Another Pastoral Epistle 1/16/19

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).  The Bible is not against making plans. It is wise to plan, but it is also wise to hold onto those plans loosely.  The Book of James speaks to submitting our plans to the Lord’s will or its Latin equivalent, “Deo Volente.” It is believed that back in church history the Methodists were known to sign all their letters with initials, D.V. (Deo Volente)- If the Lord wills.

With that in mind, plans are in place for upgrading and addressing some needs within our church campus.  As we have been learning in our study in Haggai, it is time to move to the second phase of our building plan as laid out back when we moved into this facility.  It is time to ask what it is that the Lord has for us next. “What’s Next” campaign is being rolled out and there is a very important date I want you to put on your calendar.  Friday night, April 5, there will be a “What’s Next Banquet. There will be a program for the kids as well. Watch for the details. For now, save the date.

I am appreciative of the prayer team that is formed around this campaign.  You will be hearing of the many ways you can be praying for our church as we move forward to embracing what God is building here.  I hope you will join with others for a night of fellowship around prayer. Sunday night, January 27 at 6:00 is an opportunity to worship and pray together as we ask God to continue to show us “What’s next” for EBC.

One answer to what’s next is to develop an even stronger teaching ministry here that addresses specific needs within our church family.  Join us for a Bible study beginning on Sunday mornings at 9:00 (during first service). Portraits of Jesus is an eight-week study on the person of Jesus given to us by the New Testament.  It will challenge the wrong perceptions of Jesus in our modern world. Jim Hayes, Matt Anderson, Adam Hayes and I will be sharing the teaching. It begins this Sunday, January 20 at 9:00 in the fellowship hall.

“Inspire. Enlighten. Encourage. Enlist.” Missions event on February 8-10.  The weekend will kick-off with a prayer night on February 8. There will be a men’s breakfast and women’s brunch on that Saturday, February 9.  And Sunday we will do things a little differently than usual. We will have one service at 9:30am and there will be several workshops to choose from and a Missions’ Fair. This is going to be an exciting weekend!

I trust that you are part of a community group.  This is more and more necessary as our church grows.  Relationships best happen in smaller groups, so sign up for a group if you aren’t part of one presently.

As you can see, a lot is going on at EBC.  My prayer is that we continue to grow deeper with Christ and each other and to have a greater impact on our community!  We build and invest now for what we cannot see. As the Psalmist declared, “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord” (Psalm 102:18).

See you soon,
Pastor Brian
D.V.