From Pastor’s Desk
Every year a United Methodist church hold the annual church conference in Fall to talk about ministry and mission, opportunities, and challenges as we look forward to new year. The following is my thoughts as I prepare for our 2022 Church Conference which will be held on Sat. Nov. 5.
As we prepare ourselves to move into the year 2023, we need to build on our past and move forward to new ideas to reach people for Christ. My heart and mind have turned again to the relevance of Totowa United Methodist Church in our needy world. My convictions are stronger than ever. Our position in the Christian community is to keep our vision clear, our calling sure and our training relevant as we seek to win men and women to Christ.
Let me share with you some other thoughts as we look forward to our future. The Church is not our idea, but God’s. Therefore, everything we do as a Church – the way we order our life together, what we teach, how we expand our life mission – must be assessed, evaluated and judged by the big question: “How are we serving God?” We as the community of faith exist today to serve God. We follow in the footsteps of John Wesley, who was concerned that the doctrine, spirit and discipline with which the Wesleyan movement first set out, remain vibrant and have the power to affect our society for Christ.
I thank God for using us as an instrument of his divine purpose. I am grateful to God for the year 2022 which has been another fruitful and yet challenging year. I thank all of you for your leadership, commitment, talents, time, prayers, and gifts. Throughout the year your dedicated participation and prayers as well as financial commitments enable us to continue to carry out our ministry and mission and serve our neighbors.
As we prepare ourselves for the future, it’s my challenge to the members and friends of this church to continue to use our “gifts” that God has given us. We need to remember the verse from Paul’s letter to the Christian’s in Corinth, “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
In God’s Service,
Pastor Andrew
