Since our last meeting we’ve made it through another summer! Summer was full of ministry and outreach, with Surf Camps, Operation Back Pack, and of course, lots of guests. In a resort area like ours, summer is a different beast for churches than in most areas. And we survived!
Can you believe that sometimes folks serving in ministry receive critical remarks – usually from guests. We don’t expect everyone who walks through the doors to understand, agree with or appreciate the ministry and vision God has given us. But we also don’t want those of you serving who hear or see those criticisms to let them get you down. You work hard at what you do, and you get it. So we came up with a memo on how to handle criticism. All our Ministry Team leaders were sent a copy and asked to distribute them to their teams. So if you didn’t get one, ask your leader why not?
All totaled 18 people publicly professed Christ by being baptized during the summer. That’s amazing. We’ve also had a large number of folks commit and covenant with us as partners in the last few months. Seven came in since our last DNHCU class in September. That’s encouraging.
We’ve also had a lot of people move away this year, more than I can remember in any other year. Mostly they moved for financial reasons. So it seems that as we take a step forward in growing with new folks, we take a step back at the same time with people moving. We’re also missing people who perhaps were extra busy in the summer and haven’t found their way back yet. But Sunday’s attendance indicated they are coming back.
You might remember that after the last CREST meeting we asked those interested in Disaster Response to meet together. Twelve of us met and we’ve taken some positive steps, esp. with the NC Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief team, to partner with them in case of a catastrophic storm. Good ideas were shared.
In August we had a workshop as elders about systems. As we mature as a church and grow larger we keep finding it necessary to tweak our systems to make sure no one falls through the cracks. We have a great data base program that Jim Bailey has run with, and will be getting on line with some better ways of tracking ministry teams, connection groups, new partners, NHCU, building use needs, etc. Most of all we plan to form an assimilation team to help attenders take the steps needed to become committed partners.
One thing we’ve noticed lately is a bit of a paradox. Our attendance in everything is down. Sundays are down from last year. First Wednesdays are about half of what they were a year ago. As you can see, CREST isn’t bringing in too many. So we’re thinking of what to do about it. Part of it can be attributed to people moving. What is paradoxical to us is that we’ve seen a greater number of baptisms this year; a greater number of new partners and our offerings have been stronger than the last two years. So we’re seeing some positive growth in essentials that indicate strength as a church, just without as many people.
Burnie took a break from his elders responsibilities in the summer and now Steve is taking a break.
We said goodbye to Jay and Alicia, sending them out to India as missionaries. John and Cindy Peterson with Campus Crusade visited us. We were able to help Janessa Long get to China and we heard a report from Taylor Edmonds who is serving another two year term in Rome. And right after our last meeting Tammy Stump left for Nepal. Let me encourage all of us to keep up with all our missionaries. As we receive updates we post them on our blog. Most of them also send out fairly regular emails that you can receive if you ask. Larry and Sheila Benson will be here the end of November and the first of December. And next summer Stan and Sandy Anonby will finally be back for another visit with us from Brazil.
In the summer months we took a look at the great doctrines of grace and salvation from the heart of Romans. Then we spent 4 weeks talking about what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. Now we’re in 40 Days of Love through mid-November. Then we’ll be in the Christmas season. There’s a lot of excitement right now about the 40 Days and our groups are going strong. When it’s over we’ll see that God has taught us some of the deepest life-changing truths in the Scripture about loving Him and others.
Right now we’re working on next year’s budget. Would you pray with us that our collective ministry purposes and vision will guide us through this process. It’s not just about putting numbers on a paper that we think will “work”. It’s about seeking God’s will and plans for us and exercising faith. At the end of November we’ll be meeting again as a church to see the new budget proposal. I hope it’s scary.
We’ve heard of one family in our church going through a really tough financial time, and we know there must be others. Please: we have funds to help. Not unlimited funds, but we can help. We just have to know how to help. So if you know someone in the church with a pressing burden, encourage them to talk to one of us and let us know. It’s sad when folks don’t ask and we could have helped.
Guess what’s coming soon? Operation Christmas Child. November 14 is when we’ll collect all the boxes, so start getting ready. That follows Trunk or Treat pretty quickly. We’re also observing Organ Donation Sunday on Nov. 7, which gives everyone an opportunity to register as an organ donor.
Part of being a good Christian is being a good citizen. That means we should exercise
our right to vote. I hope you will prayerfully consider how you will vote.
Burnie’s working on some ideas to help us raise awareness and giving toward paying off our building. At the same time we really need to get busy finishing the upstairs for our youth. They’ve been patient. I want to promise them that they’ll be in their own space next year and early. But I can’t make that promise on my own.
Let me switch gears now and give you a bit of what the Bible calls a warning. One of the things that all this technology revolution has produced in our culture is an overload of information. In a couple clicks you can open up all kinds of blogs, articles, videos and you have more knowledge at your fingertips than ever before. But keep in mind that knowledge and wisdom are two different things. The thing that separates wisdom from knowledge is what the Bible calls “discernment” – being able to distinguish from what is true and right, and what may appear to be true and right, but has bits and pieces of things that are not.
How do I keep from being deceived?
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