Springtime Renewal

Good Morning Everyone,

I know the title of this blog may seem a bit strange seeing how it is only February, and that the groundhog saw its shadow meaning a longer winter, but as with all things I do there is a method to my madness.

This past Saturday (January 31st) the elders, deacons and ministers of the Pearland Church of Christ gathered to discuss the care of the congregation here in a planning session. The elders saw fit to give me the job of setting and keeping our agenda for the planning session.

I have to say that everybody involved with this planning session brought their "A" game to the table that morning. We had great ideas coming from everyone and even ideas from people that surprised me. The three ideas the elders chose to go with were great ones and I believe ones that will help build up the Lord's Kingdom. If you stay with me for just a little longer I will outline those ideas that have blossomed into three new ministries here in Pearland.

1. Ministry of Prayer-This ministry is open to anyone in the congregation. We will produce prayer request cards and place them in the pews with our attendance cards. These cards will be a venue to give your prayer requests to a group of prayerful people without having to make that request known to the whole congregation. This group will meet each Sunday to pray over these requests. We see this as a great ministry for people who like to be behind the scenes doing things to help for the cause of Christ.

2. Devotional and a Dinner-If you are like me on Fridays nights you sometimes watch Dinner and a Movie on TBS. We "borrowed" our name for this ministry from TBS. We decided to put the devotional first so that we keep the emphasis on where it needs to be. This ministry will involve people opening their homes to other members here in Pearland and to people they are trying to teach the Gospel to. We will have some guided devotional topics that will make up the lesson and then share in a meal together.

3. Friends and Family Days-On the months with a 5th Sunday we will have a friends and family day. The Bible classes and sermon will be centered around a particular passage of scripture to facilitate discussion within the homes of our visitors. Following worship services we will share in a potluck meal together. After that meal we will have our usual 5th Sunday singing and then adjourn for the day. This will be a great chance to bring people you love to worship with you.

If you are a member of the Pearland Church and don't see yourself fitting into any of these ministries I would encourage you to be positive about them and encourage those who are participating. If you are not a member of the Pearland church but live in our area we would invite you to come be a part of things here. I hope you are all blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul