"Building on the One Foundation"

Newsletter Article by the Rev. Matt Kennedy

Fall '05 issue of the Shepherd's Pen

Last year at this time,Good Shepherd was in a state of crisis. Our decision to stand firm against the tide of false teaching sweeping through the national church following the tragic decisions of General Convention of 2003, led to significant financial and numerical losses.

At the time we chose to remain true to Good Shepherd's claim of being "rooted in the Word" no matter what the cost. We believed that God would bless our stand and provide for us in our time of need.

Ever faithful, our Lord heard and answered our prayers and blessed Good Shepherd in ways beyond all we could at the time ask or imagine.

Over the last 12 months 12 people gave their lives Jesus Christ for the first time and a number of believing families and many individuals became members. Our Christian education, music, worship program, and bible studies have not only been rebuilt, but they have become strong, healthy, and thriving programs. The Sunday school is outgrowing its space and, with the recent additions of several new members, the choir is now larger than it was before the crisis. Our finances have stabilized and our summer attendance was higher than any summer in a decade.

After such a year, how can anyone doubt God's power or fail to be thankful for his mercy and his loving kindness to us?

Today we remain on firm ground, solid to the core. That ground, that foundation, is Jesus Christ. He is the source of our life and growth.

He has been our provider and comforter over the past 12 months and he is our only hope as we look to the future. We must remain rooted in him and in his Word, standing firm on the Truth of the gospel and trusting in his providence and care. If we do, we can pray with confidence that Good Shepherd's expansive spiritual and numerical growth continue through the fall and into 2006.

Good Shepherd's primary mission this fall, as it has been for the last year, is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of the south side of Binghamton, making new disciples and transforming this little corner of the world by the power of the Resurrection.

To do this, to make disciples, we need to be committed disciples ourselves.

Personal discipleship will be one major emphasis this year.

In an ideal week, a growing and maturing disciple will read at least a chapter of the bible daily, devote at least 15-30 minutes to prayer daily, take part in one group bible study or Christian education program during the week, and participate in one of the Sunday worship services.

Spiritual discipline brings intimacy with God and that intimacy yields spiritual maturity.

If everyone at Good Shepherd followed this pattern week by week, God's grace and power would not only transform our lives, but also overflow the walls of this church and reach even the darkest parts of this neighborhood.

Beyond personal discipleship there will three specific areas of concentration this fall:

1. Evangelism/Outreach: While evangelism has been in focus over the last year and a half, it will become even more central now that God has brought us onto firmer ground. We now have the means to handle a large influx of new believers, new members, and new families. We need only to ask God to bring them, trust in his promises, and go out into our neigborhoods, schools, and workplaces sharing the faith and making disciples. In keeping with this call to evangelism expect more neighborhood bread giveaways, walkabouts, charitable outreach opportunities like the school-supply give away, and some more teaching on how to share your faith with friends and colleagues.

2. Prayer: Last fall and this spring we made several unsuccessful attempts to form prayer groups. Praying together for each other and for the needs of the parish is vital to the health of any church, Good Shepherd especially.

Prayer is one of the four fundamental building blocks (along with bible study, worship, and fellowship) of the Body of Christ. Through it God acts powerfully on the church's behalf in every circumstance and crisis, binds believers together as a family, settles disputes, heals wounds, empowers individuals with spiritual gifts, and feeds, waters, and grows both individual and corporate faith.

We simply cannot and will not mature together in the Lord until we learn to pray together. For that reason, expect to see more and more opportunities to pray in a group and expect to see a greater emphasis on prayer in the various bible studies.

3. Hospitality and Initiation: During this spring's vestry retreat the vestry identified several areas of ministry that need to be developed. One area is discipleship. We have great bible studies and education programs, but many of these are for those already initiated into the Christian faith. What about those who have just given their lives to the Lord? What about the new believers? As a result of this meeting, we began the Beginner's Bible Study, which subsequently became one of Good Shepherd's the most popular programs. This fall we will do more to help new believers and new members become fully integrated into the Good Shepherd community and well-grounded disciples of Jesus Christ. There may be a few new classes designed specifically to help new believers get their bearings and new members understand how the church works.

We will also be working on hospitality. How do we make people feel welcome on a Sunday morning?

Here's one example: a decision we made at the last retreat was to distinguish between ushers: people who hand out bulletins, count heads, and make sure that the offerings are collected and brought forward; and greeters: people who are specifically trained to greet newcomers, help guide them through the service (if they need and want it), invite them to coffee, introduce them to various people, show them around, get contact information, and follow up with a note or phone call. With all of their other duties, ushers cannot be expected to do all of these things so beginning sometime this fall we'll be picking out and training greeters. It would be ideal to have at least one greeter on duty each for each service every Sunday.

Expect to see more changes this fall geared to help guests and newcomers feel welcome.

As we mature and grow as disciples, share the faith of Jesus Christ, pray together, and welcome newcomers, we will, by the grace of God, continue to thrive, bearing witness to and reflecting the glory of Christ in all that we do. Together we will remain rooted in and faithful to God and his Word, building on the one sure and eternal Foundation, Jesus Christ our Lord.

“But each man should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 st Corinthians 3:11)

Your's In Christ

Matt+