February Newsletter
Pastor's Note: A call for hope
Greetings! It is so wonderful to be checking off my list of “firsts” here at Bethany Church. This includes my first newsletter article! I want to thank each and everyone of you for praying for me and Lisa as I worked with the PNC and as we prayed to God and sought his guidance in discerning this call to Bethany Church. Needless to say, our prayers were answered and we are so excited to be here with you. God is up to something wonderful here and we cannot wait to be a part of it.
As we move into this new year together, we continue to be hopeful that we will be back together in some way that feels “normal” soon. The lifeblood of the church has always been and will always be the people. We know now, more than ever, that the church is not just a building but the people whom God has called to a particular mission in a particular time and place. The great theologian Leslie Newbigin wrote that the church is called to be, “The sign, the foretaste, and the means” of God's coming kingdom. By this he meant that the church is called to show people what God’s kingdom looks like, offer people a tangible understanding of the kingdom in its healing, and outreach ministries, and will be the means by which God’s reign will finally and fully be realized on the day of Christ’s return.
Each ministry area of the church is vital in shaping and carrying out the mission that God is placing before us. That we have been able to do this through 2020 in creative, imaginative, and hopeful ways is a testament to the ways God has been at work in all of us. New years bring new hope and we have a lot to be hopeful for. I hope that I will be able to celebrate more fully being your new pastor with you in the near future. I am sure all of you have hopes for your families and for the ministries in which you are engaged. I am hopeful that God will shower us all with magnificent grace as we begin ministry together.
I have loved worshipping with you the past few weeks, I can’t wait for that to turn into months and even years.
Blessings,
PBJ
As we move into this new year together, we continue to be hopeful that we will be back together in some way that feels “normal” soon. The lifeblood of the church has always been and will always be the people. We know now, more than ever, that the church is not just a building but the people whom God has called to a particular mission in a particular time and place. The great theologian Leslie Newbigin wrote that the church is called to be, “The sign, the foretaste, and the means” of God's coming kingdom. By this he meant that the church is called to show people what God’s kingdom looks like, offer people a tangible understanding of the kingdom in its healing, and outreach ministries, and will be the means by which God’s reign will finally and fully be realized on the day of Christ’s return.
Each ministry area of the church is vital in shaping and carrying out the mission that God is placing before us. That we have been able to do this through 2020 in creative, imaginative, and hopeful ways is a testament to the ways God has been at work in all of us. New years bring new hope and we have a lot to be hopeful for. I hope that I will be able to celebrate more fully being your new pastor with you in the near future. I am sure all of you have hopes for your families and for the ministries in which you are engaged. I am hopeful that God will shower us all with magnificent grace as we begin ministry together.
I have loved worshipping with you the past few weeks, I can’t wait for that to turn into months and even years.
Blessings,
PBJ
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