Happy New Year! For us, winter weather came with the turn of the calendar, and we enjoyed several snow days this month. The beginning of the year is always a time for planning, goal setting, and looking ahead to the next year.
At Robbinsville First Baptist Church, the first Sunday of the new year introduces new prayer requests while also reflecting on how the Father answered the previous year's requests. As a church, we were able to all stand in awe at how God worked in 2021 and come to the throne boldly asking Him to move in mighty ways for 2022.
Like RFBC, mine and Sarah's requests for ETM are also bold for 2022. We regularly ask the Lord to reveal future steps for ETM, including a new president as ETM's founder and president Colin McDougall seeks to transition to retirement. We are also asking for God to open new doors for ministry, whether that be new ways to serve RFBC through ETM or new/deeper connections with other churches who are in need of disciple makers to come invest in them. Our heart is for the local church, and our prayer is that the Lord would equip and lead us to help local churches in multiple ways in 2022.
To prepare for that end, I have begun a year long course with a ministry called Practical Shepherding to help train me further in church revitalization work. We meet weekly over Zoom and it has great potential for both equipping and connecting with pastors who are in need of help and looking for a team.
Meanwhile, our work at RFBC continues. January features the annual youth group retreat, a 4 day trip the youth leaders take the teens to for a time of intentional Bible study and fellowship. This year we went to Ayden, NC, to a camp called The Refuge (our group is pictured above!). While there, we were able to visit some friends who moved close to Ayden to help a struggling local church there. It was a great opportunity to show the teens Christ's heart for His church, and how important every local church is to God.
I continue to have preaching opportunities at RFBC, where we have begun a sermon series on Proverbs that will kick off a year long theme focused on Godly wisdom. One month in, and I have already had this study push and stretch me in exciting ways. I recently preached the third sermon in our Proverbs series, which you can watch here.
Lastly, Covid has again spread through our county and brought back memories from a year ago when ministry schedules were even more unpredictable than usual due to illnesses. Please pray for those sick and suffering from it, and please join us in praying for ETM and this ministry.
We believe that ETM's work with local churches is an essential work, and it is one that would not be possible without your support through prayer and through giving. If you have not joined our prayer/support team, would you consider joining us in 2022? Thank you for your prayers and encouragement as we continue in this ministry.
