I hear the joyful sounds of new life.
A child in our Sunday school who usually played alone, closed off in his own little world, grabbed my arm during Vacation Bible School and said, “Pastor, I love you.” At our youth retreat, a question was asked , “What did you enjoy the most?” One student shouted out ,“Worship.”
Last Friday, we set up a water slide in the church parking lot for Vacation Bible School. The joyful sounds of children laughing and playing filled not only our church parking lot but the whole neighborhood.
One of the things I often say in our ministry team meetings is, “Plan for joy and a sense of accomplishment.” When we accomplish something small, celebrate it together, and begin to say, “We can do this,” those experiences give us the confidence to take on something greater. Perhaps this is also what Jesus meant when He taught that those who are faithful in small things can be entrusted with greater things.
Last year, as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our church, we had hoped to elect ‘lay exhorters and elders’. We were finally able to do that this year. Throughout the history of FUMC in FLUSHING, selecting them has not always been easy. But last Sunday, our Church Conference accepted all the recommendations of the Nominating Committee. I pray that each person who has been called to serve will be beautifully used by God for His church and His work.
For various reasons, it has been difficult for us to establish some of the basic foundations necessary for ministry. Now, however, we are beginning to review each step of our ministry—from invitation to assimilation, from spiritual formation to ministry and sending forth—and we are laying a foundation to pursue greater quality throughout all areas of our ministry.
Leadership training is becoming more systematic, and I look forward to seeing new spiritual leadership emerge through the training of our newly elected lay elders and exhorters. Our choir is already moving forward. Our English ministry, which for some time struggled simply to maintain Sunday worship, is now beginning to develop a genuine ministry of pastoral care. Parents are becoming more involved in our Sunday school, and new teachers are stepping forward to serve.
A church does not come alive because something spectacular suddenly happens. It comes alive when one person begins to smile again, when another regains confidence, when someone discovers joy in worship again, and when another person stands up and says, “I want to serve the church.”
I believe it is when all these little sounds begin to come together that we hear a church coming alive.
And these days, I can hear it. The joyful sounds of new life.