Imagine my delight, I’ve
been asked to share with representatives from nearly a hundred churches why
I’m excited about Prineville Presbyterian. For openers we have 3 session
members who will be at the meeting. This is a first!
New people are joining
us for Sunday worship, and they’re getting plugged into other areas of our church
life too. Over the past several
months different people have separately offered conversations about
beginning a 'new building' fund.
We have core group
of youth forming through our 2nd Sunday Youth Event Series. Some of
these youth will be part of our 2nd Sunday Advent worship service
next month.
Our recent Autumn
Fest raised over $2600 - the most ever! This comes after our earlier Spring
Indoor Plant and Yard Sale, where - again for the first time ever - that sale
alone generated enough for us to completely meet our mission budget.
Last year at this
time my Pastor’s Corner ended with this:
“I’m excited more
than ever for our future; I hope you are too. In our excitement we need to
remember that we are servants, directed by God to come alongside all who feel
hopeless – and this hopelessness shows up in new ways. We have to be ready to
see something new, and always be willing to respond with God’s goodness.”
Looking back over the
year we have been faithful to God’s goodness. Among other things: our monthly
canned food collection helps St. Vincent DePaul feed the hungry; our Community
Garden helped 8 Redemption House homeless shelter clients earn safe food
handler cards as they seek employment; our very strong presence with Crook
County Connect and Beyond provided lots of services to the poor; we offer real hope
as well as cash aid to families struggling to pay power bills or rent; PPC is
helping Young Life in their quest to get teenagers to know Jesus Christ.When working with groups there’s a concept called critical mass. It’s a kind of self-sustaining energy that builds on its own as it brings about widespread action. There's good critical mass developing within the church and it is extending into the community too. I believe this is because:
#1 we're now
doing more of the ministry things that people outside the church expect to see churches doing which makes them
want to know what might be going on inside
the church;
#2: When we
weave these ministry actions together with faithfulness to the Word of God,
it brings Jesus Christ to life and opens everybody to God’s Holy Spirit at work
within them.
In reflecting upon
the past year and in preparing for the year ahead, I’m even more excited for
our future. While I hope that you join in this excitement, first and foremost let
us always remember that we are servants.
Together We Serve,Pastor Mike