Pastor’s Pen: [ January 1] One Worship Service 10:00am No Bible Teaching
[ January 7 ] Upward Games Begin Saturdays FBC Activities Building
[ January 16 ] MLK Day Church Building Closed
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As we launch a new year, let's think about two ministries of our church which rarely receive attention or affirmation. Yet without them, our church would grind to a halt. The first is our maintenance staff. I don't know if you realize it, but our buildings, including the gymnasium, total 111,000 square feet. Think about trying to keep all that space clean, functional and set up for all of our many, many gatherings. I recently came across a memo from last spring. As I read it, I noticed how many different room set-ups were needed for room 508, and all were within a few days of one another. The room was used for an all-day Wednesday meeting, then reset for a Wednesday night committee meeting, followed by a Thursday night meeting. Then the room was totally redone for a large funeral meal on Friday, and finally reset for a class luncheon on Sunday. And remember--that is just one room! I'm not sure we say it often enough, but we are truly grateful for our director of maintenance Robin Stull and his entire crew. The other often-overlooked ministry is intercessory prayer. I'm grateful to Kay Brejcha for leading our prayer ministry team and to Sondra Allen who coordinates our email prayer chain. Some time ago, Sondra reported that over the last 12 years, 3,574 emails had gone out to the prayer team, an average of 297 per year. And keep in mind that most emails carry more than one prayer request. Only God knows all the ways our prayers have impacted the Kingdom of God. And did you know that our church has a beautiful prayer room? It's on second floor, between the children's area and our Refuge (youth) area. You should visit the prayer room. It's comfortable, worshipful and quiet. I sometimes slip into the prayer room to clear my head, experience the quiet and pour my heart out regarding that day's burdens. I invite you to make 2017 a year when we express awareness and gratitude for all of our support staff, and to make it a year of greater prayer, undergirding all that God is doing among us.
Grace,