Great Start to 2010 (Jan 04, 2010)
Sometimes attendance figures (both Sunday morning and evening), along with financial figures, are hard to decipher. For example, yesterday morning's attendance was significantly down. Yet, Sunday night attendance was significantly up, and finances were up a little bit. I guess we are supposed to praise the Lord for the victories, and pray harder when our work doesn't seem to yield the fruit that we desire.
There were a couple of milestones achieved yesterday. Let me highlight a couple of them for you. On January 1, Karen and I were able to visit a family that had been visiting the church. A mother lives in the house with her adult children. We were able to lead one of these children, Wanda, to the Lord. Yesterday, Wanda walked the aisle to follow the Lord in believer's baptism. Praise the Lord.
We were also able to baptize Jacob Ratliff yesterday. Jacob is the son of Mike and Kelly Ratliff, our Master Club commanders. The Ratliffs are a great asset to our church, and it was a great joy to plunge their son beneath baptismal waters and welcome him as the newest member of Grace Baptist Church.
Also joining yesterday were Bryan and Whitney Miller. Bryan is the younger brother of Richard Miller, our Junior Department Coordinator. Bryan and his wife Whitney moved to Columbus several months ago, and we are excited that they officially decided to make Grace their church home yesterday. We praise the Lord for these new additions.
It was also my privilege yesterday to dedicate the son of our youth pastor. Noah Riley Chambers was officially turned over to God. We are thankful for the arrival of this joyful baby. The doctors told Pastor and Mrs. Chambers that they would not be able to have children. We are thankful that God overruled the doctors.
During the worship service yesterday, one woman raised her hand for salvation but did not come forward. Please pray for us as we follow up on this precious lady. Pray that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to her soul and that we will be able to see her trust Christ as Savior in the near future.
We are off to a good start to this new year, and trust that God will continue to use us to see souls saved in Columbus and around the world. Please continue to pray for us.