A word from our pastor of missions and outreach:
As most of you might know, part of my job title here is Pastor of Outreach. I was hired in order to focus some time on the outward growth of our church. We can all agree that inside the church, we have a strong foundation: we enjoy meeting together, we worship together, and we hear the Word of God preached, and we are committed, as our Passion Statement says, to “Proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.” With that foundation in place, I’ve been seeking and praying over the last few months, and God has spoken to me, telling me three main things. I want to share those with you today.
Number one is simply to keep seeking God and praying. Number two is to start an outreach team. Number three is to plan a church mission trip. How that works itself out into the more practical world can be summed up simply.
First, we the church, need to LOOK UP. We need to keep seeking God in prayer. Keep seeking God’s wisdom and direction with persistence. In Acts 13, it tells the story of the church in Antioch, and how during a time of fasting and worshipping and praying, the Holy Spirit clearly spoke to them and gave them direction for moving forward in their ministry, which was to send Paul and Barnabas out to do the work that God had called them to do. I believe that we as a church are at a similar time: we need to seek God and ask Him, “What is ours to do?” What is God calling us as a church to do? There is lots of good causes and good things that we could do, but just like this church in Acts, we need to seek God’s direction and follow His leading.
Secondly, we the church, need to LOOK IN. We need to ask God, “What should I do?” As individuals, see what God desires of you, both in your day- to-day life and how you can serve Him by perhaps changing the course of your life. I am seeking out people who would want to join an outreach team. A team that is committed to being discipled, to being trained in evangelism and to organizing and running evangelism and outreach opportunities here in the city of Lethbridge. I am seeking out creative, passionate people who are willing to commit time every month to plan and to go and do outreach and evangelism.
Thirdly, we the church, need to LOOK OUT. We need to ask God, “Where should we go?” As we think about going on a mission trip, we need to ask God where he wants us to go. This mission trip is a good focal point, to get us going in the right direction, but it won’t be the end goal of this project. As we plan and train for this mission trip, we would reaching our own city first, and then heading out somewhere into the world. This trip would be planned for the summer of 2023, but the effects of the people being trained and going on this mission trip will then continue long after they come back from the mission trip.
One opportunity that is already up and running and those of you who are part of a community group have probably already heard about it, is the monthly opportunity we have to prepare and serve food at the Soup Kitchen here in Lethbridge. As community groups, we have been doing it since October, and we will continue to do this. If you aren’t part of a community group but you would still be interested in helping out, please come and talk to me.
So, I encourage you to LOOK UP, LOOK IN, and LOOK OUT. This is an exciting time for us as a church: let’s dig into God and see what’s going to happen next! -Pastor Brad
C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h