I wanted to take a minute
here in the midst of a very busy summer and just give you an update on some
things that are happening around the church.
First,
it's been a very busy summer. We've already had Family V.B.S., two
mission trips (one to Mexico and one to Poland), several sports and youth camps
run through the CLC, Summer Fun Days through our Pre-School and just this
morning our 7th & 8th graders left on a charter bus to Knoxville for the
CIY Mix Conference. Next week our Sr. High kids will be headed to
Holland, MI for the CIY Move Conference and later in the month well over a
hundred of our elementary aged kids will enjoy a week of church camp just down
the road at Camp Allendale. In addition we've got another mission trip
planned for Mexico. This is always a busy time.
I've
been spending a lot of time trying to fill a couple of open staff positions as
well as find someone for a newly created position. I'm excited to
announce that Matt Goodpaster, our CLC Director, is going to be moving into the
role of Church Administrator. In this role Matt will assist me by
overseeing the day-to-day operations of the church. In addition, he will
continue to have oversight of the CLC through the existing staff. Please
pray for Matt as he begins this new role effective July 1st. I continue
to search for a new Senior High Youth Pastor. This has proved to be more
difficult than I first thought but I'm confident that the right man is out
there. Pray for God's leading in this effort. Also, I have created
a new position on staff that I am simply calling the "Serve" Pastor.
The Serve Pastor will have oversight of all our local and global
missions. This will include providing oversight to the current staff that
runs our food and clothing ministries. Please pray that God will provide
the right individuals to fill these roles.
The
God@Work expansion plan is moving forward and I am anticipating being able to
utilize the new space anywhere from the first of August to the middle of
September. Our God@Work offering is over one million dollars and there
are still monies that have been pledged but not received. I continue to
be extremely grateful for the generosity of the Mount Pleasant family.
As
of the writing of this, we have 8 more weeks left in The Story (we'll be
taking a break this week for our Patriotic Service and another break on August
3/4 for our Back to School weekend). What a great study this has been as each
and every week someone shares with me a personal testimony of how this study
has created an even deeper desire in their life to study and know the Bible.
I've been thrilled with the way this has worked out and I'm already
growing in my excitement for our next study called "What If?" (watch
and listen for more information).
Finally,
I know it's the middle of the summer and everyone is busy but don't forget
about the ongoing need to be faithful in your worship, your service and your
giving. This past weekend our offering was down over $20,000 from our
normal budgeted need. That's not unusual for this time of year but it can
create some difficulty bouncing back. Don't forget that there are more
giving options available to you than just the offering bag that's passed each
weekend. With automatic ACH deposits and online giving you can support
the church financially even when you're not here.
Thanks
so much for taking the time to read this. And thanks for being such a
great church.
Jesus
cares,
Pastor Chris
