The final Lord’s Day of any year is always a good time to reflect on what was seen and accomplished during the previous months. The 2013, like every year, was filled with comings and goings. We were forced to say good-bye to some beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, but we also saw some new faces in our midst.

This was a year of celebrating the 50th anniversary of this congregation. Steven Yeakley came and preached where his grandfather once stood back in the 1970’s. He reminded us to continue the pattern of service to this community and the world that this spiritual family has been known for.

Early in the year we selected three new elders to join with the current four elders so that the congregation can look forward to strong spiritual leadership for many years to come. The Visiting for the Master program continues to develop strength in the fellowship here as we reach out to welcome and comfort those among us. Our outreach into the local community through the Food Pantry continues to increase. We have seen records set both in the number of clients needing food assistance and in the number of brethren who come to help in that ministry. It is not unusual for us to assist around 150 individuals with food on any given Tuesday. This is producing an ever increasing amount of good will in the community and we are seeing more people in the Kingsland area who want to help us as we help others.

And of course, our commitment to mission work remains strong. The elders and members are to be commended for devoting a significant portion of the budget to preaching the gospel around the world. Our World Bible School ministry is actively involved in teaching the Bible to THOUSANDS of students in the nation of Nigeria. How wonderful it was to hear Doug Wheeler recently describe this congregation as one of the most influential churches in all of Nigeria because of our WBS efforts! And we found a wonderful way to end this year, collecting nearly $3000 to assist Christian widows in Nigeria who were struggling just to survive. Well done, brethren! But let’s do even more next year….to God be the glory! – Joe