Never Again....

"Never Again..." I uttered this statement when I sat back and looked at my calendar when we discussed cancelling evening services on Mother’s Day and Memorial Day… I was told that it is what had been done in the past. While some of you thought that maybe I was “going easy on you” and other such touchy-feeling stuff - I went ahead and did this simply because I felt this Heavenly Home series was so crucial for our families (especially our young families) to feed on. In truth, it is usually our young families that will travel on these days. So don’t get your hopes up of this happening again – enjoy it while you can! (smile)

While, there is nothing wrong with changing our schedule at times, I would submit for Trinity and where God is taking us, that there is not a service more crucial that Sunday nights. On Sunday mornings we have a great number of guests - on Wednesday nights we are spread out all over the campus - but Sunday night… that is the one true family time we have as a church. You at Trinity have caught this, we have almost tripled in our attendance on Sunday evening and that is outstanding! This is going to be the glue that holds our church body together through the years. We are not on a time schedule on Sunday evenings as we are on Sunday mornings and therefore some of our greatest worship as we study and as we sing will be on Sunday nights. Several of you have shared that you missed it when we didn’t have Sunday evening service on Mother’s Day (maybe just buttering up your pastor? Nahh…) so while there may be times we shift things around because of certain events, we will not be cancelling family nights too often. So be here this Sunday morning and expect God to move in a great way as we worship in Spirit and in Truth and then we will resume family nights next Sunday night with a GREAT worship service with Bro. Jon and Suzanne Rushing in a mini-concert before I preach.

Just as a note: on June 14th we will have our Sunday evening service at a very special time in order for us to have a big Vacation Bible School celebration. So come ready to worship, ready to sing, ready to celebrate! I will see you then.

As You Pray

God has richly blessed us at Trinity - our Sunday night resurgence has been nothing short of spectacular, we have people that are reading, book clubs that are starting up on their own from our “Pastor’s Picks Table” and, just before writing this Bro. Brian informed me that we are 134 people higher in attendance on Sunday morning than we were a year ago! All of this is incredibly good… but our goal is not numbers (although we can rejoice in that), our goal is not even to have a reading congregation (although, I am more excited about that than even our attendance numbers!). What I am most excited about is the number of people I have seen praying with one another, going to the altar to get things right with God, spending time in prayer over our Church (for instance -coming beside me as a man did last week to just pray with me before service began). I have watched as the number going out on outreach has increased. The prayer, the witnessing, the obvious hunger to read the Word and serious Christian books; this is all growth! If we have growth spiritually, it is God who will grow His church.

All of this to say - we have some staff changes soon. Bro. Jeff Philips will be preparing to go to Vancouver, Bro. A.C will be “going off” our staff officially, but will remain at Trinity as he prepares for mission work. As things change like this, be excited for Trinity and for these men as they prepare to carry the Gospel throughout the world. Please remember these men, our remaining staff and future staff as you pray! Let me just give you some specific areas where we covet your prayers:

1. Pray Psalm 119:36. Pray that the Lord will incline our hearts towards His Word. Not simply that we will study it but that our hearts will not become entrapped by other things, but that we will be arrested by the Word of God.
2. Pray Psalm 86:11 Pray our hearts as a staff will be united towards God and never towards personal agendas. Nothing can do as much damage to a church as a divided staff.
3. Pray Matthew 26:41. Pray for our purity - it is crucial that not only our bodies be pure but also our minds. When our minds our defiled it will dull spiritual insight. Pray that we will love our wife as Christ loved the Church. Pray that our children will walk with God.
4. Pray Acts 18:9-10 That we will boldly witness, that we look for opportunities to carry forth the Gospel in Southaven, and unto the utter most parts of the earth.

I suppose I could write one hundred ways to pray for us - but we will covet your time spent interceding for these things specifically. Thank you for loving us the way you have, thank you for allowing me the honor of being your Pastor. Know that I am praying for us as a Church and that our individuals and families will be strengthened.

With Love For You In Christ,
Bro. Chad