John Seward

Executive Pastor

The past 12 months have been extraordinary. We have seen many changes since my last report was written. And there are changes on the horizon as well. One of the coming changes will be our updated website, which is being constructed around three core headings: Discover, Grow and Impact. In keeping with that paradigm, I will fashion this report around those same three points.

Discover

First, and foremost, we have discovered that we have an extremely resourceful and persistent ministry staff. When confronted with the reality that we would no longer be able to meet together as a church, we were forced to go to an alternative plan. We needed to find a way to continue to “gather together” while respecting social distancing and sheltering at home. We have moved the church online, and we have also structured ministries that are now designed to work on a screen. Now, being in our Sunday morning services, seated on a couch in the family room, is our temporary norm. But though only temporary, our worship team, our technical team, our entire pastoral staff has managed to structure morning services to give us a feeling of closeness despite the lack of physical presence. We have sensed a unique leading of the Spirit during this time, and each of our congregants contributes to making the service meaningful, knowing that we are together, despite physical separation.

This resourcefulness extends to our weekday ministries as well. Our Bible studies, small groups, student groups, prayer meetings, committee meetings, children ministries, congregational care and missions all continue, thanks to the perseverance of this church. We so appreciate the flexibility and understanding as we develop ways of ministering effectively without physically meeting.

Second, we have discovered that our church leaders are committed to leading well in a new and different environment. We’ve watched meetings become more frequent than ever before to keep up with the rapidly changing situation around us. We’ve all learned to Zoom or Skype or Meet on Google. Our leaders are leading us well. I am thankful for their dedication to this church and their willingness to lead us by example.

Third, the resourcefulness, the creativity and the desire to serve has never been more evident than we’ve seen among members of the church body. All of us looking out for each other. Making calls. Delivering groceries. Praying. Caring. Singing together. Laughing together. Finding fun in the challenge. What a wonderful joy watching the body of believers caring for one another.

I hope you all have discovered the changes in place since our last annual meeting. We have an updated logo. We have new exterior signage. We will soon have a new website. We have refined and improved our child protection policies. We have purchased properties to help us carry our ministries forward for years to come. We have added access to a vast array of online resources to help each of us minister at home and in our community more effectively. And, most importantly, we have Diane Jordan’s successor on board, and we are so very thankful for the addition of Cheryce Berg to our ministry team as our director of children’s ministries.

Grow

Usually, when we think of grow, we think of numbers. We tend to want a tangible measurement of what growth looks like. But we are primarily interested in our spiritual growth. Are we becoming more Christlike? Are we maturing in our faith? From our youngest to our oldest, we want to be a continual catalyst for spiritual growth. Through prayer, Bible study, sound teaching and access to strong, biblical resources we want to build on our core commitment to know the Word of God. We want to encourage one another as we grow. And, during this pandemic, we have seen much of the fruit of those efforts as we see people helping one another, and as we reach out to neighbors with gospel truth.

In the coming year, we will see continued emphasis on individual growth. Based on a survey that many of us took, we are seeking to shape programs and ministries to more effectively engage each of us in growing stronger spiritually, gaining greater understanding of Scripture, learning how to spur one another on to greater maturity, enabling the more spiritually mature to mentor those seeking to grow, sending our spiritual roots more deeply into the Bible and into the body of believers, in establishing prayer opportunities for all ages, becoming a church known for its rich environment which fosters biblical maturity.

Increasingly, we want to be agents of gospel truth. Not only do we want to be growing ourselves, but also, we want to be leading others to gospel truth. We want to grow in our commitment to evangelize and readiness to defend truth, to grow in our biblical worldview and to grow in our love for others.

Even during this pandemic, we have seen the fruit born of spiritual maturity, and we have seen new ministries blossom in the virtual realm. Despite the environment around us that seeks to choke growth, it has been heartening to see a redoubling of commitment to spur one another on in becoming mature in Christ.

Impact

Testimonies abound of how this body of believers has impacted lives of others, young and old, through prayer, support, feeding, clothing, counseling, teaching, caring and coming alongside during difficult journeys. We pray for a deeper impact here locally. To bring the light of the gospel into the ever creeping and deepening darkness. To see new life being breathed into many in this community. We also purpose to encourage, train and raise up men and women in our midst who are willing and called to journey to destinations geographically distant from our homeland. We seek to support and strengthen them, to provide resources needed and to uphold them in prayer and financial support that they might impact individuals and communities with life-giving Scriptural truths, bringing life from death and eternal hope into hopeless situations.

This coronavirus pandemic has shown how quickly and completely a tiny virus can wreak havoc and destroy life. But, just as this virus has impacted each of us, we are ever more aware of how sin has impacted this world. And, while we still seek a remedy for the coronavirus, we know the remedy for sin. May the gospel of Jesus Christ— the understanding that there is a Savior for our sin, that there is light that overcomes the darkness—be proclaimed loudly and clearly by each of us as Christ in us impacts the lives we touch.

Together may we shine the light of discovery and provide the catalyst for growth as we become conduits bringing eternal impact into this fallen world.