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.