Pastor's Report 2023

“He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” —1 Peter 1:3-4

 “It was the best of times…” and, the author continues; “it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity (disbelief), it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” I think that pretty much covers it and that was written by Charles Dickens in the mid 1800’s about what was happening in the late 1700’s. I think it’s a story that fits a lot of epochs or times, even where we live today. But I was reminded of who it is that has all this in the proper perspective as I was listening to an old Casting Crowns song this morning that says; “the world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place…” God’s got it!

 Some of us, over the past year for sure, have felt like it’s falling apart, but with the King who is sovereign over all of life, it’s simply falling into place. I’m not saying in any way that life hasn’t been hard for many of us over the last year, but I just find so much hope in the Gospel of God’s grace. The rest of that song’s verse says; “So when you're on your knees and answers seem so far away, you're not alone, stop holding on and just be held.”

 I am thankful for the many opportunities God has given us to “just be held” in 2023. We’ve grieved together over the death of a dear friend, our sister in Christ, Marnie. She will continue to be missed around here but we rejoice that she is now in glory with her Saviour! As a family we continue to live in, and through, hardship and difficult trials. Whether it be illness or relational struggles, we have the great privilege to go into the throne room of heaven and approach the throne of grace for the help we all need as we lift one another up in prayer.

 We also rejoice as we witnessed 4 young ladies (Emma, Olivia, Julia, and Heidi) step into the waters of baptism in 2023, proclaiming that Jesus has saved them. It’s a sign of their love for Jesus, and their commitment to follow Him in newness of life! We also rejoice in seeing a young couple (Jaako and Ashlin) joined together by God, in holy matrimony. And we are also waiting expectantly along with another young couple (Daniel and Janika), expecting their first little addition to their family very, very soon!

 Over all, I’m very excited about what the Lord is doing in the lives of young people in our little church family. There seems to be a hunger for the Word that has the younger getting involved and active in ministering to their Church family in many, many, ways. From preaching to teaching to holding positions on the Official Board and Deacon’s Board. The average age of the Deacon’s Board has dropped from about 65 down to 50 over the last 2 years. The Official Board average age is less than 45! The future of the Church looks bright as the older make way!

 And now, with many unknowns ahead of us as we enter the new year, especially with my cancer diagnosis, we might wonder what things might look like “tomorrow”. So I am so very thankful we are where we are and we can trust that “things are falling into” exactly the place they’re supposed to and we can have the peace of God that passes all our understanding in the unknown as we trust that He is the one who holds our tomorrow and every day until we are with Him in eternity.

 So, I end this year end report simply rejoicing in Christ for all He has done for us this past year, and excited as we look forward to another year of serving Him!

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” ~ Colossians 3:23-2

 In Christ,

Pastor Anthony

 

Pastor’s Report 2022

“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”– Isaiah 40:30-31

 I used to play a game at lunch time in high school called football. It wasn’t football… but… it was football. I was much too small, not to mentioned scared to death, of some 250-pound guy falling on me. So, this football was lunch time football played inside on a cafeteria table. It involved spinning a coin and, at the right time, placing the tip of your finger on the coin stopping it with the hope of it standing upright under your finger facing in the right direction so that you could roll it off the edge of the opponent’s side of the table to score a touchdown. It might seem lame these days with the i-phones and i-pads and Switch devices, but it was a lot of fun and passed the time away on cold winter days when we couldn’t go downtown for lunch.

 These days, it often feels as if I’m that coin in our football game; spinning and wobbling as I make my way towards the goal. And often it feels like I’m slipping out from under a finger and falling flat, not making any headway or getting any traction; much like that coin would slip and fall flat under my finger, often giving my opponent the win. The difference between a high school mock game of coin football and real life in real ministry is… I can’t fall out from under the Master’s touch and the opponent doesn’t win; can never win.

 I’m so thankful that we have a God who is right there for us, even though life may be spinning, it’s never out of His control. He picks us up and points us toward the goal and often gives us a push in the right direction. Life can come at a dizzying pace and trip us up and I thank Him for His love and His mercy, and His wonderful, marvelous, matchless, grace. And therefore…

 I’m excited about what’s going on in our little church, and I’m excited for what’s going on in many of the lives I love and care for in this little church. There are some new-er faces around the church and it’s been great getting to know you and hear your stories. There are many who have encouraged me by sharing what they’re learning, and how they’re learning to lean on, and trust, our Saviour. At the same time, my heart breaks for those who are going through very difficult times or seasons. We have some who are quite ill and in need of encouragement to persevere.

 So, another year has flown by and some of those things we looked forward to at the beginning of last year are now but distant memories. I was thrilled to be able to attend the final T4G Conference in Louisville KY last April with an old (experienced) Deacon (Neil) and two of our young and excited to learn Deacons, Jonathan and Daniel.

 Zoom meetings continued to hold a place in my calendar as I was able to connect almost monthly with our BGC National and Regional Ministers. A good number of pastors from the 106 churches came together shortly after Covid started, to encourage the pastors across the country and our National Director Kevin Shuler continues to host the first part and then we break into our own District with our District Minister Ken Wilson leading us in personal sharing and praying specifically for each church and Pastor. The BGC is a great organization of churches and pastors who are passionate about Christ’s mission to reach the lost and hurting.

 Our Church Ministries have slowly started to take shape and we’ve got a couple of Bible studies running; one in person and one with attendees who work shift work or find evenings are not as easy to get out and attend. So that group decides what day and time the next lesson will be and meet up on Zoom.

 Sadly, but knowing all things happen for a reason, our number of Sunday School participants dropped over the course of the pandemic and the decision was made to cut the 10:00am Sunday School portion of our Sunday morning. Instead, it was decided to hold a class for three age groups during the Morning Service. We have a good number of teaching teams, some husbands and wives (good on ya!) that teach on a rotating schedule. It seems to be going well and we praise God for that. I admit it was a hard thing to “kill” as the Sunday School hour has been a mainstay over the 40 plus years of this Church’s existence.

 This coming year, hopefully in January, we want to hold a seminar where the congregation can come and gain a little bit of an understanding of our Constitution. It needs some updating and part of the work needing to be done is to bring it in line with the current polity of the church; it has changed some over the past 20 years. “Polity” is just the word for the organizational structure of the church and how it functions to achieve the desired outcome; our vision and mission. What we believe as our statement of faith is not going to change in any way.

 Last year in January we carried on with a series from 1 Peter and that took us right to the end of May. We looked at month long series on giving and then a summer series called; “Some Songs for Summer”, and looked at 9 different Psalms. And then this past September I started a series in Ecclesiastes and we’ll continue on with that after the Christmas/New Year break. When I first looked at it, I was thinking I could finish the series before Christmas but, it wasn’t too long into my studies that it went from a seven- or eight-part series to now, well, I hope to finish it in 20 or so. And from some of the comments I hear, I think people are enjoying it.

 If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years is that; over the years situations and circumstances, family dynamics, and people, change. Some for the better, some, well… Well, what I know is that there are two things that never change; 1: The fact that things and people will change will never change, and 2: God will never change; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 And so my hope is that we will hold to the truths of an unchanging God and Saviour who loved us and gave His life for us that we might have life; true life now, life that is eternal. And in a day and age where things change fast and we’re expected to keep up and have all the gadgets and technologies, I pray we would keep it simple and keep the main thing, the main thing; having Christ is better than anything this world has to offer. What we have in Christ is far better than anything on this earth so that when trials and tribulation come, we can say, as one song writer put it; “Hallelujah, all I have is Christ; Hallelujah Jesus is my life”!

 “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. “– 1 Thes. 3:11-13

 Pastor Anthony

 

 

Facing Death With Eternity In Our Hearts

When we see wrinkles and sun spots and spider veins, when hair starts to have more grey than natural colour, or when it starts disappearing altogether, and when muscles get soft and skin begins to sag, there's a dread that grips us all. And who doesn't miss jumping out of bed in the morning with the energy of a 20-year-old, but it’s not so much the number on our birthday card or the fact that we can’t play sports anymore that gets us disheartened.

No, it is the awareness that we are closer to the one thing in life that makes everything equal; death is the great equalizer and the thing that should never be. It's the thing that Solomon tells us makes the whole of life vanity and a futile chasing after wind. Yet...

Aging, sickness, deterioration, (of which my body has seen a lot of since my mid 20's) and death preach the Gospel to us because they all point to the life-and-death story of the Gospel. So don’t ignore those spiritual emotions that come over you when you finally drag yourself out of bed and look in the mirror; they're not weird or unnatural. They make complete biblical and biological sense when you live life "under the sun" living with eternity in your heart.

God has placed eternity in our hearts, yet we live life always facing death; it's enough to make you bang your fist on the kitchen table, or beat against the wall in a doctor's office after hearing; "I'm so sorry, it's cancer".

When you look around you and listen, you will hear the horrible cries of the Fall mixing with the awesome celebrations of eternity. Allow the physical process of aging in the body to be a profoundly spiritual journey for your soul.

Please join us Sunday's at 11:00am as we journey through the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Pastor's Year End Report for 2021

 A year-end report is, in some ways, a bit of a misnomer; at the end of a calendar year, we’re usually only a third of the way into our “ministry year”. Yet, ministry isn’t really broken up into periods like a hockey game, or a timer that goes off letting us know that the cake is finished baking in the oven either.  But, what a year-end report does is make me sort of push a pause button that gives me a very short time to reflect on the happenings of the past calendar year in a neat little package that, may or may not be read and then can be filed away. So what I’ve found over the years is that December 31 just rolls over to January 1^st; to another day in a year that can get old really quick. Another day with the same problems and pain, the same joys and jobs are there when we wake up to a new day that just happens to be in a new year.

Even still, as 2021 ends, the hope is that things will be different, but… As I write this, we’re 4 days in and the news of the day is more restrictions and numbers that are getting worse than they were in 2021. In its infancy, 2022 is already looking just as uncertain as the year before, or really, even the year before that, or the year before that. To say that 2021 was both exhausting, and energizing, as looming lockdowns and the ever-changing situation of Covid was navigated, is an understatement. Yet with the call to rise to these challenges comes the call for innovation and adaptation; and that can certainly deplete our energy. Yet, it can also restores us.

We’ve had some familiar faces leave the fold for various reasons, and it saddens me of course. We’ve also seen some new faces for perhaps those same “various” reasons, and that, of course, brings joy. Some we will see again when the circumstances warrant it for them. But for any variety of reasons, overall I truly believe we’ve been, and continue to be, a welcoming place whether our gathering is online or in person. I can’t say this for sure, but I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb here to say that this congregation has been asked to go through more change over the course of the past 2 years than it has ever been asked to endure before. And so I thank God for all of you and the ways you’ve encouraged myself, and one another.

Some pastors who have been around the block have said that almost any change is initially experienced as loss. And sure, the loss of meeting together at times, is a big one. Losing the coming together in the place we expect to live life together can feel… “life” threatening; for sure it takes some serious adaptation.  It sometimes seems like it’s asking a fish to grow legs to live on land, or asking us to grow fins so that we can live in the sea. Whatever the case, absolutely, it’s been hard! 

Yet, what makes adapting to changes on the fly possible is that there are things that never change. And one of those things that never change is the God that we believe in and trust our very lives to; we have a God who was, who is, and who will continue to be, faithful. God’s faithfulness will never come to an end and so my prayer for 2022 is that we continue resting in this glorious truth and continue entrusting ourselves to the One who paid with His life to redeem us, rather than being anxious about the ways we will be challenged to adapt wherever it is that we go in 2022.

It’s hard to know exactly what lies before us in this fallen world that is quickly passing away, but we press on; “because Jesus has made us His own… forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  [we] press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13b-14)

We stand firmly on the Rock that is higher than you and I, the Lord Jesus Christ! This Firm Foundation is one from which we cannot be moved or shaken.

As it was in 2021, still in His gracious, merciful, and glorious grip in 2022, and always,

Pastor Anthony

Pastor's Year End Report 2020 (Can I call it a “Pondering” instead?)

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

Fears and The Virus

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Dear Church Family,

These are difficult and challenging days and I want you to know that I am praying for each one of you as you deal in your own way with this crisis that has gripped the world. My prayer is that the Church will shine as a beacon of hope and faith and be an example of compassion, patience, and calm.

My plan for this week was to take a few days off to serve my wife and family, those plans have been modified, and I have been “working” from home for the better part of each day, answering calls (I had opportunity to sit in on the Christian radio station UCB for their Day of Prayer to take requests and pray with callers). There have also been situations, and plans of action, that needed my attention. So, needless to say, the plans I had made for this week have been slightly modified as He has directed my steps.

As I was preparing for praying with people who were going to be calling in from UCB, I came across this in the Letter to the Hebrews; “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

Because of our citizenship in God’s unshakable kingdom, A.W. Tozer once said, “A scared world needs a fearless church!” While it looks like things may be out of control, behind the scenes we know there is a God who has not surrendered His authority one bit. I am much in agreement with Tozer, we absolutely need a fearless church, the early church wasn’t known for stockpiling, or hoarding  food and supplies for themselves and spreading fear on social media. But, at the same time, we aren’t called to be an un-wise church, but to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves”. Therefore our Leadership and I have made the decisions we’ve announced because of our love for our neighbours and respect for those whom God has put in authority.

However, even as we are following the mandates of our governments and taking  the precautions  they have put forth, while we may not be at “church”, it certainly doesn’t mean we have ceased to be the Church! Many of you are making sure the needs of others are being met, you are volunteering in whatever ways you can, and, as God supplies, you are continuing to give generously in these uncertain times.  I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my glad and grateful heart!

We can be fearless because Jesus promises us, “And surely I am with you, to the very end of the age.” It is wonderful to know that, in these dark and uncertain times, our Lord Jesus Christ isn’t doing any social distancing. He is and will be with us. He will meet with us. He will lead us. He will sustain us. He will give us hope. We live in a world where millions are fed so much hype, we, the Body of Christ, are commissioned to feed people the blessed Hope!

And in that, I am reminded that there is a much deadlier virus that has made a greater impact on the world. It is the virus of sin. May we be a community of people, that, in the midst of this pandemic, points others around us who are “without hope, and without God in this world,” faithfully to the Saviour who came to eliminate the deadly virus of sin.

In light of what we see, and what I’ve heard, especially on the phone line of the UCB Day of Prayer, we should also be fervently praying  for victims and families, government leaders, and front-line emergency services people and health care workers.

During these times of fear and uncertainty, let us show ourselves to be a part of the unshakeable kingdom of our King of kings and Lord of lords.

God bless,

Pastor Anthony

Pastor's Year End Report 2019

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” Romans 12:12-13

Seems I hear it a lot lately; “time flies”. And of course, it’s coming from those who have been around a while, which, I believe is a gracious gift from our great God and heavenly Father to help us wait well. He, of course, knows the plans He has for each one of us, and this past year, it seems His plans include allowing many in our little congregation to experience things in life that, well, if we’re honest, we would profess them to be really, really, hard. But wait we must.

A lot of the talk around our sick house is about waiting patiently. I run into a lot of people in my own extended family that ask; “why is it taking so long for this test or that procedure, or that major surgery?” And I always ask; “what exactly is long?” I’ve never waited like Abraham and Sarah for a child; we only waited till we were 30, not 100. I’ve never waited for decades like Joseph to be put into leadership; it was only 5 years after I felt the call on my life to pastor. I’ve never come close to the patience of Job in any of my maladies.

From kids waiting for their birthday or Christmas, to adults waiting for whatever it is we might be waiting for that we think we will never be able to wait for, we often wait, as one author put it; “because of our sin disease, we wait with a ‘dis-ease’.”  But, while we wait, we need to remember that something is actually happening, while nothing is seemingly happening. God uses waiting to change us.

Over the past year, my intention was to take us through the Beatitudes from the Sermon on The Mount. I was looking ahead even before I started that series to what would be coming after that. I had untold numbers of thoughts, and, mountains of notes. But, as I came to the place that I would be wrapping up the Beatitudes, I was struck by the fact that there was so much more in that first sermon Jesus preached that there was no way that I could end it there; I had to carry on to the end of the sermon. And lo and behold, it’s the dawn of the New Year and we’re not finished it yet!

We’ve spent a whole year looking at Jesus’ description of a kingdom citizen; how one enters the kingdom, and how one lives out their life in, and for, God’s kingdom. And, boy, how it has affected me as I wait to be finished.

As a pastor, I tend to focus on equipping you as our congregation to live life trusting God with what He’s doing, and, inviting others to follow Jesus and join us in His kingdom. We have seen new people connect with us and, engage in our worship services, and begin to serve. I look back with gratitude on God’s kindness in what He’s accomplished through many of you.

We never know what God will bring into our lives in the New Year, some will hope it’s a little less “exciting” and some will discover different things they will wait for. But, “this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23) The same God who spoke the entire universe into existence, is the same big, gracious, and merciful God that we call our Father; and He is good, and He is faithful.

Along with the Pastor equipping the church, I’m so thankful for all of you who are encouraging and equipping one another; spurring one another on to love and good deeds.

I want to especially thank all those who are ministering to our children. We know how important it is to saturate them with the Word of God so that they will grow to love Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and, follow the example of those who are serving them, so that one day they will also serve their God, and one another, with “joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

I’m very excited about 2020. My prayer is that God will continue to challenge us, grow our faith, and shape us into His people by whatever means He deems right and good. My personal vision for 2020 is lead well, teach well, and care for His people well.

Leading well in 2020 means being intentional about how I support every member of our leadership team, from the deacons, to the Official Board, to our Ministry Leaders, to everyone that volunteers, so that they have what they need to meet the needs of our Church Family.

Teaching well means that I know that I’m always going to be learning, always challenging myself in knowledge of Scripture, devoting myself to prayer over my messages, and getting necessary mentoring so that I can always improve in this important task of preaching. It also means listening well. Listening as we pray together, listening to our Leaders so that they can fulfill their roles here at CBC, and listening to God to grow our understanding of His Word.

Of course, listening well will also help me to care well for all of you, our family. Our church has many who are dealing with significant struggles, health problems, family trials, and spiritual needs. My commitment to you is to always uphold you in prayer, to walk with, and support you, on your spiritual journey, and to be there as one who listens well.

2019 seems to have been a fairly smooth year for me health-wise. And as I’m feeling quite well, my commitment is that I will also care for myself well. I will devote myself to God’s Word and growing in my personal relationship with God. It also means that I will focus on some simple, yet important things, like; taking time for myself and my family, and using my time well, so that I am not burning out and compromising my health when you are in need of support. I will also be holding your Deacons to a commitment to spiritually care for you and support you in your walk, encouraging them to live their faith publically and to model what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

I believe that God that this will be an exciting place for all those seeking to lift up the Name of Jesus as we join our voices together for the cause of God’s kingdom, for His glory. As your pastor, God willing, and by His amazing grace, I will lead well, teach well and care for you well, so that together, we can accomplish all that He lays before us in 2020. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for Bonnie and I this year, thank you for your presence in church on Sundays, and thank you for being part of our life together here.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20