The Mustard Seed
Matthew 13: 31-32
As we close out the year just past, it is appropriate that we look back at what the year brought to our church family. 2012 was quite a year by any standard that you want to use to measure. We certainly had a lot of changes take place.
On a positive note, we had five baptisms last year. We were very pleased to be able to baptize our grandson Johnathan before he left to join the Army. We baptized Nancy Wetmore, Wayne Hall, Ray LaCombe, Mary Fassio, and our grandson, Johnathan. It is a great day when someone comes to Christ. Most of those mentioned are still with us today. Keep praying that God will soon send some more workers to us.
On a less positive note, we lost two of our Trustees and church leaders last year. Fletcher and Mary Cooper were taken from us in a car accident. Ron Dombrowski relocated to Hartford and resigned as our Song Leader and Trustee. We are very fortunate that David Cooper was able to step up and fill some of those openings. Two families that had been meeting with us decided to go back to the Waterbury congregation. They came to help and we are grateful for their help. Several members have drifted away and we are working to get them back. All in all, we lost somewhere around a dozen of our members. In a group of our size, that can be a devastating loss. Let's work on our love for one another and growing our church family to it's full potential so that others will see what we have and want to be a part of it.
Let's make sure we don't repeat that kind of loss. Dr. Flavil Yeakley wrote in his book "Church Growth in the 90's" that "In any given year, you will lose six percent of your congregation. They will either move away, fall away or pass away." That seems to be especially true for us in 2012.
It's hard to look back at a year like we just finished but the good news is that God is still in control and we know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. So it is that we eagerly look forward to 2013 and all of the opportunities it will bring. This year is the year that we need everyone to step up and get busy in the Lord's work. We are in need of a backup song leader. We need people to sign up to teacher our children and to share in the building cleaning. We have work to do and we need workers to step up to the challenge. Can you teach? Would you consider co-teaching with an experienced teacher to learn how? How about joining (or organizing) a cleaning team? Two or three people can clean our building in less than an hour. Do you have an hour to give The Lord? Think about it. Let's all work hard so God will bless 2013 for us.
A reflection curtsey of the local evangelist, Don Roarabough.
Published in the Greater Torrington Church of Christ bulletin on January 06, 2013.
On a positive note, we had five baptisms last year. We were very pleased to be able to baptize our grandson Johnathan before he left to join the Army. We baptized Nancy Wetmore, Wayne Hall, Ray LaCombe, Mary Fassio, and our grandson, Johnathan. It is a great day when someone comes to Christ. Most of those mentioned are still with us today. Keep praying that God will soon send some more workers to us.
On a less positive note, we lost two of our Trustees and church leaders last year. Fletcher and Mary Cooper were taken from us in a car accident. Ron Dombrowski relocated to Hartford and resigned as our Song Leader and Trustee. We are very fortunate that David Cooper was able to step up and fill some of those openings. Two families that had been meeting with us decided to go back to the Waterbury congregation. They came to help and we are grateful for their help. Several members have drifted away and we are working to get them back. All in all, we lost somewhere around a dozen of our members. In a group of our size, that can be a devastating loss. Let's work on our love for one another and growing our church family to it's full potential so that others will see what we have and want to be a part of it.
Let's make sure we don't repeat that kind of loss. Dr. Flavil Yeakley wrote in his book "Church Growth in the 90's" that "In any given year, you will lose six percent of your congregation. They will either move away, fall away or pass away." That seems to be especially true for us in 2012.
It's hard to look back at a year like we just finished but the good news is that God is still in control and we know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. So it is that we eagerly look forward to 2013 and all of the opportunities it will bring. This year is the year that we need everyone to step up and get busy in the Lord's work. We are in need of a backup song leader. We need people to sign up to teacher our children and to share in the building cleaning. We have work to do and we need workers to step up to the challenge. Can you teach? Would you consider co-teaching with an experienced teacher to learn how? How about joining (or organizing) a cleaning team? Two or three people can clean our building in less than an hour. Do you have an hour to give The Lord? Think about it. Let's all work hard so God will bless 2013 for us.
A reflection curtsey of the local evangelist, Don Roarabough.
Published in the Greater Torrington Church of Christ bulletin on January 06, 2013.
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