City Serve: Better Together

If you enjoy history, particularly history of the early church then you might find a kindred connection with the book of Acts. I have always been fascinated with the collaboration of the early church leaders that formed the movement of Christianity. This letter contains 28 chapters and a quick survey of this book identifies that as the church developed and started expanding, church leaders made a concerted effort to establish a partnership for the purpose of advancing the gospel.

The early portion of the letter identifies Peter as the guy with the responsibility of providing leadership. Starting at chapter 6 you continue to see the leadership of Peter but other key leaders are also identified. By the time you get to chapter 13 Paul emerges and the gospel begins to advance throughout the region. Paul continues as a key leader from this point forward. Also, the book of Acts
reveals that during this period the central location of leadership makes a transition from Jerusalem to Antioch. I love the fact that in those early days there was a partnership!

Obviously there were challenges and many are recorded throughout Paul’s letters but Acts reveals a story of men and women who were better for the gospel because of their partnership. By God’s grace our church is currently experiencing the joy of partnership. City Serve is one example in our story that demonstrates the beauty of partnership for the purpose of the gospel. My prayer is that this type of activity becomes the norm at New Life. My hope is that these service opportunities are not simply a church function but that ultimately these organized events will lead us to a new way of life. I pray that when people in the Goose Creek community think about New Life Baptist Church they
automatically think of a people who love this city because of Jesus! I hope, like the early church, we also recognize that we are better together.

This Sunday we are going to come together to worship Jesus and thank God for His favor on our church and in our lives. I hope you are able to join this special time of recognition and say thanks to God for His blessings. I also want to encourage you to invite family, friends and neighbors to come and participate. The lunch provided after the worship gathering is going to be amazing. I look forward to worshiping with you and saying thanks to Jesus on Sunday!

Pastor Billy