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Greetings in the name of Jesus! God is good all the time! As we reflect on this last year all I can say is, "WOW!" We have certainly seen God at work among us. Of course, we have also seen Satan at work as well. And that tells us that we are indeed involved in Kingdom Work! Whenever we are on the frontlines of God's work we can expect the evil one to raise up against us in some fashion. But through it all we have seen miracles and redemption and a kind of Godly unity that is amazing. I am reminded of the ACTS 2 church - all were awed at what God was doing in their midst. It has been 7 months since we completed out pledge time for our first three year Capital Campaign. We have accomplished much already! We have purchased the 27 acres, repaid our General Fund from the Capital Campaign for funds advanced, put aside money for the air conditioning in our present sanctuary, put the air conditioning in (Thank the Lord!), added 10 new members (YEAH GOD! and WELCOME one and all!), contracted with an architect, just revealed our Master Site Plan and a rendition of our Phase One building. WOW! Now we begin the search for the best way and the most Godly way to fund the God-size dreams God has laid before us as a community. The success of our “Acts 2: serving family, community and world together” capital stewardship campaign is making it possible for us to continue our advancement as a church growing to meet the needs of people. For Byron Center UMC to continue to grow, to reach and minister to more people, we must continue to act upon what God has said to us. And we are doing just that! The challenge of our ministry is awesome, yet I believe God is leading us forward. We are in the midst, as I write, of overhauling our Children's Ministry department: our playground is in and we now start the renovations downstairs to accommodate a new program coming FALL '06. Our Youth Ministry area is already renovated and is growing. We now have nearly 25 youth attending regularly and have another 15 who swing in and out of the program. Our Youth Minister's home has become a home away from home for many of our community youth and their friends (YEAH GOD!). All of this is awesome and requires continued commitment from all of us: prayer, serving with these ministries, and providing funding.. Please continue to pray for our church at this time. Pray for our leadership team, me, and for all of us as we share together in one of the greatest victories that you and I have ever seen for God’s glory. These are exciting days. Please join with me in prayer to know and to do the will of God. I need you; we need each other. Together with God, we will move forward to better minister to more people, to see the lost of our area come to know Christ as Savior, for His glory! In Christ’s service I remain, Pastor Cindi |
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