Dear Members and Friends of Prairie Flower Baptist Church,

As I look back over this last year and decade, I am amazed at all that God has done in us and through us. As a church family, we have been through some incredible times of growth and joy, as well as great seasons of loss and pain. But, through it all, God has remained faithful and we have grown stronger.

For me personally, as I enter this new year, I feel as if I’ve entered a new phase in pastoral ministry. My learning curve isn’t so high anymore, more experience has settled in, and I’m stable, settled, and very much content. Honestly, I never thought I would be this satisfied out here on the prairie, but I am.

A Year In Review:

What a breath of fresh air this past year has been for our church family. We experienced peace, unity, and growth in ways we haven’t felt in a long time. Praise the Lord for His wonderful grace and mercy!

The numbers this past year are encouraging. I’m thankful to be part of a church family that continues to see people saved, baptized, and added to the church. This past year, by God’s grace and to His glory, we experienced:

• 5 – Salvations
• 8 – Baptisms
• 2 – Members

This past year also allowed us to bring in a new Associate Pastor, Timothy O’Tool! Pastor Tim and his family have been a wonderful addition to our church family and have fit right in. What a joy to have these new partners in the ministry.

The building of our Pavilion Project was another item that marked our past year. We are nearly finished with this project and are coming in under budget. A big “thank you” to the many generous donors who gave of their time and resources to construct a building that will allow us to do more and better ministry, especially in the spring, summer, and fall months.

A Year of Possibilities:

As we look forward to a new year of life and ministry, so many opportunities and possibilities lie before us. I am eager at all that God might have in store for us out here on the prairie. Here is what I envision I’ll be leading you all toward:

• Prayer – As a church family, we need to hone our skills at corporate prayer. Yes, many of us are praying individually, but our corporate prayer life is lacking. To help with this deficiency, we will institute monthly Corporate Prayer Nights that will meet the first Sunday night of every month. Please join us!
• Simplicity – The Church Constitution is in dire need of restructuring. Many parts of our current constitution are simply outdated for our current cultural context. For instance, our constitution stipulates that we must have certain committees, but many of these committees are unnecessary because of our well-placed leadership structure. Another example of our constitution’s deficiencies is in the structuring of the fiscal year that makes financial accountability and communication difficult. Thus, changes will (Lord willing) be forthcoming this year.
• Renovations – With the construction of our Pavilion Project nearly completed, it’s time to take all of that positive forward momentum and look into some church building renovations. It’s been nearly 25 years since we’ve updated our carpet and pews. I do believe it’s time for a change! The cost of new carpet, and replacing our pews with chairs, will be significantly less than the Pavilion Project and will allow us to accommodate for current and future growth. Ultimately, the membership of PFBC needs to be on board with this and vote it into action, but I think our church is healthy enough (financially and spiritually) to undertake these types of renovations this year.

A Big Thank You:

As I end this report, I just feel the impulse to say, “thank you.” Thank you for allowing me to be your Lead Pastor. Thank you for loving me and my family so well as we seek to love you and your families well. Thank you for working beside me for the spread of the gospel in our area and world.

Let’s continue this great work,

David Cotner

Lead Pastor, PFBC