2021, The Year We Turned the Corner…
Faith Baptist of Zephyrhills
Fri. Jan.21st, 2022
Hi Church,
In anticipation of our annual meeting on Sunday night, I have included several 2021 reports: below is mine and attached are the missions and the building and grounds reports. Please take a few minutes and read over them and give God the thanks for his goodness! On Sunday you will receive a packet with all of the reports:
PASTOR REPORT FOR 2021
Now that 2021 is “in the books” it is time for a “report”. To be honest, it is difficult to write a report like this. It is a human attempt to summarize and somewhat measure what God did in and through Faith over the past 12 months. As we know, our perspective is very limited and always somewhat partial. Nonetheless, it is good to reflect and thank God for what we heard, saw, learned and did. Here are what I would consider to be a few notable memories:
The theme that I chose for 2021 was “Better Together, we take steps of Faith”. And because we are “together” on this mission, we can celebrate the following:
Nothing is as important as seeing people come to know and accept Christ. In 2021 it was a great blessing to witness at least twelve “lost” people being “found”. They were of all ages: children teens, young adults, mid-life, and seniors. Several of them followed the Lord in believers’ baptism. In all, we celebrated 7 people baptized this past year.
One of the sermon series that God seemed to use the most was our study of OT book of Ruth. I called the series “Ruth Truth”. The book, a record of the life of Ruth, illustrates all the different seasons of life that we go through. Many listeners shared how much it helped them.
It was awesome that our church was again able to financially help 30+ children and youth go to summer camp at Word of Life in Hudson, FL. The camp is now called The Coast, and it is one of the premier summer camp programs in our country. Several of our children and youth gave their lives to Jesus while at camp and others had their faith strengthened.
Another highlight was our summer home Bible studies. In 2021 we did a study called SURVEY OF THE BIBLE: UNDERSTANDING THE BOOKS, PLACES, STORY, PEOPLE AND PERIODS. It helped all of us get a better grip on the Bible as a whole. It also fostered new friendships and relationships and grew our fellowship as a church.
We resumed having a monthly dinner in the fall season. We take things for granted until we lose them. It is nice being able to enjoy meals together again. Along with that, the men continue to meet on Fridays for breakfast at the Sugar Shack. Average attendance is around 15 each week. Amazing.
Again, I thank God for the faithful giving of His people to this work of Faith. Because of your love and commitment to the ministry of Faith, we were able to make budget and keep all our financial commitments. And we were able to purchase enough solar panels for the present electricity needs of the facility. Wow! Praise God!
Overall, I believe that 2021 will go down as a turning point in the size, stability, and growth of the Faith Baptist Church. In the past 12 months God has brought more than a dozen new couples and several singles who have a strong desire to make a difference in our community and around the world. God gets the glory for the continued growth of our membership in both size and depth.
The theme I have chosen for 2022 is “With Wisdom, we take steps of Faith”. More than ever, I believe that it takes the “wisdom of Solomon” to rightly navigate in the world we live in. May God honor our request and give us a liberality of His wisdom in 2022!
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
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