Pastor's Ponderings
September 2010
As Fall begins, with all of the busyness that will come with the approaching holidays, I am still encouraged by two events in our life together from the Summer months.
First, I am still feeling the afterglow of our Vacation Bible School and the 83 children who took part in that special week. Seeing the smiles and feeling the excitement and enthusiasm of the children filling our church was a blessing. I was touched too see many of the children that I have baptized in my time here participating in VBS. Seeing many of the families who have come to us through our Friday Morning Kids Story time ministry joining us for VBS made me proud as your Pastor as we see the fruits of this outreach ministry blossom.
Children are a blessing. We are blessed to have an increasing number of children participating - in these special ministries and weekly in worship and Sunday school - and the energy and spontaneity they bring to the life of our church. Children had a special place in Jesus' ministry too. In the course of his ministry when the disciples tried to prevent some children’s access, Jesus scolded the disciples and told them “let the children come to me!” On another occasion, Jesus blessed the children and praised their faith as a model of what our faith should look like. I look forward to the ways we will continue to be in ministry to our younger and older children and families.
I was also encouraged by our Visioning meeting on August 11. The last time we did this in 2006, visions for the Friday Kids Story time and the Casual Worship Service emerged. As these two ministries are now in their fourth year, I cannot imagine our church without them. I look forward to the fruits this meeting will yield. We had a thoughtful discussion centering around three main areas – developing the property the LeBard family gifted the church, visions of forming a daytime child care program, and what we would like to see added to our ongoing ministry to one another. You can read more about this inside this newsletter, and I plan to keep these items before us in the months ahead. The book of Proverbs reminds us that “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). I am very glad that we have some very powerful visions beginning to blossom and look forward to the harvest these will produce in the years to come.
It is great to be in ministry together!
Abide,
Pastor Kent
August 2010
Growing up, I enjoyed going to church and being a part of my church's youth group. But my first semester at college, it seemed I had graduated from church as well as from high school. When I was home for a visit I would go to church with my parents, but back at school I would usually sleep in on Sunday mornings. It's not that I didn't want to go to church anymore, but after trying a few churches in the area where no one seemed to notice I was new or acknowledge my presence, I gave up the quest.
Near the end of the fall semester a friend invited me to go to church with her. I accepted her invitation and found a home at that church for most of my college years. This was the church I was attending when I realized my call to ministry.
In my column in the April newsletter while sharing our church's goals for ministry for 2010, I invited each of us to set a personal goal – to invite at least one new person or family to experience our church in 2010. But it is often hard to invite someone, isn't it? Maybe you don't want to be pushy, or maybe you just don't know what to say.
Here are some thoughts to help in this task. Think of it as inviting someone into your home. When you invite them to your home, rarely do you give them reasons why they should attend. You usually don't have to do much convincing. You invite them to share a meal and some good company and conversation. Think of inviting someone to join us at church in this way, so you don't do this out of a sense of duty, but rather out of a sense of joy. When you consider inviting someone, think of more opportunities than worship. Invite them to a special event (we have many coming up this Fall), a study group, or story time for kids on Friday mornings. You never know how God can and will use these different points of entry into the life of our church.
I might not be your pastor today if someone hadn't cared enough to invite me to church all those years ago. I hope you will take a moment to share your caring.
Abide,
Pastor Kent
