Wow! As I write this, there are less than eight weeks before Christmas. As we all know, the holiday period from Halloween through Thanksgiving and Christmas to New Year’s is filled with a multitude of extra and special activities in the church, the community and in our social and working lives.
Take a deep breath!

Here at First Presbyterian Church we have two special activities that will get a lot of our attention and energy. Our stewardship campaign has begun which will climax on Spiritual Growth Sunday, November 13. This is an opportunity to understand our stewardship choices as a way to move closer to the God who has moved towards us in Christ. Each of us will be asked to think and pray about what God wants us to give to the church, not so much for the church’s financial benefit as for our own spiritual well-being. How we respond on November 13 will determine what kind of budget, supporting what kind of ministries, First Presbyterian Church will adopt for 2012.

The second special activity will be an Invite-a-Friend service on December 4. The sanctuary will be decorated for Christmas, the worship and music will be inspiring, and the fellowship meal following the service will be a great opportunity for our guests to get to know us personally. You will be hearing a lot about this occasion, and not only at church. In November you will see ads on television and in the paper encouraging people to check out the Presbyterian Church, the place where hope is born.

There will be more—much more—about both of these activities—in church, and in various media including letters, the web site, television and newspapers. But the point that I want to emphasize here is what our stewardship campaign and our evangelistic outreach have in common. Both are based on the conviction that God has important work for us to do in the year 2012. We have hearts to mend, minds to inform, souls to save and lives to transform. When the church raises money it is called stewardship because we know that First Presbyterian belongs to God, not to us—we are only the stewards of the resources Christ puts into our hands to use to advance his kingdom. The word evangelism comes from the Greek word for good news, and we call inviting others to join us evangelism because we want them to know the good news of the new life that Christ has made possible through his death and resurrection. It all comes down to the conviction that the words of the prophet have meaning for us: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God has plans for us. Let us be sure to include God in our plans.

As always—see you in church—especially on November 13 and December 4.
Stephen