Just a Word to Trinity as the Year Draws to a Close

Last year I decided that I would close out new blog posts for the year once the holidays hit. The truth is most people do not read blogs, nor much else except sales papers during the holidays. After this post I will have one more that simply lays out our holiday schedule, so I wanted the last full entry for the year to end by telling our Trinity family that I count it an honor to be your Pastor. In January I will have been your Pastor for 4 years and it has been some of the toughest, and yet some of the most rewarding times in my life. I am thankful for you because you have become a church that not only longs to hear truth, but you strive to live it.  The love and grace you have shown to not only me, but to one another during some crazy times has been nothing less than a display of God’s grace working through you. I can honestly say that now we are beginning to see a demonstration of what becoming a biblical church is all about. We have seen people saved, new mission opportunities come about, new believers baptized, disciples growing and some even married. The families that God has left in this fellowship and the families that God has moved into this fellowship have come together as a true body of Christ. Your hunger for the Word of God and overwhelming encouragement to me as your Pastor is humbling and brings joy to my soul.

The staff that the Lord has placed here are not simply men I get to serve with but friends that I love and trust. They love and serve this church body with passion and grace. I have been amazed throughout my ministry to watch men falter, and succumb to a self preservation ministry when tough decisions had to be made. I can say by experience that these men are not that way and it has allowed this body to come through many storms. These men and their wives are “low maintenance” and “high service” and that enables me to better prepare to preach the Word each and every week. Thank you Trinity for loving them.

Last but not least, thank you for loving one another! To watch you minister, serve, pray and go after one another week by week is a blessing like no other. To see the Lord’s grace at work in so many ways and so many ministries in our fellowship has been exciting and encouraging. To watch as over these past four years our membership has moved from thinking that church is about me and my performance, to making it all about bringing glory to our Lord and with a passion to carry forth the Gospel, makes me extremely excited to see what the next 4 years (and the next 20 years) hold. The way the Lord has raised up men to love and lead this fellowship has set us up to stay the course by God’s grace. I love you and am a blessed man to be called your Pastor; thank you for the love and grace you continually display.