A couple of weeks ago, I did something I have never done before: I dedicated my sermon time in worship to offering a “State of the Church” Address. It was one of the Sundays closest to my church anniversary, and after two years of ministry, it felt fitting to look back on where we have been and celebrate the direction in which we are headed.
Unfortunately, technology did not cooperate with us that Sunday, so we do not have a streamed recording of the service. If you were not able to be there, but would like to hear the sermon, please let the church office know and we should be able to get you a recording on the service on CD. Otherwise, I will also be adding a print version of the sermon to the website for you to be able to read.
During the sermon, I mentioned that the word that stood out to me as I was touring the church 2.5 years ago and meeting with the search committee was: potential. From the building and grounds to the neighborhood and the people I met, I just knew this church had so much going for it. The search committee didn’t “sell” the church to me – in fact, they did the best job possible of making sure I was clear-eyed about IBC’s strengths and areas of growth. Still, I knew that our ministry together could be one of untapping potential and letting our light shine in new and vibrant ways.
I also noted that it feels like we are at a “precipice moment” in the life of the church. The direction we take in the next few years may indeed be indicative of what the future holds for Immanuel Baptist Church. We have choices to make about where and how we will invest our time and energy, and what choices we make will determine to what extent we allow our potential to flourish.
As we begin year three together, a new word has come to mind: momentum.
Over the course of the last two years, we have built a lot. Our energy has grown and expanded as we have updated the look and feel of our communications platforms. We have significantly increased our ministry with children and youth, reaching out to the community to support more families than have in recent past. This has been a very exciting time in the life of the church.
You don’t have to spend very long with the people at IBC to realize that the momentum is shifting. Even events that used to have 8-12 people attending have now seen dozens of people come. I can’t count the number of times we have had to pull out extra chairs and tables because more people joined a fellowship event than expected. We even had over 30 senior adults join us for our trip to Ricardo’s last month with Faith Baptist Church.
Time and time again, we are showing our eagerness and desire to see this community of faith thrive. We want to be able to “experience and express God’s unconditional love” so that everyone in Frankfort – and beyond – will know that the God who created them – the God who took on human form to stand alongside them – loves them unconditionally. We truly believe that God is not done with Immanuel Baptist Church, and we are living like it!
In church leadership circles, a pastor’s third year is often considered to be the year that they “start something.” Most of the first two years is meant to be consumed with listening and learning, so that any vision-casting or planning can be engaged from a deep knowledge of the congregation – not from the whims of the pastor.
The past two years have certainly involved a great deal of listening and learning. I believe that job is never done! Now that we are entering year three together, it’s time to let the momentum drive us further. It’s time to see where this potential will take us.
I hope you are as excited as I am about all the possibilities before us. With God’s help, we can do amazing things! God is already moving us – we just have to keep the momentum going. What a future we will have before us if we do!
