Annual Meeting 2022
See on YouTube
Annual Pastor’s Report 2022
Acts 4:23-37
Acts 9:10-16
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
Revelation 2:1-7
Once a year just as the president of the United States gives their State of the Union address, so do we once a year give our State of the Church address. It is important to remember both our successes and our challenges over the past year so that we can celebrate those successes together and then see the areas of focus where we can make improvement. The goal regardless of the areas of success or challenges in life is to build the kingdom of God. We do this by growing and equipping ourselves in knowledge and wisdom and also by seeking out those who are either lost or maybe just a little misguided and then guiding them on the path of righteousness that has been established by our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
First, I would like to share with our analytics from YouTube for this past year. Over the past church year, we have had a total of 521 views which has dropped down from 998 from the previous year. A big part of that is due to the fact that for a time we were only online the previous year and we have had in person services through the entire year of 2021. However, despite that drop this still breaks down to an average of 43 views per month throughout the year and with our highest peak of views taking place in the beginning of December of last year. In addition, we had an increase of 6 subscribers to our YouTube channel. This might not seem like huge numbers in comparison to the analytics of cats playing the piano. However, considering that we 13 years ago when on my first Sunday in this church that was headed in the direction closing, we had 9 people total in attendance which included, myself, Pastor Ann, and my friend Ryan whom all were attending their very first Sunday here. Now a decade later we have a YouTube Channel with 26 subscribers, and an average of 20-25 people on any given Sunday and if you add the online views to the in-person attendance, we are 35-40 in attendance on a Sunday morning. Who would have believed 12 years ago based on my first Sunday service that we would still be here. It has only been by the grace and power of God that this church building and this church community still stands.
To me these stats are a big success for our church and it has been truly a team effort to keep this ministry going. Another great success and blessing for last year is that we were finally able to help Marvin out of a very abusive living situation. There is still more work to do for him but he is in a much better situation than he was in during covid and really the past 10 years and we praise God for that.
With all of our success we must also acknowledge our challenges. We unfortunately have not started any new ministries this past year. We also have not been able to bring back together our teen group that we once had before Covid. This year has been a huge challenge for me personally with the loss of my father to a year long battle of aggressive tongue cancer. In that process I have had to learn to trust in God and his will regardless if I receive an outcome that I desire or pray for. There is power in prayer and if we do not ask, we will not receive however, we must always remember that God is sovereign and his ways are not our ways and his knowledge and plan is not always our plan. My father’s death and suffering through cancer was not God’s doing but it was the direct work of Satan. I am thankful though that my dad is walking with Jesus in paradise.
We have not added any new members this past year but praise to God we have not lost any either. However, today we are starting our new membership classes and I praise God for some of the new people that God has brought into our doors these past few months.
Our world has rapidly been changing this past year that have brought about their own challenges. We are now living in a society in which Social Justice is the hot topic. We have fears of hyper inflation to our economy. We have rumors of World War III on the rise. However, all of these things serve as a distraction to the mission that the church is called to. In Revelation 2, Jesus begins with a great report about the church in Ephesus. Jesus says, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” This all seems like an A+ report for this church but if only it would stop there. Jesus continues, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Unfortunately, I have seen many churches within many different denominations that resemble this description on the Church in Ephesus. It appears that Ephesus never repented as it no longer exists today and its lampstand has been removed. There are many churches and pastors that have fallen prey to the distraction of our world today and they have forgotten their first love and are no longer doing what they were doing at first. They prefer to focus on the “Social Justices” that society sees as justice instead of looking to God for Justice. In doing so more hate and racism runs rampant even within the church. If the Church does not repent and turn back to its first love it will cease to exist.
I have been reading a book called We Will Not Be Silenced written by Erwin Lutzer. In this book he talks about this very issue in the church. He mentions a recent news article headline that read “Church of Canada May Disappear by 2040.” This news report forecasts that there will be “neither attendees nor givers in the Anglican Church in Canada by 2040. The Anglican Church is in a freefall financially and numerically, and if the trend continues, it will vanish from the country.” The reason for this is simple, “decades ago, the major branches of the Anglican Church turned from the gospel to social justice issues to become more acceptable to the mainstream culture.” Folks the Church in America is unfortunately leading its way on a very similar path. Canada might be farther ahead of us but we are not far behind.
It is not enough to just discipling one’s self and attending worship services on a regular basis. It is not enough to just give our money towards missions. It is not enough to just be on our knees in prayer for our situation in this country and in our world. All of these things are certainly important. However, we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are also called to be the voice of Jesus by sharing the truth of his Word regardless if it is socially acceptable to our culture today. The truth is that 2000 years ago as we read through out the reports today, the disciples and especially Paul after he was converted, all preached a message that was counter cultural to society and to the temple and Sanhedrin. However, despite this the Church was growing by the thousands on a daily basis. Today, the Church is all rapped up in appeasing the mainstream culture in the hopes that they can grow in numbers and in reality, people are leaving the faith by the thousands. We need to get these distractions out of our lives and come back to our first love.
I have a feeling that God has great things in store for us and it is because of this that Satan has been attacking hard this past year especially towards my own family. However, I know the rest of the story and I know that despite all that Satan tries to dish out at us he will fail. I am challenging our church this year to do more than just study the word and do more than just show up every week. I am challenging us to start a new ministry, to not be silent when it comes to the truth. To use your voice in boldness just as those 2000 years ago. I am challenging you to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus for this new church year. Will you accept the challenge and go all in or will you stick to the shallows where it feels safe? Jesus is calling us to do more. Will you accept the call?