Frazer 2020 Year in Review

WHAT A YEAR With a history tracing back to 1892, Frazer Church has weathered difficult years in the past: world wars, economic depressions, civil unrest, and even previous global pandemics.

Yet within our lifetimes few years can be compared to the changes brought by 2020. Millions around the world have been killed by a deadly disease.

Political and social unrest surround us.

Our daily routines have been disrupted and we find ourselves struggling through isolation and the grief of loss.

Nevertheless, the Good News of Jesus Christ stands firm. We have sought through this year to live by the mantra: Keep the faith, stay connected, shine your light. And by God’s grace, the Frazer Family has done just that.

In the midst of these global changes, God has also led us through our own

transitions. The baton of leadership has been passed to Senior Pastor Chris Montgomery. Together with our staff and lay leaders, Chris has been unfolding a vision for us to become a church that fulfills the Great Commission by keeping the Great Commandment. The challenges of 2020 have also been our new opportunities to make disciples of Jesus Christ in new ways for the hope of the world.

As we look back over this year, there are many ways we could remember it. We have chosen to select a handful of photos that mark key moments. No doubt you could add your own photos and memories to this collection. Our prayer is that as you look back, you will see anew the faithfulness of God, and be encouraged to trust Him and love Him even more as we enter 2021.

JANUARY Frazer launched the year with a series entitled “Love Our City� and a new local missions initiative: Reader to Leader. Partnering with Montgomery Public Schools, Reader to Leader matched volunteers with disadvantaged students to provide literacy tutoring, with the goal of helping every

student reach gradelevel proficiency by third grade. Although the program was curtailed by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the shift to virtual schooling, Frazer built relationships that will position us to have an impact on education in our community which will be even more needed in the wake of the pandemic.

FEBRUARY DNOW, the annual discipleship weekend held each February by Frazer’s Student Ministry, is a time of significant transformation in the lives of our young men and women. This year’s theme of “Viral” turned out to be ironic. Nevertheless, it was fitting: In a year that provided many

challenges for students as well as adults, our young people continued to shine with the light of Christ and find ways to spread his love to others. 2020 also saw Tyler Grant transition to become Student Ministry Director, joined by Logan Lawrence as Assistant Director.

MARCH As COVID-19 became full-blown in the United States by mid-March, Frazer took steps to shut down in-person worship out of love for our neighbors. Little did we know when we met on March 8 that we would not gather again for indoor worship for nearly six months.

The sudden upending of our life routines created uncertainty

and disorientation.

Nevertheless, Frazer was blessed to be wellpositioned to continue to worship through television and online streaming. Our worship teams cried out to God each week for the anointing to connect to a community we could no longer see in the room, and the sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable.

APRIL Frazer has always been known as a serving church, ready to share with our community. As the pandemic shut down many of our normal avenues of service, Frazer nevertheless found ways to be a blessing. We collected school supplies for virtual students and food for homebound seniors, and we raised funds to bolster

our In Christ’s Way benevolence fund, knowing that the economic impact of the virus would mean more families in need. Because of the faithful giving of the Frazer family, we were able to not only continue supporting our local and international missionaries, but we even doubled our regular support in the month of May.

MAY We began an unusual season of transitions in May. We gathered for drive-in communion and enjoyed seeing parts of our church family, even if it was from our separate vehicles. We also said our goodbyes to Pastor Brandon Dasinger, sending him out with our blessing to answer God’s calling to start a new church in

North Georgia. Later in June, we had a similar drive-through goodbye for Lead Pastor Larry Bryars and Vicki. After four years of ministry at Frazer and forty in the local church, Larry moved into the season of retirement, while continuing to serve our denomination as a leader of our Annual Conference Delegation.

JUNE The murder of George Floyd on May 25 brought into a harsh spotlight the continued legacy of racial injustice in our society and sparked a wave of protests in June. While there is no doubt our nation has become even more deeply divided in the aftermath, Montgomery also saw a different kind of movement: A movement towards unity, understanding, service, and most of all

prayer. This movement has been led by pastors of all denominations and backgrounds coming together in our city, building on past relationships and strengthening new bonds. Dr. John Ed Mathison, Frazer Pastor Emeritus (pictured here with Rev. Ken Austin of New Walk of Life Church), has been and continues to be at the forefront of this movement.

JULY Frazer entered a new era in July of 2020 with the appointment of Dr. Chris Montgomery as our Senior Pastor. Chris, his wife Emily, and son Eddie Ray joined us from North Alabama. Faced with the unprecedented challenge of starting a new pastoral charge in

the midst of a pandemic, Chris made bold decisions such as preaching his first sermons as our pastor from the Atrium as a symbol of our unity as a church family. The Frazer staff also took steps to reach out to every Frazer member by phone in the month of July.

AUGUST As a bridge towards returning to in-person worship, Frazer launched outdoor services on Saturday nights in August. Smiles were found on every face as children and students gathered, families spread out with safe social distancing, and

we worshiped from our cars and lawn chairs.

Meanwhile, our Sunday morning television and online services featured the best of both our Contemporary and Traditional worship styles in a further marker of our spiritual unity in Christ.

SEPTEMBER The congregation erupted into cheers of praise when Pastor Chris said the words “Welcome Home” the day we returned to indoor worship on Sept. 13.

Even those who continue to worship virtually remarked that they could feel the spirit. In a

series entitled “40 Days of Vision: In His Steps,” Pastor Chris unfolded the vision of becoming a church that fulfills the Great Commission by keeping the Great Commandment—and unveiled a new logo based on Frazer’s landmark Prayer Tower.

OCTOBER Frazer’s Children’s Ministry found many creative ways to stay connected to kids and parents during the pandemic, but we were also overjoyed to be able to gather again for regular Sunday morning and Wednesday night programs in the fall. Our children are growing up through a year like no other, but we have seen

God at work in their lives as many have come forward to share that they prayed to receive Jesus in their heart, and others have come to be baptized. Also in the Fall Frazer announced the creation of the Frazer Christian Preschool as a ministry of the church beginning in the 20212022 school year.

NOVEMBER In mid-November, Frazer honored the life and legacy of Music Minister Emeritus Joe Pat Cox, who went to be with the Lord on Nov. 4. Joe Pat served the church for nearly 70 years, having been first appointed as choir director in 1951 at age 15. Dr. John Ed Mathison remembered

Joe Pat as a faithful partner in ministry whose commitment to spiritfilled worship was vital in building the Frazer family.

Joe Pat joined 57 other Frazer members whose lives we celebrated on All Saints Sunday, and whose faith legacy we have the honor to build upon in Christ.

DECEMBER As we entered the holiday season at the ending of a difficult year, we were reminded that the light of Christ still shines, bringing hope to the world. At the beginning of Advent, we launched a 20-week series on the Gospel of Matthew entitled “Thy Kingdom Come” that will set our course through Easter of next year and beyond. Whether we are worshiping from home or in person, gathering by Zoom or in a classroom,

serving our neighbor, praying for peace and healing in our nation, and in all that we do, our goal is to be a people praying for and living out the kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Our hearts are full of joy despite the losses of this year because of the presence of Jesus in our midst, and we thank God for all that He has done and will do in and through the Frazer Family in the New Year.