Copyright 2005 St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Copyright 2005 St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Dear Friends in Christ,
Are you ready for….. Wowee! Where has the time gone? So many things to do, so little time. There's only 24 hours in a day! These are some of the things we may find ourselves saying as we look ahead to the many activities we try to schedule into our already packed full lives. Have you ever noticed though, that if you plan ahead and prepare properly or pace yourself, the activities, though many, will not as easily overwhelm you. Not only that, but those that are truly important will actually get done. As you make your plans for the summer please include church. I can't tell you how
important it is for us to prepare properly and pace ourselves
through this life.
We are currently going through a summer sermon series that will help us be more effective in our ministry far off into the future 3,5,7, 10 years down the road. As we grow in our lives together, we want everyone receiving this newsletter to be involved. While the groundwork is now being laid, soon plans will be made as to how we will further develop the ministry of the congregations of Colon and Centreville. Will we develop a Senior ministry? What will our youth ministry look like? How will the worship be transformed? Do we want to further emphasize our existing ministries or aim at starting new ones? What missions will we support and how? Is there an interest in short-term mission trips or servant events? Are there opportunities to use the musical, artistic and theatrical gifts of members? What kind of Bible studies will we have? How will Sunday School and Vacation Bible School grow in the future? Do our current facilities meet our needs or are changes necessary or desired? Are there partnerships that we can form with other ministries and congregations to do even greater work? What kind of a resource is this congregation to the community?
While we are not going to address all of these questions at one time, we are now preparing ourselves to explore the direction we will take in the future with regard to our overall ministry objectives. This is foundation-building time. If you have been in worship during the month of June you have heard the messages regarding "Our Lives Together". In order for us to effectively carry out ministry together we need to be aware of the intimate relationship we share as God joins us with one another. The messages described our lives together as God's disciples, friends, family and body.
During the month of July we will consider "Our Lives Together in the World". We will reflect upon how God has placed us here for a specific and divine purpose. As members of His body and with Christ as our head we will seek to grow in our understanding of what He is trying to tell us to do? Where is He telling us to go? How will we reach that goal?
In August, after laying the foundation of our togetherness and the general purpose of God for His church we will begin to become more specific about the future of the respective congregations. We will explore "Our Lives Together in the Future". The congregations will have opportunities to contribute input regarding the Vision, Values and Mission of each church family.
This is an exciting time for us. We don't want anyone to be left out. "How can you become involved?" I'm glad you asked that. The answer is simple. Right now we are at the very beginning of what I'm sure will be a very exciting and rewarding journey. If you have not already been worshiping with us, we invite you to come and rejoin your lives together with ours. Our efforts will begin with our time together in worship, flow out of our worship and find its way back to our worship.
Please join us on this journey as we explore what God has in store for us as we work TOGETHER for Him.
In our Savior's Service,
Your Pastor
Are you ready for….. Wowee! Where has the time gone? So many things to do, so little time. There's only 24 hours in a day! These are some of the things we may find ourselves saying as we look ahead to the many activities we try to schedule into our already packed full lives. Have you ever noticed though, that if you plan ahead and prepare properly or pace yourself, the activities, though many, will not as easily overwhelm you. Not only that, but those that are truly important will actually get done. As you make your plans for the summer please include church. I can't tell you how
important it is for us to prepare properly and pace ourselves
through this life.
We are currently going through a summer sermon series that will help us be more effective in our ministry far off into the future 3,5,7, 10 years down the road. As we grow in our lives together, we want everyone receiving this newsletter to be involved. While the groundwork is now being laid, soon plans will be made as to how we will further develop the ministry of the congregations of Colon and Centreville. Will we develop a Senior ministry? What will our youth ministry look like? How will the worship be transformed? Do we want to further emphasize our existing ministries or aim at starting new ones? What missions will we support and how? Is there an interest in short-term mission trips or servant events? Are there opportunities to use the musical, artistic and theatrical gifts of members? What kind of Bible studies will we have? How will Sunday School and Vacation Bible School grow in the future? Do our current facilities meet our needs or are changes necessary or desired? Are there partnerships that we can form with other ministries and congregations to do even greater work? What kind of a resource is this congregation to the community?
While we are not going to address all of these questions at one time, we are now preparing ourselves to explore the direction we will take in the future with regard to our overall ministry objectives. This is foundation-building time. If you have been in worship during the month of June you have heard the messages regarding "Our Lives Together". In order for us to effectively carry out ministry together we need to be aware of the intimate relationship we share as God joins us with one another. The messages described our lives together as God's disciples, friends, family and body.
During the month of July we will consider "Our Lives Together in the World". We will reflect upon how God has placed us here for a specific and divine purpose. As members of His body and with Christ as our head we will seek to grow in our understanding of what He is trying to tell us to do? Where is He telling us to go? How will we reach that goal?
In August, after laying the foundation of our togetherness and the general purpose of God for His church we will begin to become more specific about the future of the respective congregations. We will explore "Our Lives Together in the Future". The congregations will have opportunities to contribute input regarding the Vision, Values and Mission of each church family.
This is an exciting time for us. We don't want anyone to be left out. "How can you become involved?" I'm glad you asked that. The answer is simple. Right now we are at the very beginning of what I'm sure will be a very exciting and rewarding journey. If you have not already been worshiping with us, we invite you to come and rejoin your lives together with ours. Our efforts will begin with our time together in worship, flow out of our worship and find its way back to our worship.
Please join us on this journey as we explore what God has in store for us as we work TOGETHER for Him.
In our Savior's Service,
Your Pastor
God bless your summer. Be safe. Don't forget, "Jesus Loves You!"
