This week, I had lunch with the Director of a local non-profit group in our community. During our meeting, I was informed that Hartsville (our small city of approx, 8,000 people), now has 142 churches and another one getting ready to start. In addition, our population has been stagnant since 2007 as local companies have closed, laid off, implemented hiring freezes, and/or people have moved away. So, a small town with a stagnant population doesn't sound exciting, but I share those items, because it further emphasizes what God is doing!
Yesterday, we had another great crowd in our morning worship service. I'm preaching a series entitled, "Back to Basics" and yesterday's message was specifically addressing the topic of salvation. During the altar call, people moved and God blessed as 1 teenager and 2 adults received Christ! We also had 2 children baptized (both of whom had been saved through the ministries of EBC), 2 came to recommit their lives to God, and we had a wonderful family added to our church. That means 5 saved, 4 baptized, 4 rededications, and 14 new members in just two weeks! God is so good!
Last night, our church family divided up by LIFE Groups and met in homes across our community to use the Super Bowl as a platform to gather together, invite friends, share and pray! The group that we were part of started our prayer time during the halftime and didn't turn the TV back on until the third quarter was almost over. People were sharing, praying, talking about what God has been doing, and in no hurry to watch the game. It was GREAT!
Our community seems plagued by the typical Bible-belt struggles of church politics, infighting, pastoral changes, power struggles, and so on; but God is truly blessing those ministries in our community that are staying focused on Him. Lord, help EBC to stay focused on YOU, to continue the work to which YOU have called us, and to remain a shining light in a dark world! Amen.
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