Mid-Year Evaluation

We have reached the mid-way point of the year 2008, and I have done an extensive examination as to where we are as a church regarding our growth and development for the first half of the year. I really like to do these types of evaluation, as they will provide for us a gauge as to where we stand with our goals that was set at the beginning of the year and it will also provide for us a great look at the areas that need the most work so that we can reach those goals by December.

As many of you know out in blog world, that our church is in the middle of a relocation project that has really engulfed all of our attention for this year. I recently read a thought-provoking blog by Clinton Smith of Los Angeles who's church is presently going through this same focus of relocation vs. renovation. I appreciated his candor in explaining the system he used to evaluate the best scenario and course of action for his congregation and I am praying with them as God does great things for that church. Our situation is somewhat different from theirs in that I initially explored the possibility of an intense renovation project for our present building about 2 years ago, after we were featured on the reality television program Divine Restoration, however there was something that kept gnawing at my spirit about our community. Our church sat in the midst of a community that had become 80-85% Portuguese/Brazilian and after about 11-12 months of research, decided to engage our church in a relocation project instead, and we are selling our church to a Brazilian church who can better utilize the building in that community.

We are closer than we have ever been before with the closing on our present location, yet because of this weakening economy (thanks Bush), the banks have been moving at a snail's pace in releasing the funds to our buyers. So the focus now moves to the new location, which unfortunately, we cannot purchase until the close of the sell of our present location. This really has caused a great deal of frustration and some stress on me,because I was able to convince a church that God is leading me to sell their 104 year-old building, after being on that location for 130 years total, and moving for the spiritual, numerical and financial betterment of our ministry, yet we have been at this for more than 1 year. I know that any apprehension on my part is a trick of the enemy to turn my focus off of the plan that God placed on my heart to bring to his people so that we can have a chance to be a church that will do great things for the Kingdom. But I still have my blinders on, and I am forging ahead with God's plan.

Internally, we are not where we need to be in any aspect of our ministry and that's probably the most frustrating of all. Our attendance has been sporadic at best, our giving has not been up to par and our focus on the things of God such as bible study, prayer, excellence is inconsistent to say the least. I am preaching series of sermons that have been designed to have us conduct ourselves in an excellent way as Christ has given us his best, we are charged to give him our best. I will say that at least the comments after worship and during the week have been encouraging in that the congregation is at least catching on to a degree to our focus for this year, I feel that it could be a little better.

But having said that, I am absolutely looking forward to the rest of this year, with great anticipation, as we will complete the sale, purchase the new location, and make an aggressive effort to evangelize our new location so that we can fulfill the goals that have been set before us. I am eagerly awaiting every preaching moment for the rest of the year, as we continue to deal with the model prayer found in Matthew 6:5-15 which I call, God's Blueprint for a Prayer-Filled Life through the rest of the summer, and begin a new series on stewardship and giving which I am interested in how that will be received being that this is the first time I will be preaching a series on giving and stewardship in particular.

Please pray for both our church and for me that the rest of this year will be a banner year for us and at the end of the race, we will be able to give God all of the glory for all of the great things that he will do for us.