Pastor’s Note:
I am
excited about the initial responses I have received concerning our
Family Worship Guide. I am
equally excited about those who are using it with their families, and
are being held accountable to do so each week.
I believe that this is one tool that will help us accomplish our
goal of strengthening the families of Bigelow Church.
If you haven’t been using the guide, then please start doing so
now. We will all be better
for it.
Men’s Meeting
It was a blessing to have thirty-four men attend our Bigelow
Men’s Meeting held on February 13.
At that meeting, we discussed a man’s role as it applies to
strengthening the family unit. We
also discussed how the elders are going to help each man accomplish this
important goal.
At this point, the elders are working with Joe
Allwood, the Deacon of Education, to work out the best possible way to
facilitate our goal. We
will share this information with you, once we have worked through all of
the details and ramifications.
Members’ Meetings
I wanted to remind all of you of our monthly Members’
Meetings. Members’ Meetings are open for all to attend.
It is extremely important, for the members of Bigelow, to make
the effort to come and take part in the business of our church.
Every member’s input, questions, and concerns are considered,
heard, and valued. Every
member in good standing has the privilege of voting on matters that come
up for a vote.
We will continue to publish each month’s meeting
agenda the Sunday before the meeting.
Keeping you informed is very important to the elders and deacons
of Bigelow. In our February meeting, we voted to change the meeting day
to the third Wednesday of each month.
We will be having our Quarterly Fellowship Meal and
Members’ Meeting on March 16 at 6:00 pm.
Please make plans to attend.
A sign up sheet will be out for you to sign up to bring a covered
dish, etc. See you then.
Elder Discussions
We have been continuing to discuss our Philosophy of Ministry,
and the all important issues of how to accomplish it.
As I have already mentioned, we are working with Joe Allwood on a
plan to facilitate our first Core Seminar.
The Core Seminar material is being written now.
This seminar will be titled Mighty
Men. Again, we will
keep you informed as to the content, the format, and the time of the
seminar. So, watch for
details.
Related to our Philosophy of Ministry, we have had
ongoing discussions about the need for additional pastoral staff.
If you have been at our Members’ Meetings you will be familiar
with this discussion.
We believe that now is the time to take the next
step in bringing in a gifted, trained, and skilled person who will help
us accomplish our goal. This
person’s responsibilities will be to assist in the development and
execution of our ministry plans especially as it relates to our
Philosophy of Ministry. To
better understand this decision, please check out the included article,
co-authored by our three other elders (Click
here).
We will begin to evaluate serious candidates for
the above stated pastoral staff position, including one well-qualified
young man who approached us several months ago.
We intend to bring him and his wife in for a visit soon.
In the mean time, we continue to discuss the need
to increase our overall giving to accomplish this. I have heard from a number of families, who have said they
would commit to increasing their giving to help us add additional staff.
We have even had some give lump sums of money to get us started.
At this point, we are asking that you pray that God would direct
us in making God-honoring decisions.
And, bring any comments or questions with you to the Quarterly
Fellowship Meal and Members’ Meeting on March 16.
Thank You
I close with thanksgiving to God for each of you, and for your
part in the work of Bigelow Church.
We have come a long way, and by God’s grace we will continue to
grow as a body of believers for His glory.
May God be glorified in our work and plans!
In Christ,
Pastor Frank
