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Dust was flying all
over the place as we were sand-blasting the ceiling of our current worship
center. I heard a voice calling,
“Pete, are you in there?” Standing in
the middle of the room, I couldn’t see Josh Epperson through all the
dust. He was standing on the stairwell
landing, coming in for another day of work.
Josh joined me and we continued to scrape, sand, and clean. We were preparing for the people who hadn’t
come yet. We were looking forward to
our opening day when we would begin “Empowering one more to
walk together with God.” We knew the building needed to be
presentable. The parents needed to
know their children would be well cared-for.
We knew the adults would appreciate a relaxed atmosphere, but not a
construction site. We needed to get
ready. The environment needed to be a
place where the whole family would come worship, connect with new friends,
grow in their walk with God, and go out refreshed and ready to serve that
week. So, we needed to prepare –
prepare for tomorrow. I remember that day
in the summer of 2003 as though it was yesterday. Now, as I remember the excitement we felt,
I begin feeling that excitement again.
God is providing us another chance to get ready for people we haven’t
met yet. His Mission hasn’t
changed. The Vision remains
clear. But now, we are called to prepare
for even more. God has provided a
place for us – a place where we can build.
We can build a place more accessible to those who cannot handle the
many stairs of our current facility.
We can build a place that invites everyone passing by on Route 2. We can build a place that God will use to
empower one more. We are now taking
the next step toward that vision as we begin a stewardship campaign that will
allow us to pay off the land and prepare to build. Appropriately entitled, “Building for Tomorrow:
Working Together to Empower One More,” this campaign will teach us all how to
better utilize the resources God has given us – our time, our talents, and
even our finances. As we all learn
together and work together toward this vision, I know God will bless us and
our unity in this effort. I know this,
because I’ve lived through it once already. You see, our current facility was completed by opening day in 2003,
but it wasn’t completed because of my efforts alone. Josh was there. My family was there. Many others were there as well. In fact, it took hard work and sacrifice
from everyone involved. None of us could have done it alone. None of us had all the time, talents
or resources. It took all of us,
equally sacrificing and working together for His Mission. Now, God is giving me a chance to
experience that excitement again. Do you feel it? |
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Pete
Kersker, Lead Minister |
