From the Pastors - Elder Update

ELDER UPDATE

Celebrate With Us:

We have seen God show His incredible goodness to us in multiple ways this past month.  First, we have had a successful re-opening of our church, both in regards to those gathering here, as well as the Spirit working through you to care for one another, especially those worshiping at home in this season.  Secondly, your generosity in Christ continues to shine forth.  While many churches are reporting giving numbers at 50-75% of normal levels, we ended May at 105%!   Thirdly, many of you continue to humbly serve in this season, encouraging people through postcards, meeting needs, praying for one another, and serving on Sundays.  We had a great volunteer base for this month’s Bike Blessing, which helped lead to our final praise: God used the bike blessing to work in one of the bikers to trust in Jesus!  We pray this individual would be the first of many new believers in the upcoming months!

Partner With Us:

As we shared back at our annual meeting in February, we have put the next steps in our mission on hold, so that we can increase member engagement in what we are currently doing.  Therefore, from July 19^th- August 9^th we will be focusing in on what it means to serve Christ.  In the Romans 15:8-16:27 sermon we invited you to consider the following question: Does my partnership in the church’s mission (time, passion, energy, etc.) reflect what Jesus has done for me?  He humbly washed feet, ate with sinners, and even died on the cross.  Therefore, in light of what Jesus has done for us, we are inviting you to take time these next several weeks to consider how you might serve Christ and partner in His mission here at First Baptist.  Can you serve Him by greeting and welcoming people on Sundays?  Can you serve Him by using your music, audio, visual, or technical gifts to help lead our church in worship?  Can you serve Him by teaching or assisting a teacher in Kids Church or a small group in order to help our church grow in Christ?  Can you serve Him by loving on our babies and toddlers in the nursery?  Can you serve Him by helping mow, move snow, or help keep our building maintained allowing our facility to be used to help people live in light of the gospel?  Once again, we invite you to experience the joy that comes with living for Jesus, serving Him in his mission, and partnering with us as a church in these ways and many more.

Pray With Us:    

For the next several weeks we are inviting you to pray with us for three things: unity, servant hearts, and wisdom. Pray that the Spirit would unite our church as one body as we continue to worship in different places in this season. Pray for servant hearts as we invite our church to partner with us in Christ’s mission to live in light of the gospel.  Finally, pray for God’s wisdom for those making decisions as they look towards the Fall and discern what God would have us do to be faithful to Him. 

We love you all. But more importantly, you are greatly loved by our God!  In that we rejoice!

 Pastor Matt on behalf of the First Baptist Elder Team