tough, times when I didn’t know what to do, what to say, or how to necessarily react. But in every one of those situations, whether personal or family illness, or circumstances relating to church or community, God sometimes whispered, sometimes yelled, or sometimes just quietly moved in my heart, to help me through them. I didn’t get swept away and overwhelmed, or burned up, sure, there were times it felt like it was close. But I take great encouragement from a few of those words in Isaiah; “redeemed”, “called” and “you are Mine”. Those words aren’t just found in Isaiah, those words are strewn throughout God’s Word, and, they are words that have sustained me through the ups and downs of the trials and tragedies of the past year, and every year that came before 2020.
As I thought about the reality that I’m in my 15th year as a pastor (wow, I still think I’m new at this) I came across some stats that reminded me of God’s sustaining grace. The stats said that over 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month and over 4,000 churches closed… and that report was from 2019, without a pandemic. The numbers for 2020 are going to be staggering. And yet, here I sit pondering, here sits this little church and I wonder… why; why am I, why are we still here?
There have been a lot of things going on in people’s lives, good things, and bad, with and without the effects of Covid. 2020 still saw people getting married, babies being born (our family welcomed precious little Felix), people still found new jobs, and yet… marriages crumbled, people died, and jobs evaporated. Through it all, I wonder about my call, wondered about the many pastors who I’m sure felt excited and full of energy when they started out in this “calling” as pastor; what happens? I wondered if, for many, the job became the call instead of remembering it was all to be about the Person doing the calling. My desire for us as Believers; Be Thou [Our] Vision O Lord of [Our] Heart!
I’ve had some amazing quiet times over the past year where I’ve had to allow the Holy Spirit to remind me that He has called me to this; He has called me by name, and I am His. He is the one with the strength and the wisdom. Those times have been deeply personal and very sweet. They’ve been times born out of a deep crying in my spirit for clarity and strength. I cherish those times, even though they were often very difficult and heart wrenching in the moment.
Personal challenges aside, we also had some challenges in our little church in figuring out what to do as we began the journey through Covid; I’m writing this even as we’re in another lock-down. Because of Covid-19 we’ve had to embrace a new normal as individuals, families, and churches. We went seven months without a service in our building. We started back and 2 months later we had several who had to self-isolate and postpone 2 services leading up to Christmas. We’ve had to learn how to be physically distant from one another, which is a challenge for a church that takes fellowship to heart and loves gathering together to Worship.
Of course there are also our Bible studies, men’s breakfasts, youth and children’s ministries, all aspects of how we meet together have been affected by this unprecedented time in our history. Therefore, it is with much gratitude and thanksgiving that, in the midst of all of this, many have stepped up and stepped out and done some truly inspiring things with, and for, our church family.
God truly created a
way where there often looked like there was no way. I’ve seen the care, and the
level of compassion in our church grow in this Covid-19 world. The number of
people who are taking food, calling, checking in on, and just taking the time
to care for one another is encouraging to my heart. It’s great to hear from
people every week about how God is speaking to them through the Word preached
and studied; times of online worship and the extra time that they’ve had personal
time with the Saviour through these weeks and months!
I’m so thankful for the younger generation taking leadership roles as they got our Bible studies and Sunday Schools and Worship Services online to ensure that our congregation is spiritually fed and cared for. Thankful that this has happened in a time that we’re actually able to connect using the technology available. Before Covid hit, we averaged 8-10 people at our one and only mid-week Adult Bible study. Thanks to our tech-savvy young men, David, Tim, and Jonathan, (along with a couple of old guys) we went from one group of 8-10 people, to 6 groups and about 50 of us studying the Word!
And a big thanks to Daniel and Brynn for all the work putting together and recording the music and getting the Services online, where I know, non-churched people are listening, increasing the number of people hearing God’s Word. A big thanks also to Katherine for putting together a Sunday School lesson for the kids each week; I think the adults enjoyed it as well! Thanks also to John for bringing together the Adult Sunday School class while we were online for those many months. And a thank you to all who contributed Video Welcomes, Scripture Readings, and filled in preaching the Word. I praise God for each and every one of you! I also need to thank Neil for his leadership as Deacon Chairman as he ends his 6-year term and takes his time off. He’s helped much, navigating through these times we’re in. (the technology part, not so muchJ)
As I write this, these are still uncertain days as we might wonder when we’ll be able to get back to “normal”. I don’t have an answer for that and my thought is that there will most likely be a “new normal”. One thing I do know is that God hasn’t really called His Church to be normal, He’s called us to be “peculiar”. I take that to mean that we’re called to love very differently than the world loves and to serve differently, with different motives than others. We’re called to put our faith and hope, not in this world getting back to normal, but to put our faith and hope in Someone who is other-worldly, seated in the heavens at the right hand of our Father; His Name is Jesus.
And so, after all the pondering, I can only say that I see that my calling is to be looking to Christ for what He is calling us as His church to do in the days to come. I’m hopeful that we can come back together and worship Him for as long as He allows us breath to do so in whatever form it takes. I can’t promise this church anything, but what I can do is point you to His promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us and will deliver us safely home to be with Him forever in a much more glorious place. A place where years won’t be thought of in terms of old or new, good or bad.
God is absolutely good, and I am sure that by His grace, we ‘ll weather the changes and challenges together with all the fruits of the Spirit. I’m pretty sure it might be flavoured the salt of tears along with a bit of humour and awkwardness? But, with God leading I’m excited about the possibilities that this new chapter of church has for us. The ability to reach people all over the world. The ability to study the Word together from our homes or in the church building, and to have time and opportunity to share with each other even if we find ourselves separated.
Even in lock downs, we are still the Church that exists to glorify our God, a church that can continue to worship in many ways as we disciple and build relationships. And, we are still a little Church that can reach out to the world with the love of Christ in ways we hadn’t even imagine a year ago before the pandemic hit. In the midst of a world that is constantly changing, the most important thing remains constant; God’s message of love and salvation for this world that is broken and suffering. Lets love Him with all of our hearts, and love one another as Christ has loved us, until He takes us home!
“So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28
In His gracious, merciful, and glorious grip, in 2021 and always,
Pastor Anthony