The Bible states in Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Last Sunday night we experienced this type of unity. Indeed, it was good…it was pleasant…it was sweet! Our meeting lasted for 1 1/2 hours and we talked about many different options in regards to our dynamic and exciting church growth. That is to say, we have gone from 120 to 150 to 190 in weekly attendance. Such momentum has created many changes and we (i.e. your pastor and deacons) are responding to and channeling this momentum for God’s glory and our community’s good. The following are our NEW ideas/proposals/suggestions:
Understanding that momentum creates change, and in keeping with the standards of the Word of God, and in staying true to our core values, and in pursuit of our mission (i.e. to provide grace-based solutions for real-life problems), we (i.e. your pastor and deacons) are suggesting the following alterations to accommodate for our growth:
1. Hiring a 2nd Pastor…
2. Reformatting our Sunday Services by means of moving to an all morning format (no evening service), and removing the pews and replacing them with chairs…
3. Giving everyone Wednesday nights off during the summer…and during the school year, making the AWANA Program only available for the first three Wednesdays of the month, with the fourth/fifth Wednesdays off…
4. Looking into land and building options for a bigger, better facility…
Again, as of right now, all of these are simply ideas. Nothing is a done deal at this point. We have NOT voted on anything, but one thing is for sure, we must do something…and your leadership is boldly moving forward with NEW ideas…and hopefully, new realities to meet the blessings and challenges of our dynamic, God-glorifying church growth! Please pray for your leadership, as we move forward, that God would give to us wisdom, discernment, and courage along the way. Ultimately, God will be glorified, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us!
We have people in the congregation that have gone to, and graduated from, reputable bible colleges and universities. I have personally spoken one of them, discussing my upcoming journey at Liberty University Online. Perhaps the leadership could speak to some of them to help out with pastoral duties under the supervision of the shepherd and deacons. If this isn’t already being done it could, perhaps, be an area where the church could save money, for the time being anyway, and provide a solution to one of the areas of concern.
Curtailing evening services, during the months that kids are out of school, is a good idea. People, many times, have things that would like to be done with family and friends during the summer months. It would also see a savings on utilities for the church.