WITH CHRIST AT THE CENTER
FEBRUARY 2024
CONNECTIONS PROVIDENCE CHILDREN’S MINISTRY LED US IN A RETELLING OF THE CHRISTMAS STORY DURING OUR FAMILY NATIVITY SERVICE ON CHRISTMAS EVE!
From the Senior Pastor Blessing Charlotte is a priority for us at Providence. We want to obey God’s command to “seek the welfare of the city” where we live (Jeremiah 29:7). We want to be people who help make Charlotte a place where all God’s children can thrive. And – most importantly – we want to do this in the name of Jesus, who teaches us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. For the last few Februarys, we’ve highlighted this desire to Bless Charlotte through our month-long PBC CLT initiative. We’re doing it again this year. Elsewhere in this edition of Connections, you can learn more about praying for our city, volunteering with Room in the Inn, donating blood, and using your ministry gifts to do good work with one of our mission partners.
I want to suggest to you, though, one very powerful way that every single one of us can bless Charlotte this month: Be kind. I can’t take credit for this idea. One of our newest deacons mentioned it to me recently in a conversation over coffee: “Wouldn’t it be something if we made ‘being kind’ to others our goal in 2024?” I immediately agreed. With this being an election year, the world is going to be serving up heaping helpings of animosity on a pretty regular basis. What will the body of Christ offer as an alternative, to demonstrate that there is indeed a different – and we believe, better – way to live? Kindness. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil,” writes the apostle Paul in Romans 12:17, “but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.” In other words, respond
to animosity with small, seemingly insignificant, acts of kindness. This is the way that Jesus teaches us to live. Let’s try it for a month. Be intentional about being kind. Follow through on those good intentions. Go the extra mile. Do something unexpectedly awesome for someone else. Again and again, over and over. One rule of thumb says that if we do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. Well, February has 29 days in it this year. Can we make a habit out of blessing Charlotte with kindness in Jesus’ name? May the peace of Christ be with you!