Next Saturday, January 1st 2011, marks the first day of the decade when we begin what we are calling, “The 2020 Vision!” As I shared with you on Sunday, August 29th, (the day you voted to call me as your Pastor full-time) I believe it is certainly possible to grow our church at a rate of 15% per year for the next ten years.
If the Lord allows us to reach this lofty goal, at the end of this coming decade we will have grown from 90 to 350 in Sunday School each week; from 140 to 570 in worship each week; and, we will have baptized 338 new believers and added another 338 people to our church by Letter or Statement!
This morning, as we stand at the threshold of this amazing journey, I want to provide you with biblical answers to the three most vitally important questions we face about the 2020 Vision: “Why”; “How”; and “Why Now?”
Why? Because of Four Relevant Realities:
The COMMANDS from Above!
Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 14:23;
John 15:16; John 20:21
The CRIES from Below!
Luke 16:19-28
The CONDITIONS Around Us!
Revelation 22:14-15
The COMPASSION Within Us!
Matthew 9:35-38
How? By Renewing Three Commitments:
Renewed Commitment to our Individual Spiritual Growth
TALK to God Luke 18:1
LISTEN to God 2nd Timothy 2:15
OBEY God James 1:22; 4:17
SERVE God Matthew 20:28
Renewed Commitment to our Corporate Spiritual Growth
MEET with One Another Acts 2:42-47
MINISTER to One Another Hebrews 10:23-25
MENTOR One Another Proverbs 27:17
MULTIPLY MEMBERS Who Meet with, Minister to, and Mentor one Another 2nd Timothy 2:2
Renewed Commitment to our Numerical and Financial Growth
BEGINNING Relationships with New People
BUILDING Relationships with New people
Bringing New People to CHRIST
Bringing New People to CHURCH
Why Now? At least three great reasons:
Why us? Because we’re the Right FOLK!
Why here? Because we have the Right FACILITIES!
Why now? Because we do not know the FUTURE!
God has given us a great vision of what we can accomplish for Him through the ministry of our Church. I hope you will join me in praying for this vision to become a reality; and participating in the thousands of things we will have to do to see this come to pass. God bless you!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
It's Wednesday, but Sunday's Coming!
On this cool December Wednesday, I am thinking about Sunday! No surprise there! Hopefully, every Lord’s Day and Sunday Sermon is important to your life; but, there are a few things that I believe will make this one special:
First, as it is the last Sunday of December, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together! This is always a beautiful and deeply spiritual time for believers as we examine ourselves, repent of sins, and come to the Lord’s Table with a renewed and refreshed walk with Him.
Second, I will be preaching an, “end of year” sermon about how we are currently doing in light of the vision God has given us for ministry in our area. I believe all of us will need to consider carefully this biblical message on what the Lord is calling us to be and to do as we serve Him.
Finally, we are in for a musical treat, (as usual)! Bill Fleming is feeling much better and he and his family will be worshipping the Lord and serving us through the songs that they had prepared for last week’s Christmas Musical.
I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and family and friends by your side!
First, as it is the last Sunday of December, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together! This is always a beautiful and deeply spiritual time for believers as we examine ourselves, repent of sins, and come to the Lord’s Table with a renewed and refreshed walk with Him.
Second, I will be preaching an, “end of year” sermon about how we are currently doing in light of the vision God has given us for ministry in our area. I believe all of us will need to consider carefully this biblical message on what the Lord is calling us to be and to do as we serve Him.
Finally, we are in for a musical treat, (as usual)! Bill Fleming is feeling much better and he and his family will be worshipping the Lord and serving us through the songs that they had prepared for last week’s Christmas Musical.
I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and family and friends by your side!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Pastor Lanny's Schedule Changes!
Beloved Ones,
I am sorry for any confusion these changes may cause, but the “Second Shift” Schedule I have worked for the last two months is not working well.
Starting today, (12-1) I will be on the field on Tuesdays through Fridays from 9am to 5pm, and I will be available at other times as needed. I will be taking Monday as my day off. I will be present each week at AWANA to help as needed.
I will be making Member and Prospect visits on two Saturdays each month during daylight hours!
Hopefully, this will be more convenient for you and more efficient for me. I am available at any time for emergencies. God bless you.
I am sorry for any confusion these changes may cause, but the “Second Shift” Schedule I have worked for the last two months is not working well.
Starting today, (12-1) I will be on the field on Tuesdays through Fridays from 9am to 5pm, and I will be available at other times as needed. I will be taking Monday as my day off. I will be present each week at AWANA to help as needed.
I will be making Member and Prospect visits on two Saturdays each month during daylight hours!
Hopefully, this will be more convenient for you and more efficient for me. I am available at any time for emergencies. God bless you.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Heart-felt Thanks!
Lin and I want all of you to know how very much we appreciate being appreciated! Your kindnesses over these past four years; and certainly over the past month, have been overwhelming! We are humbled and thankful for the very generous gifts you have sacrificed to give to us.
It is the great joy of my life to be your Pastor and I look forward to every day the Lord allows us to serve Him together. I need to figure out how to have a CONGREGATION APPRECIATION MONTH to let each of you know how very much Lin and I love you and how much Lin and I thank God for the joy of serving Him by serving you!
It is the great joy of my life to be your Pastor and I look forward to every day the Lord allows us to serve Him together. I need to figure out how to have a CONGREGATION APPRECIATION MONTH to let each of you know how very much Lin and I love you and how much Lin and I thank God for the joy of serving Him by serving you!
Friday, October 29, 2010
A Night to Remember!
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 (ESV)
What a truly wonderful experience last Thursday evening was as many of our friends from Central Baptist Association (along with notes from many who could not attend) shared their appreciation and best wishes to Lin and I. Of course, all of this was not necessary as the Association has over and over again made sure that we know that we were loved and our work was appreciated. Not necessary – but very much enjoyed!
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to pull off this “surprise” card shower and made it such a happy evening for us. It was my great joy to serve you for the past sixteen years and I pray that God will bless our efforts. I am humbled by the generosity shown to us through the check that we were presented from the Association and the many cards and gifts.
Thanks also to our dear friends at FBC Atwood for setting up the facility and managing the event; and to those from our Church who attended and also brought cards and gifts. You are a blessing and Lin and I are looking forward to the years of ministry we will have together, as the Lord allows!
Thank you!
What a truly wonderful experience last Thursday evening was as many of our friends from Central Baptist Association (along with notes from many who could not attend) shared their appreciation and best wishes to Lin and I. Of course, all of this was not necessary as the Association has over and over again made sure that we know that we were loved and our work was appreciated. Not necessary – but very much enjoyed!
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to pull off this “surprise” card shower and made it such a happy evening for us. It was my great joy to serve you for the past sixteen years and I pray that God will bless our efforts. I am humbled by the generosity shown to us through the check that we were presented from the Association and the many cards and gifts.
Thanks also to our dear friends at FBC Atwood for setting up the facility and managing the event; and to those from our Church who attended and also brought cards and gifts. You are a blessing and Lin and I are looking forward to the years of ministry we will have together, as the Lord allows!
Thank you!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A Beautiful Church!
What a wonderful weekend we have shared as a Church family over these last three days! Friday was a happy and blessed time of reflection, remembrance, and fellowship. We enjoyed each other, a great meal, and an encouraging message from Don Lusk.
Saturday was exactly as advertised, "A Party!" Well over one hundred people come together to play and eat and to share our thanks to God by giving gifts to the people of our Community.
Today, was as expected, "the icing on the cake." We shared a wonderful day of music and singing, three baptisms, a great passage of Scripture, and, we tossed our copies of the original mortgage into a burn barrel and thanked the Lord for enabling us to pay off our building debt more than four years early!
On each of these special days, we had great fellowship among our faithful members and we enjoyed the presence of several visitors!
This afternoon I have been thinking about the lessons from this weekend, and one stands out more clearly to me than any other: OUR BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS ARE NOT OUR CHURCH... WE ARE!
Yes, we went into the Sanctuary to sing and give thanks to God on Friday after watching a video of it's construction; but, I realized that we had not been watching the building of a Church, but we were watching the Church building a building!
We were in and out of the fellowship hall, kitchen, and foyer on Saturday as we set up outside for the Block Party; but, I realized that we were not going in and out of the Church, the Church was going in and out of the building!
We gathered together in the Sanctuary this morning for worship; but, I realized that we were not worshipping in the Church, the Church was worshipping in the building!
Thank God for our three beautiful, useful, and debt-free buildings; but, these buildings are not the Church - we are! How we thank God for each other, for being family, and for the profuse and public love that we have for one another.
People often comment about our facilities, "this is a beautiful church!" I instantly agree with them and quickly add, "and the buildings are not bad either."
We are a beautiful Church meeting in a beautiful place. I love you, I thank God for you, and I rejoice in the happy providence of being your Pastor.
Lesson learned. God bless you.
Saturday was exactly as advertised, "A Party!" Well over one hundred people come together to play and eat and to share our thanks to God by giving gifts to the people of our Community.
Today, was as expected, "the icing on the cake." We shared a wonderful day of music and singing, three baptisms, a great passage of Scripture, and, we tossed our copies of the original mortgage into a burn barrel and thanked the Lord for enabling us to pay off our building debt more than four years early!
On each of these special days, we had great fellowship among our faithful members and we enjoyed the presence of several visitors!
This afternoon I have been thinking about the lessons from this weekend, and one stands out more clearly to me than any other: OUR BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS ARE NOT OUR CHURCH... WE ARE!
Yes, we went into the Sanctuary to sing and give thanks to God on Friday after watching a video of it's construction; but, I realized that we had not been watching the building of a Church, but we were watching the Church building a building!
We were in and out of the fellowship hall, kitchen, and foyer on Saturday as we set up outside for the Block Party; but, I realized that we were not going in and out of the Church, the Church was going in and out of the building!
We gathered together in the Sanctuary this morning for worship; but, I realized that we were not worshipping in the Church, the Church was worshipping in the building!
Thank God for our three beautiful, useful, and debt-free buildings; but, these buildings are not the Church - we are! How we thank God for each other, for being family, and for the profuse and public love that we have for one another.
People often comment about our facilities, "this is a beautiful church!" I instantly agree with them and quickly add, "and the buildings are not bad either."
We are a beautiful Church meeting in a beautiful place. I love you, I thank God for you, and I rejoice in the happy providence of being your Pastor.
Lesson learned. God bless you.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
It's Thursday, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are Coming!
What a weekend! We have been thinking about, praying for, and planning the events of this weekend for several weeks. So, what's up?
It's "THANKSGIVING IN SEPTEMBER!" No, we did not move the National Holiday two months ahead, we are having an, AREA-WIDE PARTY to personally and publicly give thanks to God for the gift of our beautiful and DEBT-FREE FACILITIES! Yea!
Friday at 6pm, we will have a catered banquet featuring great food, fellowship, and some fun! Don and Ruth Ann Lusk will be our special guests and Don will share a devotional message with us. We will have special music, a video of the building project, and - did I already mention - great food!
By God's grace and blessing, we have paid off our mortgage four years early! God has blessed us and our people have given sacrifically... now, it's time to PARTY!
The party continues on Saturday from 5 to 8pm with outdoor games, door prizes, food (yup, more food) and tours of the facilities. We have run ads in the local paper and invited everyone of whom we can think! It's is an AREA-WIDE PARTY, and we want YOU to be with us!
Sunday will begin with the baptism of the Poole family! We will have great music, prayer time, and a sermon from Acts 3:1-16.
At the end of the Morning Service, we will all be given a copy of the mortgage and we'll march outside and BURN THESE COPIES OF THE MORTGAGE on the backlot! Yahoo!
Because we will be so tired... estatically happy, but truly tired... we will not have services on Sunday afternoon or evening.
IT'S GOING TO BE A THREE DAY PARTY... FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY! I hope to see you there...
It's "THANKSGIVING IN SEPTEMBER!" No, we did not move the National Holiday two months ahead, we are having an, AREA-WIDE PARTY to personally and publicly give thanks to God for the gift of our beautiful and DEBT-FREE FACILITIES! Yea!
Friday at 6pm, we will have a catered banquet featuring great food, fellowship, and some fun! Don and Ruth Ann Lusk will be our special guests and Don will share a devotional message with us. We will have special music, a video of the building project, and - did I already mention - great food!
By God's grace and blessing, we have paid off our mortgage four years early! God has blessed us and our people have given sacrifically... now, it's time to PARTY!
The party continues on Saturday from 5 to 8pm with outdoor games, door prizes, food (yup, more food) and tours of the facilities. We have run ads in the local paper and invited everyone of whom we can think! It's is an AREA-WIDE PARTY, and we want YOU to be with us!
Sunday will begin with the baptism of the Poole family! We will have great music, prayer time, and a sermon from Acts 3:1-16.
At the end of the Morning Service, we will all be given a copy of the mortgage and we'll march outside and BURN THESE COPIES OF THE MORTGAGE on the backlot! Yahoo!
Because we will be so tired... estatically happy, but truly tired... we will not have services on Sunday afternoon or evening.
IT'S GOING TO BE A THREE DAY PARTY... FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY! I hope to see you there...
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