As we came to the end of another year, I have found
myself thinking about how we finish a year as a culture. Like most years, the
final week of 2015 was marked by an attitude of reflection. For example, just
think of what programs dominate television in the final week of a calendar
year. The final week is dominated by “best of” shows. The best football games
of 2015. The top 10 movies of 2015. The top 100 songs of 2015. The top ten
tragedies of 2015. The top music videos of 2015.
It seems that we end every year by looking back and
reflecting on the significant events of that year. And we tend to do the very
same thing as individuals, don’t we? In our culture, we have a tendency to
spend the last days of the year looking back in the rearview mirror of the past
year to reflect on the events and relationships that shaped our lives. And just
like our culture, just like individuals, at the church where I serve we tend to
look back and reflect on the events and the relationships that shaped us as a
community in 2015.
So I would like to pause and take a minute to look in the
rearview mirror, so to speak of all that God has done this past year at the
church where I serve, which is City Bible Church in Bullhead City Arizona. In Element, which is our children’s ministry environment,
we have seen God continue to expand the influence and impact that we have in
the lives of children and their families as we create space for children to
connect with Jesus. The AWANA midweek children’s environment now impacts 74
children and their families on a weekly basis.
In addition, every Sunday
morning, the Element ministry staff has done an amazing job engaging an average
of 52 children every Sunday morning in the Kids Konnection environment. As a
result, we have watched children’s lives being transformed as more and more
children and their families are engaged with the claims of Christ and the
message of the gospel in real and practical ways. And this past Halloween, we
had the privilege of loving and serving over 2,100 people who came through our
campus as we created a safe and fun environment for families and the community
during the Candyland carnival.
In addition, a little over a
year ago, as a church we were able to partner with the City of Bullhead City to
love and serve our city by planting over 100 trees and shrubs on Balboa Ave.
during our Saturday of Service. This past Easter we had the privilege of
partnering with the Boys and Girls Club to love and serve 34 families by
providing them Easter Dinner.
This past summer, we were able
to love and serve Coyote Canyon Elementary School by purchasing Promethean Smart
Boards for two classrooms. Then, this past Christmas, we were able to love and
serve 53 local families by purchasing and delivering Christmas present to
children whose parents were incarcerated through Angel Tree. And every weekday,
we have the opportunity to love and serve between 15-25 families who visit our
Emergency Assistance Window.
Then there is Fusion, which is the
ministry to Jr. and Sr. High school students. This past year, we have watched
as these students came to know God, own their faith, and make their faith
known. Fusion students are actively engaged in what God is doing here as they
invest their talents in a wide range of ministries as they invest their time in
the mission we have been given as a church. In addition, this past summer, thirty eight
students and staff loved and served the camp staff at Prescott Pines Camp in a
way that will have a lasting impact. Jr. and Sr. High students are also visibly
engaged in investing their talents serving God by serving others in many ministries
here at City Bible Church throughout the week.
Speaking of serving God by
serving others, did you know that during this past year, approximately 53% of
the people who attend City Bible Church regularly invest their talents serving
God by serving others in a ministry? Did you know that 52% of those who
regularly attend City Bible Church are involved in a community group?
In addition, when it comes to
investing our treasure in the Kingdom mission we have been given; did you know
that, this past year, the average adult gave $21.00 per week? Did you know that
33% of those who attend City Bible Church gave less than $50.00 for the entire
year? Did you know that 13% of those who attend City Bible Church provide 66%
of what is given?
Now you might be asking one or
two different questions. You may be here and you are thinking “I didn’t know we
kept track of all these statistics? And
why do we keep all of these statistics?” If you are here this morning and those
questions are running through your mind, here is my response: Yes we do keep
all of those statistics and the reason why we count people here at City Bible
Church is because people count here at City Bible Church. And as we look back
at 2015, we can see the evidence of God’s activity in all aspects of ministry
and at every age and stage of life here at City Bible Church.
But something happened on New Year’s Eve, doesn’t
it? On New Year’s Eve, as the ball begins to drop in Times Square, as
individuals and as a culture, we begin the transition from a time of reflection
and evaluation of the past that is focused on where we presently find ourselves
to a time of hope for the future. We begin the attempt to leave the past behind
and begin a new year with a new and fresh slate and with new and fresh hope
when it comes to our future.
And as part of that process, we sit down and make a
list of what we are going to do differently in the New Year. We even have a
name for that list, don’t we? We call that list our New Year’s Resolutions. And
what is the case individually is also the case for us as we live life together
in community. Just like individuals, as a church, we have a tendency to look at
the New Year as a time to reflect on the past, evaluate the present, and plan
for the future when it comes to the unique mission that we have been given.
But at the church where I serve, what should be on
our New Year’s resolution list? What should our focus and our goal be as a
church as plan for the future in 2016? Fortunately for us, in an account of
Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew, Jesus
provides for us a timeless goal that we should strive towards, both as
individuals and as a church, that serves as the foundation of the vision and
mission that we have here at City Bible Church.
Tomorrow, we will begin to look at this timeless
goal and its implications when it comes to our future plans at the church where
I serve, and for all of us as followers of Jesus…
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