Pastor’s Report
January 30, 2010
I suppose that a Pastor’s Report is in some ways similar to a State of the Union address in that I’m supposed to review, from my perspective, where we have been, how we are doing and where we are going.
Let me tackle those in that order.
First, where we have been?
About a year ago we took what we believe was a God-directed step and brought Fred and Janet on part-time. Fred has focused on visitation, local outreach and some discipleship issues. Janet has been leading the youth and worship ministries. In a few moments they will be sharing and answering questions that you might have regarding their ministries. Good things are happening. Right now I just want to say that, as a church, this was a big step financially, particularly during a time of economic recession. As you will see from the upcoming financial report, we have been able to pay the bills and the “ends” are “close to meeting.” We praise God for this, but know that in the coming year we will we have to depend on God again to meet our financial needs.
We have seen God continuing to bring people into our midst, and many are making NAC a part of their lives. Our church is growing, and that presents incredible opportunities and challenges. Developing relationships and helping integrate these newcomers into our church family is part of what the Lord is asking us to do.
Missions has been a key theme this year, with a dozen youth going to Reynosa and growing spiritually while they impacted that part of Mexico for Jesus. We also started Alliance Intercessory Missionaries with the aim of increasing prayer for our national workers. Personally, I had an opportunity to go to Jordan and Iraq to visit the Alliance workers there. I want to thank you for making that possible. Frankly, the trip had a profound impact on me and has given me a real burden for that part of the world.
Next, how we are doing?
I have had a sense for some time that we are a healthy church, but that something was holding us back. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s one of the reasons why I was interested in having the church participate in the Natural Church Development survey. It would be one way to get an impartial view of how we are doing as a church.
Last week we looked at the results, and they indicated that, as far as that survey is concerned, we are a healthy church. In fact, Nashwauk Alliance is healthier than many. Our church is characterized by inspiring worship services and loving relationships. I don’t think that comes as a surprise to anyone in this room. We love being together and we love worshipping our Lord.
The survey indicated that a weaker area was “Gift-based Ministry”.
As I have pondered that insight, I am convinced that it is a piece of the puzzle that will help us move to the next stage in our lives together. In fact I really am getting excited about what God wants to accomplish in and through us in the coming year. God is bringing together people to accomplish something that I believe is going to be far beyond what we can imagine right now. Helping people discover their gifts and how they fit into what God is doing is an essential part of this.
Which brings me to our third area: Where are we going?
How does this sound?
God desires us to love Him and love one another so radically that we are passionate about developing people to their fullest in whole-hearted service of Him.
o That we commit to seeing everyone move closer to Jesus and develop their spiritual gifts in a way that bears maximum fruit for the kingdom of God.
o That we become the kind of place that is good at helping people grow and challenges them to develop their relationship with God and their gifts to the highest possible level.
o That we become a place each person and their unique gifts and calling are valued.
o That we are a place that works hard at figuring out how each “living stone” fits into the living Temple that God is building here and rejoices in the contribution each makes to the beauty of the whole.
I want to be a part of a church like that. Don’t you? The elders are assembling a Church Health Team that will help us discover the most effective way to move in that direction.
There are all sorts of things that I can see peeking over the horizon that are going to be fun, challenging, fulfilling, and most of all, glorifying to God. These things are going to give everyone a chance to use their gifting for Him. Things like:
· S’mores and Chores – Taking your family on a “service vacation”.
· A Nashwauk Food Shelf – We’re working with other churches to get this started, and who knows what may develop out of this ministry?
· The Living Last Supper – A drama based on DaVinci’s famous painting will be a focus of outreach during the Easter season. That plus it is another “North Woods Revue” year will give people a chance to use their skills on stage or behind the scenes.
· Small group Bible studies are growing, and looking to multiply. This means more people learning how to lead the studies and more relationships developing in the church.
· Administrative Help – We will soon be looking to add some volunteers in the church office to handle some of the administrative tasks. This will allow the administratively- challenged (like me) to use our gifts while they use theirs.
· Fourth of July – We are still looking for a creative way to use our prime viewing location to reach out to the community.
One of the other things that the survey revealed was that we need to focus more on training people for the things God is calling them to do. Let’s face it, none of us likes to be in a position where we feel incompetent. So we are going to be focusing some of our attention on training people. For example, we are going to be making our Deaconate meetings more about training people for the work of the ministry. We are going to be looking at small group leader training, teacher training, worship training. Even things like ushering or working at the information center need to have clearly defined expectations and goals. So we will be working on that this year.
While all this activity is exciting, I want to remind us that our primary task, our central focus is not supposed to be our church, our work or our families. Our central focus needs to be Jesus. I don’t have the words to explain how important it is to every aspect of our lives to have the Lord be our passion. Let’s join together and see what God will do!
Pastor Karl
