2011 Letter No 04

Each month Bill writes a pastor's letter for our monthly church magazine called 'The Messenger'. Here is the letter for April 2011:

After Easter I will be stepping back from active involvement in the life and ministry of the church for two months in order to take a sabbatical break. Kerrion and the boys will also be withdrawing from their involvement in local church life for the same period. I will be using this time as a period of refreshment, reflection and reinvigoration in my walk with God in preparation for the next seven years of ministry. I may well write about this further in next month’s pastor’s letter, but this month I want to focus on the challenges and opportunities for the church during this time. And by the church I mean every member of the fellowship.

People will need to get more involved or else certain activities will either struggle to continue or else stop altogether. The toddler group needs one or two people to step forward into leadership roles. Friday Kids’ Club needs more leaders and teachers, and also more general helpers. The Film Club for slightly older children and young people, which meets in our home, will need new hosts if it is to continue. More folk will also need to get involved in leading worship, prayers, etc. in our Sunday services.

These are challenges, but they are also opportunities. And they will continue after the period of sabbatical because Kerrion and I will only be returning to active involvement in the church for a few brief weeks after the sabbatical before moving on.

So if you are a member of the church – if you are committed to this fellowship of God’s people – then this is a call to you. What will you do? Is there some fresh task or ministry in which God wants you to be involved? For some it may be that you are already doing everything that God is calling you to do in the life of the church, but for others this will not be the case. We grow in our Christian life through involvement in service and ministry. This truly is a time of opportunity. What will you make of it? How will you respond?

Please make this a matter for prayer. But also please make this a matter for action.