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

What To Look For In A College

Well, it may be a little late for our upcoming graduates as many of them have already chosen a college…but my prayer is by God’s wonderful providence He will put you in a place like I am going to discuss right here. If what we are doing every Sunday as we worship is really the most important thing in life, if Christ is truly number one, shouldn’t He be the determining factor as to where we go to college? Now, how do we determine this? Is it a feeling? Is it just some “inner peace” - not much different than the New Agers speak of? Is it that you just “know” when you walk on the campus? My answer to all of those questions is a resounding “NO!” As parents it is our responsibility to help our children, regardless of their age, turn towards the Word of God to find their answers. There is no place in our lives that is more important to our spiritual growth than the church we attend. Previously on this blog, we have looked point by point at Mark Devers’ book “What Is A Healthy Church.” I would challenge you, if you are looking at a college to make your determination based on a healthy church. If you go to a college town without a strong church and you are getting a continual dose of (as one dear friend puts it) “Babylonian Religion”, is it any wonder so many students leave the church during their college years? We all know the statistics, we have all heard how many college students fall out of church - why? I believe we all share in the blame. Pastors have been too intimidated to speak frankly about this… parents, while many of them are paying for the education, somehow have been made to feel that if their child doesn’t get in this particular school they may be doomed to failure. I want all of us to remember that just because your child has a degree doesn’t mean he will be successful. We must biblically define success for them! We must explain that no matter what they do, they must be passionate about it bringing glory to God. If we teach them by telling them, and by living out before them, that the greatest thing we can do is find our satisfaction in Christ alone and they sincerely believe this, they will be a success. So in short, if you can stay in your healthy local church – stay. If you are moving, base your college decision on where the healthiest church is. If there is a church that teaches the Word of God verse by verse every week, a church that will hold you accountable, that practices discipline, that has small groups that you can serve with, minister with and worship with, then chose that college. As a parent we can not be good stewards sending our children to a place where there is not a strong church, and contrary to popular Baptist thought, there are not great or even good churches just anywhere you go. There may be Baptist Churches, there may be large churches, but there are not too many healthy churches. Don’t sacrifice your walk to gain a degree - you could gain a job but lose your purpose. If Christ is supreme, He is supreme even in our educational decisions. If this is a radical idea to you, you have not thought enough about our responsibility as believers. As you go, remember that Trinity will be praying for you!