A New Season

Wow, Sunday was such a great day, yet it was a sad day too.  There was so much excitement here at West K and I love seeing so many new faces and meeting our visitors, but it was also a sad day as we said farewell to two of our families here.  This past week was the final Sunday for the Whites and the Burris’ family.   Both families are moving out of state and we will miss them very much.  God is good and we know he will continue to bless them as they discover a new local church to connect with.

Yesterday we kicked off our new sermon series on the “I Am” statements found throughout the Gospel of John.  We started off by diving into one of the more lengthy sections where Jesus uses the miracle he performed the day before as a means to communicate his saving relationship with the world.  This coming Sunday, we will be diving into John 8:12 where Jesus states, “I am the light of the world.” 

Also, at the end of service yesterday we took up a vote of affirmation on the leadership decision for me to step into the role of lead minister and the vote came back as a “yes.”  There was an overwhelming amount of support for this decision and I want to thank all of you for your affirmation.  I greatly look forward to the future here at West K and what God is doing among his people.  I want to remind you that I will not be stepping out of my duties as associate minister just yet.  I will continue overseeing and participating in the youth ministry throughout the rest of the school year.  The leadership, volunteer youth staff, students, and parents will be working together as we slowly make changes in this transition. 

A few people have asked me the question, “what’s next?”  The question was geared at what we will be doing as a congregation this next year.  Well, there are a number of ideas and conversations happening that pertain to the future of this church.  The following are areas that I would love to see us grow in over the next few months: small group ministry, Sunday school, and men’s ministry.  We are not limited to just these areas, which is why your involvement and participation is needed.  As a church, we want to focus on encouraging spiritual growth of our members and regular attenders, and we want to passionately continue our momentum at reaching new families and non-Christians.  You are needed and God has gifted you for this.  Take a moment and open your bible to Romans 12:3-8.  As I mentioned yesterday, the church has been “called out” of a dark world, equipped with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), and sent back in (John 20:21).  If you are a Christ-follower, you have been called out, empowered, and sent back.  As a local body of believers, we want to passionately step forward together in joining Jesus’ mission here in Kalamazoo and throughout the world. 

We seek to be His people!

We seek to be used in amazing ways!

We seek to be the Church! 

Won’t you join us!