After a great Thanksgiving week, our Christmas season is now in full swing. Pastor David attended a prayer meeting with County Mayor Eddie Bray this morning, and among our Mayor's comments he shared concern for many in our county who are dealing with tough times and how that can lead to depression and bad events. The holidays are a time of rejoicing, yet can also be a time of extra stress for many. Among groups enjoying parties and activities are also people who feel a deep sense of loss at this time of year. Let us be a church which is reaching out to the lost, staying in contact with one another, lifting each other up in prayer, and placing our focus on celebrating the coming of Jesus (and His coming again)!
Be sure to enjoy the amazing decorations at church! Our church has been beautifully decorated to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Big thanks to Deb Lefler, Pat Maguire, and Sandra Renshaw for their work - the campus looks amazing, and we are told there may be some additional decor work in coming days!
Sunday School classes are reassembling - After months of meeting as one Sunday School assembly in our sanctuary at 10:00 a.m., we will see some Sunday School classes re-forming. This reassembly will likely look and feel different for each class, quite understandable as people have different schedules and availability today than months ago. Some classes may not reassemble for a while yet, others may gather together very quickly, and there may be some that join with other classes. Feel free to reply to this e-mail and/or contact your Sunday School teacher if you have questions.
Pastor David will lead a NEW Sunday School class we're calling "Deeper Conversations" (at least for now) designed to address confusing questions people have due to ideas presented in TV shows, movies, books, etc. This class targets newer believers, longer-time believers with serious questions, and/or people who are not believers, yet have honest questions related to the Bible, Jesus, or Christianity. Please contact Pastor David if you want more information about this class.
A special Women On Mission meeting on Monday, December 6th at 5:00 p.m. will feature a guest involved with family and mission activity in Afghanistan. The guest has an incredible testimony to share, and is enduring a serious season of challenge. Our Women on Missions group is reaching out to help. We encourage our ladies to attend this special meeting, and to pray for our guest and her family.
There is work underway in several different areas at Pine Grove. During last night's business meeting we discussed entrance lighting enhancements and improving the exterior access to our Fellowship Hall. Several members went to the back of the building to check out Ronnie Renshaw's fantastic job fixing (and strengthening) the lighting in our Children's Church room. At the same time, we're looking at new ideas and taking more steps to decrease expenses. We are grateful to everyone who continues to support the work and operations of our church through giving and volunteering.
Some December activities are yet to be formalized, so be ready for more announcements in coming days.
May our Lord bless you and your family, and may He continue to bless the work of Pine Grove Baptist Church!