To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
It is good to be home, heard we brought the sun with us and hoping it stays for a bit. It was a joy to be with my entire extended family on a wonderful hot holiday. God has blessed us with a family that loves Him, and one another, and playing mahjong and rook make it even better! We loved the SHOUT OUT on Sunday, and missed being with you! Gathering together as believers is a priority to God and thus should/must be a priority for us! Make sure as you re-engage after holidays this New Year that you make the gathering and growth priorities! His family is your family, and as we gather to receive from Him and give to one another we will be more and more who He wants us to be individually and corporately.
Missions Fest: This weekend is missions fest and I have the privilege to be a presenter again with Jack Eggar of Global Children's Network. It is on Friday at 2:30 and we will be looking at how we can use the 4-14 window to plant healthy churches around the world. It is an interesting topic, and encourage you to pray for me and Jack as we present, and join us there if you are in the area. Loving God means loving His church, always locally, but also around the world! The church will also be taking in a bus on Saturday, leaving at 9:45 am, and if you want more information please contact Murray Isaac. I love that we are a missions minded church, and your prayer for, and participation in this passion, is essential!
Building A Caring Community: We are growing as a church and that carries with it encouragement and challenges. One of the challenges is that we want to notice and love new people. If you have been a part of our family for more than six months, please seek to greet at least three people you don't know every Sunday, get to know their names, eventually their stories, and help us to connect together as a family. You can't program a caring community (I know programs help), but you can display it, and this is an area we are doing well in, and need to constantly seek to do better. We want to be known for our love, and need everyone engaged to see this happen! If you are new, WELCOME, and we hope that not only do you feel and experience love on Sundays, you help us become who God wants us to become by engaging with others and finding a ministry!
Sunday School: We want to make sure that we are offering DISCIPLESHIP opportunities for all ages each week. We do that through our Growth Groups (talk to Pastor Les to join), and our Sunday School program. We are starting Sunday School again this week for ALL AGES, and our adult offering, will be FOLLOW ME, a Bible Study is based on David Platt's book by the same title. This is a summons to lose our lives even as we pursue Him. To live as a disciple of Christ is to be transformed from the inside out and empowered to make disciples from every nation, tribe, language, and people. This class is in the upstairs youth room.
Baptism: We have a baptism service this coming Sunday. If you know you this is something you need to do in obedience to God's Word as a believer, please contact one of your pastors this week! If you have already been baptized, come ready to be blessed by the testimony of those choosing to obey Jesus in believers baptism this Sunday.
Keep praying! We long for a great 2019, and our dependence upon God for His work in us and through us is KEY! We gather Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am each week to pray together and encourage you to pray in your small groups alone and always! Let us continue to be a church that is wanting to be filled with prayer, and growing in our prayer!
Sunday Is Coming:
Jack Eggar is preaching, he is from Global Children's Network. Jack is an excellent preacher that was president of AWANA for a number of years, and has since pioneered Global Children's Network with the help of Cloverdale Baptist Church. He loves God and has impacted millions through his passion for God, His Word, and disciple making! Join us for a time of shared love for God and one another and growth!
Eager to see what God will accomplish through us for His glory in 2019,
Pastor Rob