You knew we’d start there didn’t you? What else has occupied our interest for the past 13 months? But seriously, thanks to all who have worked hard and given their time to clean up after the workers each week so our facility would be presentable for worship. Thanks also to all who were involved in making decisions concerning the building, made minor repairs or built things, helped move furniture and equipment from place to place, or worked to make our grounds look so nice for the Open House. When we all work together, good things happen.

 Open House:

  What a wonderful day to dedicate our new building, and to have many past members come to celebrate with us. A special blessing was meeting Dick and Maurice Shick, two grandsons of our founding Pastor Aaron Mulkey. Also it was great to see our previous Pastor, Terry Figgins and his wife Ardith. Thanks again to all who helped make this day a success, especially to Donna and Jan for all the wonderful refreshments, and to the Ministry Teams for their displays.

 Building Use:

  While it is true that we are still sorting out some of the space and scheduling issues, room usage, and storage assignments, it is a blessing to already see how this facility is enhancing our ministries. Two examples will illustrate this. First, we have been able to double the number of adult classes we can offer (from 3 to 6) and still have room for more. Second, on Sunday night Friends Club had over 100 in attendance to watch a Veggie Tales movie in our new Community Center. What a blessing to have the floor space for this kind of event. So often attendance for any program is not limited by the quality of the event, but entirely to room size. Having room for more people means more people can (and probably will) come. This is why we are looking forward to being able to hold the Hallelujah Carnival (Monday night) and the Mexico auction (in February) in the new building. We truly believe we now have a place for the whole community as we dream of new ways to open doors to communicate the Gospel.

 Ministry Opportunities:

  But since our mission as a church isn’t about the building, but about using the building as a tool for ministry, let’s talk about getting involved. Since the church is people ministering to other people, our mission is to be in relationships to bring others to Christ. Each believer has both the responsibility and the opportunity to influence others to consider the salvation God offers us through Jesus. Every Sunday you are an ambassador of Christ and this church to welcome and be encouraging to our guests. Watch for and reach out to those who come to our services, and help them to feel welcome. Your friendliness, even more than the music or sermon, will help them to decide this could be their church home.

  We also need more people in positions of ministry. Having more classrooms means the need for more teachers and assistants. We now have two rooms for the nursery, which means we need twice the number of workers. A larger facility means we need more greeters and ushers. Can you be involved in these or others ministries? Those responsible for staffing these and other areas of service would be glad to hear from you.

   God has been good to us. God is blessing our faithfulness. God has many more blessings awaiting us. What a great God we serve! What a great place to serve Him!