Grace Community Christian Church

 

Archived Things Above

September Relief (9/1/01)

There's an almost palpable sigh of relief everywhere I turn!

It's September, & kids are going back to school. Life is settling down. Order is about to be gleaned from the chaos of summer schedules. Routine, so routinely undone, is about to reign again. Certainly I'm not the only one who feels that this summer "vacation" has been anything but a vacation?!

The church life cycles back into a routine as well. Sermon series on Taking God at His Word, & then on the book of James. Saturday 222 starting up, working through an excellent book on what it means to be a Godly man. Another adult Sunday School class kicking off in October dealing with parenting & marriage issues. Culture Watch resumes, looking at contemporary movies & discerning the worldviews they present.

Midweek children's ministries pick up again, as do the Ladies' Bible Study & Ladies' Meetings. The Ministry Fair to be held on September 9 will highlight most of these & other ministry opportunities as well.

And if there's something you'd like to see but isn't offered at the present time, guess what? You've got a Green Light to start it up! There's not a lot of hoops you have to jump through to start a group or ministry here; you just need a heart for whatever it is, & a plan, & the commitment to see it through. It may flop, it may fly, but this is not a church afraid to try new things & set people free to do ministry. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote that part of my job description is to " . . . prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." (NIV Eph. 4:12)

My dream is for every member of this church to be able to "own" a particular ministry. Is there at least one area that you can point to & say, "This is where I serve"? "This is where I give back"? "This is where God feeds & encourages me"?

As you recover from the hecticness of summer & plan out your Fall & Winter routine, be sure to include you & your family's participation in ministry here at First Christian Church. It's good for you, it's good for the church, & it's good for the people we're trying to reach with the good news of Jesus Christ!


Jim Dewar --