The Lord God took the human and settled him in the Garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it.- Genesis 2:15
From the very beginning, human beings have been about the business of tending to and growing things. We grow gardens. We grow children. We grow marriages. We grow businesses. We grow lives. Growing is symbolic of health, life and vitality. The same is true for the church. We work to grow the scope and reach of the church, to do our part in increasing the kingdom of God in the hearts of people.
I see signs of growth in the ministry of our church. Age level ministries with our youth and children are growing. While we have do have a numerical increase, live body count is only one way of measuring growth. For example, we now have a youth praise band, Room 205. Our youth are serving in leadership for our worship services every 5th Sunday. They are helping to feed hungry children on the weekends through our backpack and food ministry. Our children are engaging in sharing the love of Jesus through Mission Possible, Nothing But Nets and other activities of WOW (Word on Wednesday). We give bibles to our 3rd graders, but also take the next step and have a class that meets for several weeks to teach them about the bible.
Some women in the church have come together and started a women’s ministry. They are fellowshipping together, doing book studies, playing games and have now begun a ministry to provide support in the form of care packages, etc. for those young people headed off to college. Inspired by their efforts some men have come together and said we need to have a more organized men’s ministry. I hope by the date of this publication plans will have been set in place for an early morning men’s group.
I’m excited to see the energy in our congregation. As any experienced Rio Grande Valley gardener will tell you fall and winter gardens are the best in our part of Texas. I pray and hope that as we head into the fall and winter seasons our part of God’s garden will grow and flourish here at FUMC. I invite you to be an active part in the life and ministry of our church. Ask me or any of the staff what you can do to help God’s garden grow.
See you in worship and around the community.
Grace and peace,
Ricky
