02/10/10
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site admin @ 9:32 am
2009 has been a year filled with victories and ministry challenges at Shepherd.
- We started a new worship service in the fall with the intention of helping parents who want to fulfill the promises they made at their children’s baptisms. This kid friendly “express service” in the gym has had a positive response. We now have more children regularly worshiping with moms and dads.
- We have added more adult education classes on Sunday mornings and this has been very well attended and received. We have more adults in spiritual education than I can ever recall.
- Our small group ministry flourished as more and more people are connected and experienced Christ’s power through life in a small community built around God’s Word.
- More and more adults got connected and are finding Jesus joy through service in our outreach ministries as well as in-house ministries.
- Our children’s ministry continued to grow in number. It serves as a real magnet for families looking for a strong Bible-based educational experience for their children.
Though the economy was down we stayed on the alert and watched our pennies carefully and did not end the year in the red. Alongside of the many blessings came some major challenges as well.
- The economy impacted us. Many pledges didn’t get fulfilled which made ministry a bit more challenging since we build our annual budget on the pledges people make each fall. This year’s budget is even more conservative than last year’s because of the economy and we’re hoping everyone will be able to follow through on their pledges.
- Our youth minister position was vacated late last fall. Our junior and senior high youth ministry needs a kick start. We are presently looking for new youth leadership so we can kick our junior and senior high ministry into high gear. I see this area of ministry as a priority for us to grow in 2010.
- We have experienced some tension among ourselves over the question of our future relationship with the ELCA. Shepherd’s leadership is proposing that we sever our ties with the ELCA and begin a new relationship with an association of Lutheran congregations called Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). Of course, a proposal like this is a major change for us. Change causes apprehension. Personally, I am very excited about the possibility of this new beginning. LCMC is very oriented towards carrying out the Great Commission of Jesus. It’s a smaller organization with a good feel to it. I see it as a good match for Shepherd of the Valley with our evangelical emphasis on connecting people to Christ.
I continue to believe that the best years are ahead of us. God has great plans for Shepherd!
In Him,
Steve
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