This has been a year for Change! The Church is no longer Pink, or Maroon, or Red or whatever color it has been for many years. The siding got a much needed update, and we even had some very dedicated volunteers put stone around the entrances and dress up the concrete block on the front of the church. This was a big change for us, and the neighborhood noticed! I have had a variety of comments from people in the community. I have heard everything from “didn’t the church used to be red?” to “ your church looks great”, to ”I miss the old color” (My children even used this one on me). My greatest regret is that I can no longer use the “Pink Floyd” joke that Don H. Mashue clued me in to years ago. One thing is certain. This has been a year filled with change.
Another change was the delivery of our building and the construction that started, and then stopped, and then started again. For details on the building see the building team report. The adjustments to the building meant that other changes would be needed. Our Youth building is now hidden behind the new building, which hasn’t always been easy or convenient. A big “thank you” to our youth for making adjustments and pitching in to help make the changes happen. The playground is in a location that no one had ever imagined it would be up until about 3 months ago, thanks to a whole bunch of volunteers, whom I won’t try to name for fear that I might leave someone out! Even the Pavillion on the front of the youth building is now relocated and usable in its new home. That’s a lot of change for one year.
In case you haven’t noticed, change is the norm these days. Our world is changing at a rate never before seen in the history of the world. It is hard to imagine what kind of changes our kids and grandkids will see in their lifetimes. God’s church must also address the changes happening all around us, and that is why there has been so much change this year. Some of these changes have been in the works for a long time and just happened to come to fruition this year, but others happened on the fly as we had to adjust to challenges that we faced as a part of our building process. The church must always be aware of what is happening around it and be ready to make changes to continue to be effective in completing our mission.
The Floyd Church has to constantly be ready to adjust its ministry and methods to successfully “Follow God’s Son”, “Live by God’s Word”, “Occupy God’s Territory”, “Yield to God’s Spirit”, and “Disciple God’s People”. Our Strategies, Methods, Programs and Style, must change as we seek to continue to be relevant to the culture around us, but what does not change is the core values that we posses. We will not change our belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to save us through his death on the cross of calvary. We will not change our belief that Loving God and Loving each other is the most important of all of the commandments in scripture. We will not change any of our core beliefs, we will simply communicate them using different means than in times past.
Over the past 12 years I have watched you become really good at finding ways to influence the community, and adjust ministry to meet the needs of people in this neighborhood, and I am very, very, proud of you. We must continue to change, adjust, and meet the needs as we work for, and wait for, Jesus return.
Our biggest challenge in the coming months will not be the completion of the building, but rather the challenge of remaining outwardly focused while working so hard to complete this new facility that God is blessing us with. We need to continue to dream of ways that this facility will serve not just our constituency, but also the whole community. It is my desire to see the lights on every night and the building occupied every day. I am looking forward to seeing Kingdom activities taking place in this building, but I am even more excited to see the building being used for “secular” purposes, so that the community will become comfortable in God’s house even if they aren’t yet following him as savior and Lord. I pray that this building will be used as a tool to welcome the community and build relationships with people that would never consider coming to church on Sunday (yet:-). Reaching the lost in our circle of influence must remain our primary challenge, and with God’s help the resources needed to complete the building will come, as we are faithfully working to further the Kingdom of God. This has already begun to happen as we continue to discover people in our congregation who have expertise that God can use in various aspects of the Building Process, and some of them have only recently embraced Floyd as their home church. What a great and awesome God that we serve!
Change is here to stay! After all the Gospel is all about change, and we, the people of God, had better get comfortable with it. There are great things in store for us here at Floyd, but only as we are willing to step out in faith and follow God in ways that we have never considered before, both as a community of faith, and as individuals. Are you ready?!?
You are loved,
Pastor Jeff