Pastor's Thoughts: August

I remember my first summer as the pastor of New Hope. I was so excited to be the pastor of New Hope. I was just trying to figure everything out about the church. I do remember that summer thinking that it was pretty calm. I also knew that the summers that were to come would get busier for the church. That thought was true for this summer. It has been busy.

Summertime has always been such a great time for church ministry. This summer at New Hope, we have had the opportunity to engage in some great ministry activities. We were able to hold our second VBS. This year, we had a good turnout of children from the community and volunteers from the church. There was some great discipleship and evangelism at our VBS. On the last day, we invited parents to join us for a special night where they had the opportunity to see some of the things that their children did, and we were able to share the gospel with them. In total, there were over 70 people at the parent night of VBS.

Another great summertime ministry that we were able to partake in is summer camp for kids. We took a group of preteen children to the Texas Baptist Encampment in Palacios, TX. We had some great volunteers and a great group of kids that we took. Summer camp is such a special place for kids to disconnect from the world and have the opportunity to grow closer to God. I believe our kids had that opportunity during that week of camp. It is so exciting to see kids growing closer to the Lord.

Then, a few weeks ago, we took a mission trip to help The Vine Church in Buda, TX host their first sports camp. They had about 30 kids show up for the camp. Each day the kids heard about the Armor of God and how Jesus saves. The Pastor, Josh Clark, was able to connect with some of the parents as well. I know that The Vine Church was grateful for New Hope's support in helping them get their church startedIt has been a great time of ministry for New Hope this summer.

Now, it is only a few weeks until school starts, and summer comes to an end. However, there is still more ministry for us to do. We have been commissioned by Christ and our responsibility to the Great Commission continues all year long. Let us continue to be faithful to the Lord our God and find ways to make disciples.

Our church remodel began back in June, and we are moving closer to completion. The construction crews have been working hard all summer long. There has been much progress made on the project. We are hoping to draw to completion by the beginning of September. Please be praying that the project would continue to go smoothly and that God would use our church building to do much ministry and glorify His name.

Dear Heavenly Father, You alone are God almighty and we worship you with our lives. You are the one true living God who gives us grace and mercy. We will forever be grateful for your love for us. We know that you love us because you proved it on the cross. We praise you for the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. Father, help us to be a church that glorifies your great name. Father, use us to build your kingdom. Father, above all else, let your will be done at New Hope. May all glory, honor, and praise be to your name forever. We ask all of this in Jesus' name.