I want the church family to know how much Kelly and I appreciate your kindness during Pastor Appreciation month. We have received notes of encouragement, and your special recognition this past Sunday was so very special for us. These 17 years have been an amazing time in our family and much of that has been due to the kindness and love we have received from our North Central Church family. You are simply the best and we praise God for you. I know I speak also for Brandon and Emily whom you recognized as well. Brandon serves as our Associate Pastor for Youth and Families. He’s doing a fantastic job!
I’m writing this just a few days before our national election. You know my heart on this matter. My main admonishment is for every eligible Christian voter to make their voice known. I believe it is a part of our stewardship. When you combine the responsibility of being a believer with the fact that we live in a country where we have the privilege to vote it makes sense that every Christian should participate in the process. We have done our best to educate you on the issues. I encourage you to look at every candidate and every issue through the lens of a Christian worldview and do the very best to vote for candidates and issues that will bring Biblical wisdom to society and our neighbors and community. Ultimately, all truth is God’s truth, and God’s wisdom, when it is applied to legislation and politics, will always be better for everyone whether they are a believer or not. Vote your convictions.
We just had a fantastic Trunk or Treat this past Wednesday night. As best we can tell based upon the cars in attendance and our registration, we had somewhere between 750 and 1,000 people in attendance. Wow! What an outreach! Thank you, thank you to Brandon Glisten and Jenna Rich, our staff who led the way in this. They enlisted you and many others in our North Central family to make this a success. Thank you to every single person who participated in this amazing event! I met families who thanked our church over and over again for hosting such a quality event for their family. If we meet new folks that have come our way let’s make sure and continue our welcome to those that visit with us.
I would like our men to reserve Saturday, November 9 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM for our Black Flag Men’s Event. This is going to be a very special gathering of men. It’s a free event for all. Bring your friends, family, sons, and grandsons. There’s always a wonderful meal and different workshops that our men and boys can attend to learn about different things that will be helpful for them. It’s a great time of mentoring and fellowship. Don’t miss this day! Invite somebody and bring them with you.
Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. The shoe boxes that we gather filled with gifts and a gospel witness will go to the ends of the earth. Hundreds of thousands of these are given to children all over the world. Bring back your filled boxes by November 17. You can also go to our church website and build your box online if you prefer. This is what Kelly and I have done in recent years. It’s a great way to be a part of this ministry. Also, our church will be having packing parties, so be on the lookout for events like this that you could be a part of with your children.
Reserve some special dates coming up. The Harvest Festival Banquet is Sunday evening, November 24 at 6:00 PM in the main auditorium. This year we’re doing “A Night of Worship” sponsored by our Worship and Media Ministry here at North Central. This will be a special time of gratefulness for our church family. You don’t want to miss a wonderful meal together and the night of worship. Our Life Groups will have sign-up sheets beginning this Sunday for you to put down what you can bring to go along with the meat that is provided by the church.
Reserve December 15 at 6:00 PM for our Smoky Mountain Christmas Concert. What a tradition this has become with the Privette family. We have literally watched this family grow up before our eyes as year after year they perform Christmas music. If you close your eyes, you feel that you could be in the heart of the Smoky Mountains celebrating Christmas together. It’s such a special time. Hold this date in your December Christmas calendar.
It is such a joy to be your pastor. I look forward to our studies on The Church in the month of November and then as we move into the Advent season we will study the Christmas story in December. This coming Sunday we will have the beautiful Lord’s Supper together. Don’t miss it.
Love in Jesus,
Pastor Calvin