"You are the
light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven… (Matthew
5:14,16)
Pastor’s Annual Report – April 2019
The motto
our church adopted several years ago says that Boothbay Baptist Church is “A lighthouse of God’s Grace and Truth.”
That evokes the words of Jesus at the top of this page, we are the light of the
world, in that we let the light of the Gospel shine into our community through
our life and witness, which ultimately will bring glory of God. It’s a
privilege to have a part in God’s mission! Let’s continue to live out our
vision to be “A community of the Christ-followers,
rooted in the Word, treasuring God as supremely valuable, proclaiming the
riches of His grace to the world.”
We’ve had a great time on Thursday nights with
the Word of Life Olympians, taking turns leading games, doing reviews, and teaching.
We are thankful for the volunteers who join with us to make this ministry a
priority. I’ve been leading the adult Sunday School class most weeks over the
last year, guiding our discussions of some excellent video material, and more
recently, leading our series on the Book Isaiah, focusing on the messianic
prophecies so central to the book. In relation to that, the CE committee is
going to raise for discussion once again the issue of Sunday School over the
summer. Mary Ann and I both feel that it
would be beneficial to those currently carrying the teaching load to have a
break, and so we would like to propose not having Sunday School for the summer
quarter (dates to be determined). This issue has been raised before, and though
some would like to continue through the summer, there has been a shortage of
volunteers to take the classes. Our preparation for and involvement in VBS
might be a better use of our people as we look ahead to restarting Sunday
School in September, after Labor Day.
Over the
last year (or two!) I’ve enjoyed preaching through the Gospel of Mark in our
Sunday morning services. I’ve been learning in my study each week, and hope you
have increasingly been astonished by the
Cross as we’ve looked at Mark’s answer to three questions: 1) Who is Jesus?; 2) Why did He come?; and
3) What does it mean to follow Him? My hope is that this series has also
equipped you to share your faith more effectively, and also to use those Christ-centered
questions as a guide to reading the Gospel of Mark with a friend or neighbor.
Our calling is to make disciples! Our Wednesday night Bible and Prayer meeting
in the parsonage discusses the teaching of the Sunday sermon. We hope to switch
again to a “Church on the Go” format for the summer.
Today the
elders will propose some of our attendees for membership, with other
possibilities on the near horizon. We have had some newer folks coming
regularly and getting involved in the life and ministries of the church and we
hope more of them will agree to formally become part of this local church. It is important to commit to mutual support
and accountability in this way.
I
continue to lead a prayer and coffee time for men at 6:30 AM on Tuesday
mornings, which has been a small meeting, but a good time in which we look ahead
at the passage I plan to preach on the next week. If you are an early riser, I’d
love to have more men join the discussion! I also continue to be available for counselling
for individuals and for couples. The stresses of life in our fallen world can challenge
our faith, and it is God’s plan that we bear
one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.
With Resurrection
Sunday approaching, let me close with a quotation from the end of I Corinthians
15, verses 57,58, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord
your labor is not in vain.”
Your coworkers in
Christ,
Pastor Steve and Mary Ann
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