WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

I was looking at last year’s newsletter article before sitting down and writing something for this month. In the July 2007 newsletter, I outlined the work that we were planning for the church building. Your elders and deacons had envisioned the work being divided into several different phases and we were prepared to begin Phase I. By July, we were already meeting downstairs and looking forward to the completion of the remodeling of the auditorium. While it wasn’t easy to move everything downstairs and then move it back upstairs again, that all went smoothly. The auditorium was finally completed, giving us a practically brand new place to worship.

As the construction was beginning, we (your elders and deacons) outlined several ways every member of the congregation could help. The first way to help was through your cooperation. While there may have been some grumbling over the inconveniences of having to walk around the building and avoid certain places because of the construction, I never heard any of it. Second way to help was through financial help. We outlined how much Phase I was going to take and asked for financial commitments to help cover those expenses. To that end, over $18,000.00 per year was committed above and beyond giving to the general fund. So far, at least $1,500.00 has been giving to the building fund and at least that much has been applied to that construction loan. The third way to help was through you spiritual support. Your elders and deacons were committed to the changes and hoped that every member of the congregation would get on board. I can honestly say that I have felt the full spiritual support of the church family. Without your full support, all of our efforts would get us nowhere.

Over the last couple of years, we have been working hard to set the stage for both spiritual and numeric growth here at Athens Christian Church. We have worked hard to resolve some of the personal differences and disagreements that were keeping us from loving each other as a church family and keeping us from moving forward. We have moved past those issues. We have worked hard to deal with all the changes and inconveniences that we have had to face over the last year in order to get the facilities we need to reach out to our community. We have moved past those issues. Now, we are in a position to move forward with the message of Christ. With God’s help, we will move past any other issues that may hinder us from fulfilling our mission.

July may be the month with the least number of planned church activities. Enjoy the temporary lull. As soon as the first week of August rolls around, we will be gearing up for all of our regular monthly church activities. We have Men’s “Fella”ship, Ladies Dinner and Devotions, a full schedule of youth programs, CCF Day, Men’s Retreat, Women’s Retreat, the Fall Festival, and more to look forward to and enjoy from August through October.

There is so much work to do in order to see the Gospel message shared with our neighbors and our community – plan on being a part of it all.