To the Saints at Faith Baptist Church
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who is strong and mighty on your behalf, who alone we worship, who is our sacrifice, savior, sovereign, and supplicant before the Father, who has reconciled, redeemed, and restored us to relationship with the Father, who will complete us and translate us into his presence one day ...
May all the praise be his and his alone.
It is with great anticipation that we think of you today. We will be arriving in Germany on Friday to begin the next chapter of our lives. We anticipate a long and fruitful ministry with you with a Kingdom focus and Eternal Consequence.
This has been an interesting month of transition. It has been good to make a "tour of Texas" and see friends and family. We have been blessed to preach as well as share informally the story of God's call and faithfulness in moving us toward Faith Baptist Church. Be encouraged that many people are praying for us all at Faith Baptist Church that God would continue to pour out his blessings on us and bring glory to himself through the ministry there.
I am grateful to Jan for his service in this difficult time of transition. To use a basketball metaphor, he has been asked to play out of position these months and cover responsibilities that doubled and tripled his work load and he has been faithful. I certainly am grateful, but more so, I know that his work has not gone unnoticed by our Father and he will ge greatly rewarded. I hope you are taking time to express to him your gratitude.
We are in constant prayer for Jan, Willy, Jenn and the rest of the ministry staff and their teams as well as Christina and the office staff, and Jillieta and the school staff as they continue the frontline work of Faith Baptist Church.
One word of request and warning as we draw close to our days together; BE ALERT. As the days grow closer our enemey grows more active. Remember that our enemy is NOT flesh and blood but is made up of a well formed group of rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces in Dark places (Ephesians 6). Know that Satan still prowls like a roaring lion seeing whom he may devour. No church is too large, or too established, he is always at work. This time of transition is an especially active time for these forces. Satan thinks that because leadership is in transition it is a good time for him to bring disarray and discouragement. But our leadership is seasoned and our God is strong. May your resolve be to surrender to the Master and fight the fight fully armored in his spiritual armor. Go read Ephesians 6 and arm yourselves daily.
As we anticipate being with you soon let me pass one other thing on to you. Last month when I met with church council and others, there was a resonate word of encouragement and preparation that I shared that I believed was from God and I share it with you. "Go before the Lord, and lay down every idol". You may wonder what I mean, but we all have idols that creep into our lives. Idols are anything that takes the proper place of leadership and worship over Christ, His purposes, and His plans. Many times good things, otherwise godly things, even ministy can take the place of God. Let me encourage you to go before God and ask him, "Lord do I have any idols in my life?" Anything that he reveals, lay it down. Ask him if it must be abandoned or simple reassigned to its proper place in your life and then act accordingly.
When we arrive, we will follow the Lord in slowly but deliberately following the Lord into our future and adventure together. God has a purpose and a plan and they are greater than ours. Let us follow him, love him, worship and adore him and together we will bring him glory.
We are preparing to become part of one another's lives. We will begin relationships that will take us into eternity and hopefully will enlarge Heaven by our work of faithfulness.
Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and we will see you in a couple of weeks
Ears to the Ground, Eyes to the Skies, and Heart towards People
Pastor
James L. Goforth Jr.
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who is strong and mighty on your behalf, who alone we worship, who is our sacrifice, savior, sovereign, and supplicant before the Father, who has reconciled, redeemed, and restored us to relationship with the Father, who will complete us and translate us into his presence one day ...
May all the praise be his and his alone.
It is with great anticipation that we think of you today. We will be arriving in Germany on Friday to begin the next chapter of our lives. We anticipate a long and fruitful ministry with you with a Kingdom focus and Eternal Consequence.
This has been an interesting month of transition. It has been good to make a "tour of Texas" and see friends and family. We have been blessed to preach as well as share informally the story of God's call and faithfulness in moving us toward Faith Baptist Church. Be encouraged that many people are praying for us all at Faith Baptist Church that God would continue to pour out his blessings on us and bring glory to himself through the ministry there.
I am grateful to Jan for his service in this difficult time of transition. To use a basketball metaphor, he has been asked to play out of position these months and cover responsibilities that doubled and tripled his work load and he has been faithful. I certainly am grateful, but more so, I know that his work has not gone unnoticed by our Father and he will ge greatly rewarded. I hope you are taking time to express to him your gratitude.
We are in constant prayer for Jan, Willy, Jenn and the rest of the ministry staff and their teams as well as Christina and the office staff, and Jillieta and the school staff as they continue the frontline work of Faith Baptist Church.
One word of request and warning as we draw close to our days together; BE ALERT. As the days grow closer our enemey grows more active. Remember that our enemy is NOT flesh and blood but is made up of a well formed group of rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces in Dark places (Ephesians 6). Know that Satan still prowls like a roaring lion seeing whom he may devour. No church is too large, or too established, he is always at work. This time of transition is an especially active time for these forces. Satan thinks that because leadership is in transition it is a good time for him to bring disarray and discouragement. But our leadership is seasoned and our God is strong. May your resolve be to surrender to the Master and fight the fight fully armored in his spiritual armor. Go read Ephesians 6 and arm yourselves daily.
As we anticipate being with you soon let me pass one other thing on to you. Last month when I met with church council and others, there was a resonate word of encouragement and preparation that I shared that I believed was from God and I share it with you. "Go before the Lord, and lay down every idol". You may wonder what I mean, but we all have idols that creep into our lives. Idols are anything that takes the proper place of leadership and worship over Christ, His purposes, and His plans. Many times good things, otherwise godly things, even ministy can take the place of God. Let me encourage you to go before God and ask him, "Lord do I have any idols in my life?" Anything that he reveals, lay it down. Ask him if it must be abandoned or simple reassigned to its proper place in your life and then act accordingly.
When we arrive, we will follow the Lord in slowly but deliberately following the Lord into our future and adventure together. God has a purpose and a plan and they are greater than ours. Let us follow him, love him, worship and adore him and together we will bring him glory.
We are preparing to become part of one another's lives. We will begin relationships that will take us into eternity and hopefully will enlarge Heaven by our work of faithfulness.
Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and we will see you in a couple of weeks
Ears to the Ground, Eyes to the Skies, and Heart towards People
Pastor
James L. Goforth Jr.
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