A Letter from Jerry
God is doing a new thing among us. Over the last year, we have experienced a total transformation of our church. A new name, denomination, and campus layout. And now we find ourselves on the precipice of a new and exciting year of ministry. As you read the articles in this publication, I hope you will see, as I have, the powerful ways Jesus has been glorified in 2022. We have, no doubt, been a people who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.
And there is more to come. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: our best days are ahead of us! Over the coming year, every aspect of our ministries will expand to meet the growing needs of our growing congregation. As I write this letter, we are seeing unprecedented growth in our small groups and Bible studies. We have seen a multiplication in our kids’, students, and college ministries. Our contemporary worship service is stronger than ever. Our marriage and family ministries are expanding in response to a very successful launch in 2022. Our missions teams are preparing for what will be the most active year of missions we have ever seen. We are preparing to host the convening Annual Conference session for the Eastern Texas Annual Conference of the GMC as well as the You Are Women’s Conference in early February.
In short, we are positioning our church to become a destination for students, families, and all people from our community to come and experience transformational Christian love among a people who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.
Friends, We Are Christ Church.
Worshipping Passionately
Through years of evaluating what worship truly means, the Lord has been faithful to emphasize this truth, as illustrated by Jeremy Riddle in The Reset on worship leader Teryn Walley’s heart. “Wherever God is worshiped in spirit and in truth, His kingdom is established, His freedom reigns, and the works of the devil are destroyed.”
Teryn has seen the student ministry at Christ Church be such a beautiful example of this. Through being an active participant in youth during her high school years and into college as a counselor, the opportunities she has had to worship alongside the next generation have been ones full of reverence and pure enthusiasm for what the Lord is doing.
She has been able to take a step back and see these kids and adults alike dethrone any entertainment factors, performances, and idols and place their trust in the Lord’s righteousness. She believes, “Christ Church is a place where the culture of worship has an emphasis on returning to the true heart of worship and boldly proclaiming the name of Jesus!”
Loving extravagantly
Christ Church has loved extravagantly in many ways throughout 2022. Our God-sized project was one of the many examples of abundant love from this congregation. Ms. Minnie is an eighty-two-year-old widow that lived in a dilapidated home in Bryan, Texas. She lost her husband eight years ago and was not able to maintain her home. In April, Ms. Minnie’s family reached out to several local non-profit organizations for help to repair their mother’s home that was falling down around her.
Christ Church answered that call!
Christ Missions, along with the support of a few contract services, decided to take on replacing Ms. Minnie’s home. With the help of the members of Christ Church, we were able to complete Ms. Minnie’s home on Wednesday, November 23rd.
As we look toward the future of our God-Sized projects, we are excited to see who the Lord gives us to serve this year. There is always a call for work to be done in the Kingdom and this year, like years before, we plan to answer that call.
Witnessing boldly
The members of Christ Church witness boldly. Our goal is to “make disciples who make disciples.” This would be impossible to achieve without the bold witness to those who do not yet know Christ.
Among those members at Christ Church who are committed to sharing the Gospel are those involved in the Christ Church Kairos ministry. They were busy in 2022 sharing the Gospel with incarcerated people.
When Kairos volunteer True Brown first considered volunteering with Kairos Prison Ministry, he asked a man who had been involved for 30+ years why he continued to volunteer. His answer threw True for a loop: “I see Jesus inside those walls more than I do anywhere in the free world.” In the last 1.5 years with Kairos, True believes that man was right.
Taking the word of Jesus into a place like prison is daunting. Truly, it is a place of spiritual warfare where souls are at stake every day. However, Christ Church Kairos volunteers have seen miracles happen. They have seen first-hand how the word of God and the love of Jesus can transform the hopeless and bring dry bones back to life. Miracles happen inside those walls, and it is all because of the saving grace of Jesus and those Christ Church members who are willing to be bold.