From my window I can watch every day as progress is made on a new pavilion at Rock Plaistow campus. This is a project that has been years in the making. First it was the planning and fundraising. Then there was covid and various hurdles with the town. But now, in God's perfect timing, it is coming together. And I'm not going to lie, I'm super excited. I can already envision so many ways that this will be used for ministry. Youth group and day camp, outdoor concerts and services, men's and women's BBQs, For Our Community events and so much more. When I think about all of the groundwork, literally and figuratively, that had to happen for this project come to fruition, I just have to praise God!
What is even more exciting to me is that I see in the Pavilion a metaphor for our whole ministry. Over the past few years we have had more than our share of setbacks and hurdles. And the enemy has tried to use all of that to discourage and distract us in order to keep us from fulfilling the work God has called us to. But during those challenging times, your Rock Church leaders have been hard at work doing the ground work, laying a foundation upon which to build the future of our ministry. And as we begin to emerge from covid, we see it coming together in God's perfect timing.
We've used this time to redevelop various areas of ministry, to improve our facilities, to launch new initiatives, to renew our vision statement and goals, to expand and improve our digital ministries, to invest in our For Our Community outreach and much more. So as difficult and challenging as the past few years have been, God has used that time to strengthen us, to clarify our vision and to prepare us for a bright and hopeful future as a church.
A week from today we launch our 40 day Journey. This time is meant to be a spiritual journey, preparing us for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. But I also see this as a resurrection of our ministry. I believe in the coming days we are going to see all of the ways that God is restoring life, energy and passion to our ministry. We are coming back together as a body. We are stepping out in new and exciting ways. And we are fulfilling our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God, love others and do good.
I want to encourage us to fully engage in this 40-day journey that we're beginning next Wednesday. Challenge yourself. Step out in some new ways spiritually. Let this be a time when your faith is renewed and strengthened. I believe God has amazing things in store for each one of us and for our church in the days ahead! If you haven’t already signed up for the daily email, contact Lynette at Lynette@rock-church.org
Love you all,
Pastor Steve
Also, don’t forget that Rock Church Youth is back! We invite any middle school or high school students to join us every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at our Plaistow campus. Parents, don’t worry about dinner, we will feed them physically and spiritually!