Well, it seems hard to believe, but another year has passed in the life of our church. We began Grace Covenant Church in our living room the third Sunday of June, 2007, and here we are six years later continuing to grow in the Lord as a church, and as individuals. What a blessing it is each week to be part of the body of Christ here in our niche in West Texas.
Of course, each year is eventful, and unique and special in its own way. This past year has certainly been no exception. We went through a time of pruning that covered most of 2012, but John 15 tells us that times of pruning are preparation for times of increased fruitfulness, and that is what we have seen the last several months. Yes, some of the fruitfulness has been increased numbers, but again we are seeing spiritual fruitfulness and growth in Christ in our people, which is the important fruit. There is a visible love and concern for each other that has grown over the last year, especially the last several months, along with an obvious desire for the Lord to be glorified in our lives. In thinking about this last year, I am reminded of the story of Gideon and the 10,000 men that had come to fight with him against the enemy. Before the battle the Lord pruned the 10,000 down to 300 so they would not think it was their numbers that gave them the victory, but would know it was the Lord who gave the victory, and therefore it was the Lord who would receive the glory. That principle holds true for churches and individuals, as well.
Another thing the Lord has done for us this last year is bless us with a worship leader. We have put feelers out on a couple of occasions for someone to lead worship, but to no avail. In December, we felt impressed by the Lord to be very intentional about finding someone, which is no small task since they would have to be bi-vocational. But sure enough at that same time the Lord was moving in the heart of a young man who was teaching at a Bible College over 800 miles away that it was time to move from ministering at the college to ministering in a church. Through a series of events only the Lord could orchestrate, the Lord moved him and his family to Midland at the first of April. From the middle of nowhere Wyoming to the middle of nowhere Texas...the Lord has done a marvelous thing.
We had another baptism this year, recently in fact. We have two brothers who play the sax in our worship. I call them the Blues Brothers, and both of them have come to faith in Christ and been baptized since coming to our church. The second was baptized just a few weeks ago, and I was blessed by his testimony, but both are active and committed to the Lord and their families are a blessing to our church. In fact, the other Blues Brother and his wife adopted a child in January, and praying for them and rejoicing with them during the process was another blessing for us as a church.
In looking forward to this upcoming year, we are at a point where we need a youth pastor. Again, he will have to be bi-vocational, but we know that the Lord will provide in His time, and in His way.
Apart from my own family, there is no where I would rather be than with our people each week. Being a pastor has its challenges and its joys, but I consider myself blessed to be the pastor of this flock of God known as Grace Covenant Church of Midland, Texas. Thank You, Lord!
Another milestone is that this is the 500th post since this blog started. I never thought I would have this much to say.
Showing posts with label Grace Covenant Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace Covenant Church. Show all posts
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Milestone V
Well, on the third Sunday in June Grace Covenant Church passed another milestone, our fifth anniversary. It certainly does not seem like it has been five years since we started, but by God's grace and in accordance with His eternal purpose we are still here. And we are thankful for His calling us to this work, and are thankful for the provision of His grace to empower us to do what He has called us to do.
As with any church plant there have been ups and downs, but I can truly say that even though we have experienced frustration and disappointments at times, we have never been discouraged; and that is because the Lord has been with us and has not let those times of frustration and disappointment turn into discouragement.
And I said all of that to say this, this has been the most interesting year so far, and in some sense the most daunting year. We have had more families visit this year, and not come back. We lost four families this last year that had been coming regularly, one for three years. There were different reasons that we lost them, but lose them we did; and when you are a small church, that is noticeable. However, we have had a sense of this being God's pruning of us so that not only will we bear more fruit, but that He will receive the glory for what is done.
But the good news is, as a church, we are richer spiritually now than we have ever been, more spiritually attuned, and more spiritually mature. In the final analysis, this is the purpose of the church, any and all churches, to be the instrument of God in the lives of His people (His people being His people doing what they are gifted and called to do) to bring about a deepening Christ likeness in those He has placed in each church (Ephesians 4:11-16). It is a deep and abiding joy to me as the pastor to see more of Christ in our people now than I saw in them a year ago.
This year we finished the Gospel of John, which took about three and a half years to preach through. We went through the book The Holiness of God, and are half way through Knowing God in our men's group. We, again, took six of our men to the Shepherd's Conference, and the consensus was that it was the best one our group has attended. Our ladies went through a couple of Precept studies and several attended the Gospel Coalition's Women's Conference last week. Our children continue to hear the gospel consistently during their Sunday School time, and we are counting on the Lord's Word not to return to Him void. Our people do love the Lord, and those that are here are developing and demonstrating faithfulness in their walk and service to the Lord. It is indeed a great thing to be part of.
We are going through Psalm 119 and Titus over the next few months. I have already preached out of Psalm 119 for the last couple of months, and will start the series on Titus next week. I will take a few breaks in Titus to preach on Psalm 119. In September we will be blessed to have Nigel Shailer, the Academic Dean of the Shepherd's Bible College in New Zealand, come to preach to us and to share with us what they are doing to train, equip, and evangelize in that part of the world; and we are having him come to prepare us, as a church, to support their work.
All in all, it is a great and glorious blessing to be a part of Grace Covenant Church, to be its pastor, to lead and shepherd its people. The Lord is indeed good and does good, to Him and Him alone be all glory, honor, and praise. May His name be blessed forever and ever.
As with any church plant there have been ups and downs, but I can truly say that even though we have experienced frustration and disappointments at times, we have never been discouraged; and that is because the Lord has been with us and has not let those times of frustration and disappointment turn into discouragement.
And I said all of that to say this, this has been the most interesting year so far, and in some sense the most daunting year. We have had more families visit this year, and not come back. We lost four families this last year that had been coming regularly, one for three years. There were different reasons that we lost them, but lose them we did; and when you are a small church, that is noticeable. However, we have had a sense of this being God's pruning of us so that not only will we bear more fruit, but that He will receive the glory for what is done.
But the good news is, as a church, we are richer spiritually now than we have ever been, more spiritually attuned, and more spiritually mature. In the final analysis, this is the purpose of the church, any and all churches, to be the instrument of God in the lives of His people (His people being His people doing what they are gifted and called to do) to bring about a deepening Christ likeness in those He has placed in each church (Ephesians 4:11-16). It is a deep and abiding joy to me as the pastor to see more of Christ in our people now than I saw in them a year ago.
This year we finished the Gospel of John, which took about three and a half years to preach through. We went through the book The Holiness of God, and are half way through Knowing God in our men's group. We, again, took six of our men to the Shepherd's Conference, and the consensus was that it was the best one our group has attended. Our ladies went through a couple of Precept studies and several attended the Gospel Coalition's Women's Conference last week. Our children continue to hear the gospel consistently during their Sunday School time, and we are counting on the Lord's Word not to return to Him void. Our people do love the Lord, and those that are here are developing and demonstrating faithfulness in their walk and service to the Lord. It is indeed a great thing to be part of.
We are going through Psalm 119 and Titus over the next few months. I have already preached out of Psalm 119 for the last couple of months, and will start the series on Titus next week. I will take a few breaks in Titus to preach on Psalm 119. In September we will be blessed to have Nigel Shailer, the Academic Dean of the Shepherd's Bible College in New Zealand, come to preach to us and to share with us what they are doing to train, equip, and evangelize in that part of the world; and we are having him come to prepare us, as a church, to support their work.
All in all, it is a great and glorious blessing to be a part of Grace Covenant Church, to be its pastor, to lead and shepherd its people. The Lord is indeed good and does good, to Him and Him alone be all glory, honor, and praise. May His name be blessed forever and ever.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Milestone IV
Well, the water of another year has passed under the bridge as we have finished year number four in the life of Grace Covenant Church. I don't know how church years compare to dog years, or such, but this has been a pretty quick year; but time does that, as it has its own ebbs and flows like the tide. Of course, the main reason it has passed so quickly is that we have been pretty busy.
One of the good things to happen was our move to a better facility last August. We are now meeting at Midland Classical Academy, a private Christian school that has already housed two other churches. When the last church moved we jumped on the chance to meet there, and now have consistent heating and cooling and a nicer all around facility to meet in, and room for growth. We were able to also get the lease at a rate that was affordable, and are appreciative of MCA working with us as we are paying less than our predecessors.
One of the highlights again this year was the baptism of two men last fall. One was saved during our Easter service and the other had come to the conviction that his salvation had occured only a few years ago. It was a joy to baptize these men and hear their testimonies of God's faithful work in their hearts. Both are active and committed, which is a double blessing.
Our other elder, Bill Lawless, and I led a leadership development group on Saturday mornings. Our desire is for this to be the foundation of training men in our church. We limited it to the leadership team, but will open it up this next year to more of the men in our church. It is my belief that the church will go no farther than the strength of its men will carry it, and we want to train up the men in our church to be strong in the faith. In that vein, we once again took seven men to the Shepherd's conference; and each year it leaves its mark on us.
That is not to rule out the role of women in the church, nor is it to say that the women should not be strong spiritually, as well. We sent seven of our women to the True Woman conference in Dallas, and will send a group to the True Woman conference in San Antonio this year as well. It was a spiritually rich conference that has born fruit in the lives of those who went. We also had a women's mid-week bible study this year and hope that it will grow.
Additionally, we had a church wide bible study on Tuesday nights. We used the Precept curriculum and studied Covenant last fall and Exodus in the spring.
Our music/worship has been blessed of the Lord this last year. He indeed inhabits the praises of His people, and His presence during our worship time has been a joy and blessing. We have two sax playing brothers who provide the music on most Sundays as our keyboard player has had job assignments that have taken him away many Sundays. But, it is required of a steward to be faithful, and that is what our worship team has been, and God has honored that and shown us His goodness.
I am still preaching through John's gospel, and will finish up chapter fourteen this week. Not just because we are in John, but out of personal conviction, we have really focused on being more gospel centered and gospel proclaiming. We want our people to go deeper and deeper into Christ, to more fully understand and more deeply appreciate grace. But to do this you must have a grasp on the gospel, in all its fullness, in all its aspects, in all of its application; in other words, the better you grasp the gospel the richer will God's grace be to you. As such, we believe the gospel is important for the believer as well as for the unbeliever.
Speaking of the unbeliever, we pray corporately each Sunday for the lost that God has placed in our individual paths. We also have identified one thousand households in north Midland that we will target with the gospel every three to four months. We are going to start out by sending them Grace for You, an evanglestic booklet written by John MacArthur, that is the telling of the story of the prodigal son. We are going to send them something each mailing that is gospel centered and gospel proclaiming. What will God do with this? We are not sure, but we are sure that He stands over His word to perform it, that the gospel is the power of salvation, and beautiful are the feet that bring the gospel. In addtion to these, as a church we are also praying for the Hispanics in our area, as they make up close to 40% of the population.
Speaking of the gospel. My wife, Angie, has made it a focus in her teaching the children to present the gospel in as many lessons as possible. I am grateful that our children are hearing the gospel, hearing of their need for a Savior, hearing of God's great salvation in Christ. Planting gospel seeds is an important, really the most important function, of a children's ministry. We all are to receive the word implanted which is able to save our souls, so why not plant it early and often?
I gave the covenant charge in two weddings this year. It was a blessing to me to be involved in them, and to see the seriousness with which the couples took their vows. May God's protection and blessing be upon them.
Yes, we have had some numeric growth this last year, and the number of our visitors has increased; but the real story is the continued growth of the people. God's word does not return to Him void, and it is Him that is building His church. I am so blessed to be the pastor of this group of people that have committed themselves to the Lord through Grace Covenant Church; and blessed to be able to serve the Lord in this way. My prayer for myself is for my own faithfulness and obedience to Him who has given Me this sacred responsibility and trust. May He be glorified in and through this gracious work of His called Grace Covenant church.
One of the good things to happen was our move to a better facility last August. We are now meeting at Midland Classical Academy, a private Christian school that has already housed two other churches. When the last church moved we jumped on the chance to meet there, and now have consistent heating and cooling and a nicer all around facility to meet in, and room for growth. We were able to also get the lease at a rate that was affordable, and are appreciative of MCA working with us as we are paying less than our predecessors.
One of the highlights again this year was the baptism of two men last fall. One was saved during our Easter service and the other had come to the conviction that his salvation had occured only a few years ago. It was a joy to baptize these men and hear their testimonies of God's faithful work in their hearts. Both are active and committed, which is a double blessing.
Our other elder, Bill Lawless, and I led a leadership development group on Saturday mornings. Our desire is for this to be the foundation of training men in our church. We limited it to the leadership team, but will open it up this next year to more of the men in our church. It is my belief that the church will go no farther than the strength of its men will carry it, and we want to train up the men in our church to be strong in the faith. In that vein, we once again took seven men to the Shepherd's conference; and each year it leaves its mark on us.
That is not to rule out the role of women in the church, nor is it to say that the women should not be strong spiritually, as well. We sent seven of our women to the True Woman conference in Dallas, and will send a group to the True Woman conference in San Antonio this year as well. It was a spiritually rich conference that has born fruit in the lives of those who went. We also had a women's mid-week bible study this year and hope that it will grow.
Additionally, we had a church wide bible study on Tuesday nights. We used the Precept curriculum and studied Covenant last fall and Exodus in the spring.
Our music/worship has been blessed of the Lord this last year. He indeed inhabits the praises of His people, and His presence during our worship time has been a joy and blessing. We have two sax playing brothers who provide the music on most Sundays as our keyboard player has had job assignments that have taken him away many Sundays. But, it is required of a steward to be faithful, and that is what our worship team has been, and God has honored that and shown us His goodness.
I am still preaching through John's gospel, and will finish up chapter fourteen this week. Not just because we are in John, but out of personal conviction, we have really focused on being more gospel centered and gospel proclaiming. We want our people to go deeper and deeper into Christ, to more fully understand and more deeply appreciate grace. But to do this you must have a grasp on the gospel, in all its fullness, in all its aspects, in all of its application; in other words, the better you grasp the gospel the richer will God's grace be to you. As such, we believe the gospel is important for the believer as well as for the unbeliever.
Speaking of the unbeliever, we pray corporately each Sunday for the lost that God has placed in our individual paths. We also have identified one thousand households in north Midland that we will target with the gospel every three to four months. We are going to start out by sending them Grace for You, an evanglestic booklet written by John MacArthur, that is the telling of the story of the prodigal son. We are going to send them something each mailing that is gospel centered and gospel proclaiming. What will God do with this? We are not sure, but we are sure that He stands over His word to perform it, that the gospel is the power of salvation, and beautiful are the feet that bring the gospel. In addtion to these, as a church we are also praying for the Hispanics in our area, as they make up close to 40% of the population.
Speaking of the gospel. My wife, Angie, has made it a focus in her teaching the children to present the gospel in as many lessons as possible. I am grateful that our children are hearing the gospel, hearing of their need for a Savior, hearing of God's great salvation in Christ. Planting gospel seeds is an important, really the most important function, of a children's ministry. We all are to receive the word implanted which is able to save our souls, so why not plant it early and often?
I gave the covenant charge in two weddings this year. It was a blessing to me to be involved in them, and to see the seriousness with which the couples took their vows. May God's protection and blessing be upon them.
Yes, we have had some numeric growth this last year, and the number of our visitors has increased; but the real story is the continued growth of the people. God's word does not return to Him void, and it is Him that is building His church. I am so blessed to be the pastor of this group of people that have committed themselves to the Lord through Grace Covenant Church; and blessed to be able to serve the Lord in this way. My prayer for myself is for my own faithfulness and obedience to Him who has given Me this sacred responsibility and trust. May He be glorified in and through this gracious work of His called Grace Covenant church.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Milestone III
Well, another year has passed, and we have finished our third year as a church. We began on the third Sunday in June 2007 because of the the call of God, and have continued because of the grace of God. We continue to be grateful that the Lord has called us and entrusted us with the gospel and His people.
This has been the most eventful year so far, and, I believe, the most spiritually fruitful year. We lost a couple of families that had been with us for while. One, over the issue of male leadership (which we hold to), and the other, over a disagreement that I was never quite sure what it was. Both families left peacefully. I did not like seeing them leave, and still have a great deal of affection for them. But disagreements do come up, and sometimes they can be worked through and sometimes they can't; but to the credit of the families that left, they never tried to be disruptive or raise a stink because we disagreed. It is going through times of disagreement that confirm what you really believe by testing your commitment to what you say you believe, and that is a good thing.
As I mentioned in another post, we baptized three young ladies at the end of last summer. We will have another baptismal service later this summer or early fall. Baptisms are great events as they are testimonies of the Lord's work in the lives of people. The Lord has been working among us again over this last year and I am looking forward for all of us hearing testimony of His great grace. I enjoy preaching the gospel more now than I ever have, and continue to be more in awe and more appreciative of its power unto salvation.
At the end of April we ordained an elder and a deacon. It is gratifying to see God answer prayer and raise men up to take on the service/leadership roles in our church. Both men separately went through a 13 week orientation before the ordination. It gave us a time to get to know one another better and be prepared together for the work that each office requires. The respect I had for these men grew during our time together, and I believe the Lord has strengthened our church through this process.
We held a church wide bible study on Tuesday nights during the spring. We met at Baptist church on the north side of town, and they were gracious in turning their facility over to us to use however we needed. We worked through a study entitled Fundamentals of the Faith. It was good for us as a church to go through and do some foundational shoring on the basics of doctrine and practice. It was well attended, and we will do another foundational study this fall on salvation, what it is and what God has accomplished for us through it. It should help all of us appreciate our salvation so much more.
This spring we again went to the Shepherd's Conference. Last year we took four men, but this year we took eight men, and hope to add to that next Spring. The desire on the part of our men to grow spiritually, and make the sacrifice to go gives me great joy, and is evidence of the work the Lord is doing in them.
Our children are growing, as well. My wife Angie has done a wonderful job in implanting Biblical truth into the hearts and minds of the children, and her goal is to give them the wisdom that leads to salvation. She does have a gift in taking Biblical truth and explaining it in a way that makes it understandable and relevant to the children. One of our familes told me that their Bible discussion on Sunday evenings was usually over what was learned at the children's Sunday School.
We have continued to grow numerically, slowly and steadily. While that is a good and desired thing, the best thing is to watch the growth in the people that the Lord is causing because of the preaching of His word. Seeing prayers answered, not just mine, but the prayers of our people is a wondrous thing. And having people come each Sunday expecting to hear from the Lord, and looking forward to what they will hear from the Lord lets you know that the Lord is at work in our midst. The things that our people have shared with me about what God is doing in their life, and their appreciation and love for the expository preaching/teaching they are receiving are the Lord's ways of confirming what we are doing, and encouraging.
Again, we enter another year not knowing what will take place, where the Lord will lead us, but knowing that we have a purpose and place in His eternal plan; and enter this next year even more committed to being a gospel centered church. So we will continue this walk, this journey, mindful of all that He has done and all that He is doing, so that we will keep the faith and not grow weary in doing good.
This has been the most eventful year so far, and, I believe, the most spiritually fruitful year. We lost a couple of families that had been with us for while. One, over the issue of male leadership (which we hold to), and the other, over a disagreement that I was never quite sure what it was. Both families left peacefully. I did not like seeing them leave, and still have a great deal of affection for them. But disagreements do come up, and sometimes they can be worked through and sometimes they can't; but to the credit of the families that left, they never tried to be disruptive or raise a stink because we disagreed. It is going through times of disagreement that confirm what you really believe by testing your commitment to what you say you believe, and that is a good thing.
As I mentioned in another post, we baptized three young ladies at the end of last summer. We will have another baptismal service later this summer or early fall. Baptisms are great events as they are testimonies of the Lord's work in the lives of people. The Lord has been working among us again over this last year and I am looking forward for all of us hearing testimony of His great grace. I enjoy preaching the gospel more now than I ever have, and continue to be more in awe and more appreciative of its power unto salvation.
At the end of April we ordained an elder and a deacon. It is gratifying to see God answer prayer and raise men up to take on the service/leadership roles in our church. Both men separately went through a 13 week orientation before the ordination. It gave us a time to get to know one another better and be prepared together for the work that each office requires. The respect I had for these men grew during our time together, and I believe the Lord has strengthened our church through this process.
We held a church wide bible study on Tuesday nights during the spring. We met at Baptist church on the north side of town, and they were gracious in turning their facility over to us to use however we needed. We worked through a study entitled Fundamentals of the Faith. It was good for us as a church to go through and do some foundational shoring on the basics of doctrine and practice. It was well attended, and we will do another foundational study this fall on salvation, what it is and what God has accomplished for us through it. It should help all of us appreciate our salvation so much more.
This spring we again went to the Shepherd's Conference. Last year we took four men, but this year we took eight men, and hope to add to that next Spring. The desire on the part of our men to grow spiritually, and make the sacrifice to go gives me great joy, and is evidence of the work the Lord is doing in them.
Our children are growing, as well. My wife Angie has done a wonderful job in implanting Biblical truth into the hearts and minds of the children, and her goal is to give them the wisdom that leads to salvation. She does have a gift in taking Biblical truth and explaining it in a way that makes it understandable and relevant to the children. One of our familes told me that their Bible discussion on Sunday evenings was usually over what was learned at the children's Sunday School.
We have continued to grow numerically, slowly and steadily. While that is a good and desired thing, the best thing is to watch the growth in the people that the Lord is causing because of the preaching of His word. Seeing prayers answered, not just mine, but the prayers of our people is a wondrous thing. And having people come each Sunday expecting to hear from the Lord, and looking forward to what they will hear from the Lord lets you know that the Lord is at work in our midst. The things that our people have shared with me about what God is doing in their life, and their appreciation and love for the expository preaching/teaching they are receiving are the Lord's ways of confirming what we are doing, and encouraging.
Again, we enter another year not knowing what will take place, where the Lord will lead us, but knowing that we have a purpose and place in His eternal plan; and enter this next year even more committed to being a gospel centered church. So we will continue this walk, this journey, mindful of all that He has done and all that He is doing, so that we will keep the faith and not grow weary in doing good.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Great Day
What a great day we had today, Sunday, August 16th, 2009. We had our first baptismal service today. We baptized three young ladies, young mothers, young wives; all of whom gave great testimonies to the grace of God in their lives. What a joy, both as their pastor and as a fellow believer, to share in their joy on this occasion.
Another joy was in the fact that the men who baptized them were not only church members, but men who have been active in their lives and instrumental in where they are spiritually.
One of the men baptized two of the young ladies, his daughter and her friend. The other man was the father-in-law of the one he baptized. In my pre-baptismal counseling with these women, each one of them commented individually on how much they appreciated these men, and their spiritual influence on them. These men were intentionally active and influential in the spiritual lives of these young women. Yes, God is sovereign in salvation, and sovereign in the means of salvation, but we must do our part as well.
We baptized in the swimming pool at the home of one of our members, and each of the young women gave a short testimony and then was baptized. Following their baptism I gave a short word aimed at the unbelieving family members present and an exhortation to our church family, and then we had a fellowship meal. There was a joy present that you could both see and feel.
One of the common elements in each testimony was the fact that all of them had been baptized as young teenagers, but had come to the realization that they had been saved much later, with two of them being saved within the last six months. This is such a common testimony for so many, and, in fact, is my testimony along my wife's. We, the church, do such a disservice to people in our rush to get them to say the prayer, walk the aisle, so we can count them as one of our converts.
Each one of these ladies told me that they never really understood what they were doing, but assumed it meant they had become Christians, because they were baptized and became church members. Thank God for His sovereignty in our salvation, because we can rest fully assured that if we are His, He will save us; but, with that being said, woe to those who give people false assurance and a false notion that they are truly saved, or do not give a clear and precise explanation of the gospel that will cause a person to truly know where they stand in relation to God, and exactly what saving faith is.
It reminds me of a time many years ago, at another church, when we were gathered for an outreach meeting and the two associate pastors were trying to teach people how to lead others in the sinner's prayer. When I asked them to show from the Scriptures where anyone had ever prayed to be saved, or where we were told to get people to pray the sinner's prayer so that they would be saved; they acted like I had thrown a bucket of cold water on the whole group. Of course they could not do so and finally admitted as much, and then continued on with what they were doing. I wish I could say this was an aberration, but it is not. In fact, two of the young ladies that were baptized today were baptized in that church under the ministry of one of the associate pastors I mentioned above.
Getting the gospel right is important, life-altering important, and we must be sure that the gospel we present leaves no doubt in the person's mind concerning the reality of their position before God.
I got off track here, as this is something that I am passionate about, but God is sovereign and God is good, His lovingkindness is everlasting, and this was a good day, no, a very great day, as we were able to share and rejoice with these precious ladies the goodness of God in saving them and making them His own.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Milestone II
Last month we passed our second anniversary as a church. In reflecting on this last year and then over the last two years I am filled with a sense of awe, thankfulness, and appreciation. The Lord has continued to bless us and confirm to us that this indeed has been His calling to us. My wife, Angie, teaches the children during the church time and so she wants to listen to my sermons later in the week, and likes for me to listen with her. I can tell you from listening to myself, that it is obviously the Holy Spirit at work, because it sure isn't my preaching; and despite my preaching people are faithful and we have continued to grow. But in thinking about it, that is the way it should be because, ultimately, it is the Lord who promised to build His church; and from I Corinthians we know that the Spirit gives the gift, the Lord gives the ministry, and God causes the effects. All of us are just vessels of clay that the Lord has graciously let participate in the accomplishment of His great eternal purpose.
We have continued to add families to the church, not in a great amount, but steadily as we have been adding a new family about every three months. In April we moved out of our house and are meeting in the Young Life building. The Young Life staff were very supportive and gracious in letting us use their building and we are only paying them $300 per month for the use of their facility. It is a perfect fit for us, at this point in time, and allows us some room for growth.
Spiritually, people are growing in their faith and in their knowledge of God and of His Son. Many have shared with me what the Lord is doing in their life; and one lady, who doesn't like to talk in front of people, shared with the entire church what the Lord has been doing in her life over the last year and half she has been coming to our church. Along with this we are having our first baptismal service next month. What a joy to be a part of this, and it has been one of the confirmations that we are doing what the Lord has called us to do.
One of the highlights of the last year was taking two of our men to the Shepherd's conference, along with my friend Ron from Dallas. This was their first real exposure to ministry of that quality and spiritual power, and it made quite an impact on them. Both are looking forward to returning next spring. This was the third year for me to attend, and each year a question I have had concerning ministry has been answered as a result of the conference.
I finished Colossians last fall, then preached through Jonah (personally convicting), then followed Jonah up with a topical series on love, then started preaching through the Gospel of John (what a delight). After finishing the prologue of John (first 18 verses), I am taking a break from John and preaching a series on the church which covers the function of the church in its outward expression toward God (I Peter 2:4-12), in its inward expression towards the members (Ephesians 4:7-16), God's gifts of enablement (I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, I Peter 4), church leadership (I Timothy 3, Titus 1), and the ordinances of the church (their role in the life of the church). Once I finish the church series it's back to John.
There are unique challenges to being a bi-vocational pastor and church planter, but the Lord's grace is always sufficient. With that being said, we are looking forward to this next year and seeing all that the Lord has in store for us at Grace Covenant Church.
We have continued to add families to the church, not in a great amount, but steadily as we have been adding a new family about every three months. In April we moved out of our house and are meeting in the Young Life building. The Young Life staff were very supportive and gracious in letting us use their building and we are only paying them $300 per month for the use of their facility. It is a perfect fit for us, at this point in time, and allows us some room for growth.
Spiritually, people are growing in their faith and in their knowledge of God and of His Son. Many have shared with me what the Lord is doing in their life; and one lady, who doesn't like to talk in front of people, shared with the entire church what the Lord has been doing in her life over the last year and half she has been coming to our church. Along with this we are having our first baptismal service next month. What a joy to be a part of this, and it has been one of the confirmations that we are doing what the Lord has called us to do.
One of the highlights of the last year was taking two of our men to the Shepherd's conference, along with my friend Ron from Dallas. This was their first real exposure to ministry of that quality and spiritual power, and it made quite an impact on them. Both are looking forward to returning next spring. This was the third year for me to attend, and each year a question I have had concerning ministry has been answered as a result of the conference.
I finished Colossians last fall, then preached through Jonah (personally convicting), then followed Jonah up with a topical series on love, then started preaching through the Gospel of John (what a delight). After finishing the prologue of John (first 18 verses), I am taking a break from John and preaching a series on the church which covers the function of the church in its outward expression toward God (I Peter 2:4-12), in its inward expression towards the members (Ephesians 4:7-16), God's gifts of enablement (I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, I Peter 4), church leadership (I Timothy 3, Titus 1), and the ordinances of the church (their role in the life of the church). Once I finish the church series it's back to John.
There are unique challenges to being a bi-vocational pastor and church planter, but the Lord's grace is always sufficient. With that being said, we are looking forward to this next year and seeing all that the Lord has in store for us at Grace Covenant Church.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Milestone
We passed a milestone this last weekend. In the eternal scheme of things it probably wouldn't even be a blip on the radar, but it is a milestone for us none the less. This last Sunday we finished our first year as a church as we began Grace Covenant Church on the third Sunday of June 2007. There are many things that have gone through my mind over the last couple of days, but foremost would be the gratitude I have to the Lord for calling me and giving me the privilege of serving Him in this way. Along with the gratitude is also a sense of awe that people came, and are still coming, in spite of me also leading the singing for most of this last year. The Lord has brought some great people to be a part of this and I am blessed to be their pastor.
I wrestled with the Lord for almost a year before I finally accepted the fact that He was calling me to become a pastor. What were my excuses? 1. My age, as I was 55 at that time. 2. I am divorced and remarried. 3. No seminary degree or training. 4. Me? Why would the Lord be calling me? 5. I did not trust myself and wanted assurance that this was truly from the Lord. 6. I have been on the ground floor of two other church plants and never desired to be the pastor, and in both instances I knew my place was to be a teacher. But I could not deny the burden in my spirit and the desire of my heart. In fact, it was the change in my heart from not wanting to ever be a pastor, because of all the stuff that goes along with it, to having it be such a fervent desire that has been one of the confirmations that this indeed is a calling from the Lord; but it was the encouragement and admonishment from my wife, Angie, that finally got me off of high center and stepping out in faith.
In the four months leading up to us starting the church Angie and I talked often about the things involved with starting a church, and one of my comments to her was that we would be surprised at who would come and who would not, and I was right. We talked specifically to about 30 couples about what we felt the Lord was leading us to do, what the philosphy of ministry would be, and what the mission and purpose of the church would be. Some of them told us they were interested, some were non-commital, some were not interested, but when the first Sunday came only two couples that we had specifically talked to came and one of them had their nose in the air and left as soon as they could. However, we had others come that we did not specifically talk to and they have continued to come. We had a family join in October and another join last month, and the one who joined last month was an answer to everyone's prayer as he can play the guitar and has volunteered to lead the singing. We now have 14 adults, two teenagers, and seven children. Angie is teaching the children in the front bedroom and we are holding the worship service in our living room.
Where is the Lord leading us? Honestly, I am not sure. We are meeting in our home, but I don't consider us a house church nor want to be one. We have just incorporated and I will be applying for our tax exempt status soon. We are considering the pros and cons of affiliation or remaining independent. I did not start this with a vision or a grand plan, but with the desire to be obedient to what I knew the Lord was calling me to do and the prayer to the Lord to keep me faithful to the task He has assigned me; and Angie as my helpmate has accepted my calling as her calling.
The Lord is having us take it a week at a time, so my answer to several who have asked me what my vision is for this church has been, "The service this coming Sunday." We are working our way through Colossians. We started in Colossians last June and I will be preaching on Colossians 3:16-17 this coming Sunday.
Along the way, and even this last week, the Lord has been gracious to give me confirmations that this is what He has called and is continuing to call me to do. Along with the change of heart that I mentioned earlier has been a firm conviction in my own spirit that I am right where He wants me to be, a conviction that has never left even through the few times of disappointment. All the ways He has given me confirmation have reminded me of the Lord dealing with Elijah in I Kings 19:11-13 So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" God is indeed faithful and we are looking forward to the weeks and months ahead as He guides us, not through spectacular events, but through the gentle breeze of His Spirit and the confirmation of His word.
I wrestled with the Lord for almost a year before I finally accepted the fact that He was calling me to become a pastor. What were my excuses? 1. My age, as I was 55 at that time. 2. I am divorced and remarried. 3. No seminary degree or training. 4. Me? Why would the Lord be calling me? 5. I did not trust myself and wanted assurance that this was truly from the Lord. 6. I have been on the ground floor of two other church plants and never desired to be the pastor, and in both instances I knew my place was to be a teacher. But I could not deny the burden in my spirit and the desire of my heart. In fact, it was the change in my heart from not wanting to ever be a pastor, because of all the stuff that goes along with it, to having it be such a fervent desire that has been one of the confirmations that this indeed is a calling from the Lord; but it was the encouragement and admonishment from my wife, Angie, that finally got me off of high center and stepping out in faith.
In the four months leading up to us starting the church Angie and I talked often about the things involved with starting a church, and one of my comments to her was that we would be surprised at who would come and who would not, and I was right. We talked specifically to about 30 couples about what we felt the Lord was leading us to do, what the philosphy of ministry would be, and what the mission and purpose of the church would be. Some of them told us they were interested, some were non-commital, some were not interested, but when the first Sunday came only two couples that we had specifically talked to came and one of them had their nose in the air and left as soon as they could. However, we had others come that we did not specifically talk to and they have continued to come. We had a family join in October and another join last month, and the one who joined last month was an answer to everyone's prayer as he can play the guitar and has volunteered to lead the singing. We now have 14 adults, two teenagers, and seven children. Angie is teaching the children in the front bedroom and we are holding the worship service in our living room.
Where is the Lord leading us? Honestly, I am not sure. We are meeting in our home, but I don't consider us a house church nor want to be one. We have just incorporated and I will be applying for our tax exempt status soon. We are considering the pros and cons of affiliation or remaining independent. I did not start this with a vision or a grand plan, but with the desire to be obedient to what I knew the Lord was calling me to do and the prayer to the Lord to keep me faithful to the task He has assigned me; and Angie as my helpmate has accepted my calling as her calling.
The Lord is having us take it a week at a time, so my answer to several who have asked me what my vision is for this church has been, "The service this coming Sunday." We are working our way through Colossians. We started in Colossians last June and I will be preaching on Colossians 3:16-17 this coming Sunday.
Along the way, and even this last week, the Lord has been gracious to give me confirmations that this is what He has called and is continuing to call me to do. Along with the change of heart that I mentioned earlier has been a firm conviction in my own spirit that I am right where He wants me to be, a conviction that has never left even through the few times of disappointment. All the ways He has given me confirmation have reminded me of the Lord dealing with Elijah in I Kings 19:11-13 So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" God is indeed faithful and we are looking forward to the weeks and months ahead as He guides us, not through spectacular events, but through the gentle breeze of His Spirit and the confirmation of His word.
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