England News
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England News |
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24 Jan. 07 |
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Dear Friends,
Nevertheless, change is absolutely essential for growth, and sometimes
growth and change can be quite painful. When I planted grass seeds last
spring in my garden, I noticed that as the seeds changes and began to
sprout, the tender grass would break through the ground. From close up the
process looked quite destructive, but the end result was quite beautiful.
After focusing last year on growth, we have simply added to this theme this year by focusing on change. In the church, we aim to do this in three areas. First, we are challenging our members to change in their commitment to the kingdom of God and to the vision and values of the fellowship. Last weekend we had our first ever “Commitment Sunday”, in which we focused on the importance of being committed as members. We encouraged each one to make a commitment to serve, protect and support the church by pledging to do so. We are trying to get all of the church to become more committed to the things that are foundational and fundamental for growth, including meeting in small groups, fellowship, and studying the bible.
Finally, we are still making changes in our building. By the time we
celebrate our 42nd church anniversary we hope to have purchased new chairs,
carpet and we would like to have completed final redecoration of the back
rooms. We are preparing for more people than ever before as we focus on our
mission to the world. Our anniversary theme is “For such a time as this” and
since this year happens to be the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the
slave trade we want to consider the role of the descendants of the African
slave trade in world missions.
There is an old saying: “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done!” We’re doing things we’ve never done in an attempt to make the necessary changes for growth. May the Lord bless you as you seek to do the same throughout the New Year. |
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| In His service, | ||
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| Freddie | ||
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I have
always been amazed at how the birth of a new year can have such a profound
effect on people. Most of us seem to make some type of resolution since most
of us reflect on the passing of time and our need for some form of change. I
am also amazed at how so many of us consider change on January 1st and then
forget about it by January 31st. It seems to me that most people do not like
change, but prefer the word routine. We eat the same breakfast, shop at the
same supermarket, watch our favorite programmes on TV and even sit in the
same seat at church each week. Yes, change can be a very dirty word!
When I was a young boy, I had a sudden growth spurt that may have gone
unnoticed, except for the fact that I suddenly began to get pain in my
knees. These were my first experiences of “growing pains” and I went from 5’
2” at age 12 to 5’ 11” at age 17. I didn’t like the pain at the time, but I
am so glad that I did not remain at 5’ 2”!
Secondly, we are pushing toward change in our strategies. At this moment
we are developing a simple programme to take each member through four stages
of development. First, each new member will go through our membership study,
which helps them to understand what membership is as well as our vision and
values. Afterwards we are developing a second course aimed at development of
spiritual disciplines (prayer, bible reading, etc.) and character. The next
course will help them to discover their gifts and abilities, and will be
followed by the final course that will prepare them to serve in some
practical form of ministry.
Did God let an event of such magnitude take
place for nothing? Did he not allow such a migration in order for these
descendants of Africa to take their place in his global plan for all men? Surely God has brought His people through such adversity for such a time as
this! As we consider such questions 30 members of my home church in Carson
California will be joining us for the celebrations. We hope to have
everything ready for this landmark event.