For Members
Pastoral Guidance for 2012 Ministry Year and Planning Budget
My Brothers and Sisters,
The Lord Almighty Reigns! Our nation is still experiencing major challenges, and the world in which we live seems to be in turmoil with wars, famines and other major disasters, but our God Reigns! Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. (Psalm 146:5-8). When I think about how the Lord is blessing us individually and collectively as a church, and the privilege he has given us to have a relationship with Him, I must Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow! Hallelujah to the Lord Our God!
Great and wonderful things are happening with our church. There is absolutely no doubt that God has been gracious to us and that Mount Pleasant is continuing to impact the lives of people throughout this world. God has given us a clear vision and our mission remains the same; go into the entire world and make disciples.
Once again, it’s time for us to begin our ministry planning for next year. After prayer and reflection, we will continue to build on the initiatives of 2011 of mobilizing the masses for ministry, but our theme for 2012 is “Making Progress Together.”
Paul writes in Philippians Chapter 3, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:10-14, NIV, emphasis added)
Paul realized and we should realize that we must never become complacent in our Christian walk. We must always try to be better Christians today then we were yesterday and even better tomorrow then we are today. As we strive to be more like Christ, there should be some evidence of progress, individually and collectively as a church.
We will continue with a holistic approach to ministry; that is, worship, equipping, nurturing, individual and family strengthening, social and economic development, developing our youth and meeting the needs of our seniors. We will also continue to pursue ways to acquire a physical plant that can better accommodate our congregational growth and the ever expanding kingdom work done by all of our ministries. However, we must renew our emphasis on discipleship.
I’m asking every ministry to incorporate a period of systematic meditation and devotions into every ministry activity and event. Our Director of Education will provide a listing of books and other tools, which can be utilized for these meditations and devotions.
I am also asking all of our members to commit to enrolling in one or more classes of our bible institute every quarter. I praise God for the Sunday morning experience, but the bible encourages us to keep preparing until we attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). It’s vital that all the members of the body feed on the word of God to be equipped to serve in ministry. As you read this letter and pray for our church and its vision, I encourage you to fervently seek the Lord to show you your part.
I am asking every active member of our church to proactively participate in the planning for ministry for 2012, and that careful consideration be given the resources that will support this planning. As we plan together, aggressively seek God for how He would have us achieve the ministry goals of our ministry for 2012.
You are asked to submit your input by answering seven questions. They are:
- What did God say do?
- When and how did He communicate it (if this was done in the prior year, are there any changes God has revealed regarding how to do it)?
- How can what He said be supported by scripture?
- How does what He said fit within the overall mission and vision of our church?
- What are the estimated resources (people, time and material) needed to accomplish what he said?
- When should this event take place (proposed date and time)?
- What is a creative approach to conducting this activity (resources, costs, collaboration, partnering, and timing)?
When considering the seven questions above, remember that the people of God must always be discerning of the will of God, operating in the faith that God has empowered us with. However, we must also operate with wisdom and understand the times we are living in. Please exercise the power of the Holy Spirit to ensure that your submission to our ministry plan is indeed confirmed by God.
Your input by answering the above questions must be provided to your ministry leadership no later than (NLT) September 9th, 2011. It is very important that we receive your input by this date, so that we can complete our planning in a timely manner. If you are not yet actively ministering as a part of the ministries of our church, I’m asking you to use this planning period to identify your spiritual gift(s), and how you plan to use your gift(s) in our ministries in 2012.
As we seek the Lord and begin to formulate our plans for ministry and the budget for 2012, please keep in mind our primary purpose is to spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and help to make and develop disciples. It has been proven that God will empower us to do more with less when we stay focused on spreading the Gospel message.
God has blessed our fellowship and has given us tremendous reach world-wide. I thank God and you for allowing me and my family the privilege to continue to serve you here at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. May God Always Be Glorified in What We Do!
James L. Graham, Jr., Ph.D.
Senior Pastor