New Beginnings
Can you believe it is 2009? I remember when we turned the calendar to the year 2000 and that seems like just yesterday. Time seems to fly by so quickly, which should make us mindful of how important each day of our life is in preparation for eternity.
As we begin this new year here at Pea Ridge Baptist, I am excited for a time of new beginnings. We are turning our hearts and efforts in ministry to making disciples. Remember our mission and vision… “to Know Christ and Make Him Known”. We believe God will carry this out in our church by making mature disciples who in LOVE will…KNOW Christ Completely…GROW in Maturity…SERVE Wholeheartedly…SHARE God Personally. Know, Grow, Serve and Share…that is what we are asking of every member and all ministries of our church: to come into alignment with this vision. This will require that we look at each and every aspect of our ministry and outreach to see how it falls in line with our mission/vision.
Personally, I want to challenge each of you to look at your own life and evaluate where you are in your relationship with Jesus Christ. I would ask that you look at your life through the lens of the mission/vision of our church (Know, Grow, Serve, Share) and see where you need to focus the energies of your spiritual growth this year. We will spend time on Sunday morning and in classes talking about how to Know, Grow, Serve and Share in our individual lives and in corporate life as a church. If you have not done so already, let me invite you to be part of our Disciple Classes continuing in January. Disciple 101 focuses on church membership and the importance of being part of church (Know)…Disciple 201 is focused on developing strong, positive spiritual habits as a disciple (Grow)…Disciple 301 will focus on understanding and putting to use the gifts and talents God has given you (Serve)…and Disciple 401 will focus on your personal effectiveness in sharing your faith (Share). I would like to see every person at Pea Ridge Baptist attend these classes. Ask anyone who has been part of these classes and they will tell you they have grown, deepened their commitment to spending time with God and more.
Sometimes, new beginnings will mean transitions. There will be times this year when we will experiment with new ways of approaching ministry. New schedules and different ideas will be presented and applied, all for becoming the church God has called us to be. If we are going to focus on making disciples, we really need to be open to creating an atmosphere where this can be accomplished.
We must remember that Pea Ridge Baptist is God’s church…not ours. We must remember that we are God’s children and that we live and minister in response to what God had done in our lives. The apostle Paul said, “Join me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. The grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1: 8b-9, NIV). We are saved by grace and called to be grace and peace to the world around us. We are God’s workmanship, called by God to do His work, for His glory (see Ephesians 2: 10).
I call each member and regular attendee of Pea Ridge Baptist to be part of God’s work in this community. I call each of you to deepen your personal commitment to your relationship with Jesus Christ and to deepen your commitment to the ministries of our church.
May God be glorified as we follow in calling and plan for Pea Ridge Baptist.
Pastor Greg