Businesses usually take inventory at this time of year. It is wise for us as a church to do the same thing. Where are we as a congregation, and where are we headed? What have we done for our Lord and to advance His Kingdom in the past year? Some who are uninvolved may think we haven’t done much. Well, let’s take a look at where we are at the close of 2007. We at Westmoreland Baptist are seeking to do three things:
Ø Magnify God
Ø Minister To People
Ø Make Disciples
We are seeking to Magnify God through quality worship experience which has included varied music offerings, drama, multi media, and exposition and application of God’s Word. We are blessed to have Randy Spurgeon as our Minister of Music. Randy usually puts together our order of worship, and he puts a lot of prayer and preparation into each service. From instrumental to children’s, youth and adult choirs, to “special” groups and solos, we seek to Magnify the Father.
Wednesday evenings we come together for prayer and Bible Study, and in our Sunday Evening services adults explore God’s Word, while youth and AWANA children’s ministries are meeting at the same time. And on Sunday mornings at 9:30 there are small Bible Study groups and classes for all ages. Our morning worship services are taped and the message is played on our weekly radio program, "Raising the Standard", heard on 97.1 FM at 10:30 AM every Sunday.
Our various Ministries to People include a library and media center open to everyone. Mother's Day Out and Pre School weekday ministries provide Christian Education opportunities and outreach to young families. We have an active senior group, the “B.A.L.L. Team” who meet for lunch each month and take part in various trips and other activities. A new Women’s Bible Study was begun this year, with great participation, and a new Men’s Outdoor Ministry has also drawn a number of people into fellowship. This past year, certain leaders in our Youth Ministry have also provided after school tutoring for young people in our community. There is also a craft group and shut in ministry that seeks to minister to those who are unable to attend services.
Our church has long been a supporter of Missions. Several of our Sunday School Classes have financially supported the Huntington City Mission for years, and it is included in our church budget. We also have a faithful group who volunteer at the Mission each month. This past year we have also had some of our young people volunteering at the Mission with improvement work and Back Yard Bible Clubs for the kids there. The youth group has done several community service projects as well. This Christmas season, our students have also “adopted” some children at the mission for the purchase of Christmas gifts.
We have continued to sponsor a mission church in Wayne, WV and have taken a large role in “World Changers” mission work in Huntington, hosting and feeding the visiting teams that do the rehab work on rundown houses in our community, while sharing the Gospel with their owners. Our youth group has gone on short term mission trips each of the past four summers, and we have sent several short term mission teams to the Philippines. Free will offerings from our Sunday School classes have helped us financially support two native Filipino pastors and church planters year round, and we regularly support Southern Baptist Missions at home and around the world through our Cooperative Program giving. G.R.O.W. teams meet each week for outreach to our community.
Our newest Sunday School class has been busy doing ministry in our community by offering a free Clothing giveaway to folks in our community. Upward Basketball, Cheerleading, and Soccer kicks off this year and offers our church the opportunity to tell the story of Jesus to children and their families through a sports ministry setting. We have begun a new method of planning and implementing our church fellowship dinners which has involved more of our members than ever before. In times of grief, a faithful group of ladies are always there to provide meals for bereaved families at the time of the death of a member.
A new Church Directory is being prepared to help us all get to know one another better. Fellowship in general, and close relationships are being built in a number of Sunday morning small groups. There have been evangelistic Block Parties, and Ice Cream Socials, special movie events, and even a "Pound the Pavement" concert. There’s more, and the list goes on and on.
The purpose of all of these activities is to seek to Make Disciples and advance the Gospel of Christ at home and around the world – winning people to Christ, and equipping them to serve Him effectively. The last few months have seen us adding new members to our fellowship on a regular basis, and we are on target for more annual baptisms than we have had here in the past several years. I am proud of the members of Westmoreland Baptist Church for what they have done in the past year, and I pray that we will be able to make an even greater impact for Christ in 2008. It’s not important that we have been busy. What matters is that we are lifting up Christ in our world and hopefully impacting the culture for Him.
As this new year begins, let’s not lose sight that “The main thing is to keep the main thing – the Main Thing!”
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