Pastor’s Report –
October 2013
The
end of summer is a time of transition at Boothbay Baptist Church. Our summer
residents have mostly left and the changing leaves and frosty mornings remind
us that winter is approaching. As a church family this quarter we have
continued our focus on the mission of “knowing God and making Him known” and
continue to “…envision a community of Christ followers rooted in the Word,
treasuring God as supremely valuable and proclaiming the riches of His grace to
the world.” Training opportunities like the current adult class on apologetics
and the recent Saturday seminar by Vision New England, “Disciples making
Disciples” (DMD) are equipping us to more effectively implement our vision and
carry out our mission. This is not
something new for Boothbay Baptist Church, but is a conscious effort to stay
focused and to stay engaged in the work that God has entrusted to us. One of the “take aways” from the DMD seminar
is the fact that a biblical model of discipleship is something that needs to
occur at various levels for all of us. Outreach begins with loving our neighbors and
investing ourselves in relationships. Equipping and “in reach” means seeking to
engage the entire body in mentoring relationships, in dynamic small groups, and
in active worship. To be most successful
in carrying out our mission and vision we need a fully engaged church body with
every member committed to discovering their gifts and realizing their personal
mission and calling as they participate in the body. As I write this report we
are anticipating our first baptismal service of the year tomorrow. May more
follow as they see the importance of this public commitment of a new disciple.
The
exciting FASCAR Rally led by Eric Brown of Word of Life and our great team of
Olympian WOL leaders was a high energy kick off to our Word of Life Olympian
ministry this month. Our Word of Life teen ministry led by missionary Fay
Christy and veteran leader Karen Lawless will be assisted this year by Shawn
Cusumano. What a team! Pray for these
workers, consider getting involved, and look around for those in your
neighborhood who you can invite to attend these groups. The upcoming Trunk or Treat event on October
31st will once again be an opportunity for outreach. We are seeking to open our parking lot to the
community and to create a safe, fun alternative to Halloween that will also
give us an opportunity to present the gospel and distribute tracts and Bible
portions to the community. We are focused on mission, to God be the glory.
I
have enjoyed the new preaching series on the Epistle of James, what a practical
and convicting study it has been for me personally. As we finish up this series
over the next few weeks we will soon transition to Thanksgiving and the Advent
season, before beginning an exciting new series on the Book of Acts in January.
I covet your prayers as I dig into the study of this important book. I also continue to participate in the
Wednesday night devotional series on the Psalms, and have been blessed by
others gifted in teaching taking a turn at presenting encouragement from this
portion of Scripture. Thanks to Mark Kamen for coordinating this time of
learning together leading into our prayer time. Sam Michael continues to be a
stalwart as he leads us in our prayer time.
I have also begun teaching a class in New Testament Greek at the New
England Bible College on Thursday afternoons. It has been enjoyable having a
part in equipping these men who have sensed God’s call to the ministry.
Our small group on Thursday
evenings continued through the summer and we enjoy the time of learning,
sharing, praying, and fellowship. The elders would like to see full involvement
of our church in small groups. If you have not yet found a group to participate
in, I encourage you to talk to me or your elder and we will explore options
with you. Our Wednesday morning Men’s
Prayer and coffee time at the parsonage has been consistently very small, but a
blessing to those present. I continue to be available to counsel couples and
individuals and value the privilege of looking at the scriptures together for
God’s answers to the challenges we face in life. Mary Ann and I are thankful that God has us
here, as a part of this church family. May each of us be faithful in seeking
Him together and engaging our community for His glory.
Soli Deo gloria,
Pastor
Steve and Mary Ann
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