It is my custom to write Thanksgiving letters during this season to individuals whom I feel a deep thankfulness for because of our interaction during the past year. I can't do that in this case because I would need to write a letter to each and every one of you.

      You and all the otehrs who make up this congregation have poured out love and acceptance upon me like I have never experienced before. I am giving God praise and offering prayers of thanksgiving that you are a vital part of my life now. This has been a great year for me because of how you ahve allowed God to move through you in every day things.

     I am looking forward to seeing God fulfill his dream for this church through the teamwork of his Holy Spirit, you, and myself. May God be praised!
  
​     -Pastor Powell

Our society is a consumer based society.  It is all about; “What do I get?” So when you begin to talk to people about coming to church with you (i.e. inviting) they will want to know what this church has to offer them.
 
This is where some of us get embarrassed.  We can’t offer the outstanding teen program that dazzles our teens with more religious entertainment than they can handle. We can’t offer the big budget productions that are the substance of some weekly worship experiences. We can’t boast of big crowds of attendees. In short we sometimes have the attitude of coming up short in what we can offer our friends and neighbors or the community.
 
What we have to offer is our smallness. What are people looking for in a church? It is connection with God and people. Real connection comes from loving our visitors into our circle so that they become truly connected to us and us to their lives. We offer support  that works because we can be real and one on one with them. We offer the handshakes, the smiles, the hugs, the prayers, the tears, whatever is real in a relationship that is based on God’s mercy, forgiveness and love. We can quickly integrate new comers into a wholesome community that will practice loving each other as much as we love ourselves.
 
We have nothing else to offer than the Love of God in practical human form given to them through us. Can you offer that to someone outside the church?