Last night I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with our deacons and their wives.  We had a tremendous turnout and this is truly a great group of people. Their depth of commitment and service to our church is truly amazing. It is just a reminder to me of the quality of leadership that we are blessed with in every area of our church. We ordained two men as deacons, Evans Pence and Kevin Elliott.  Both of them are extremely active in the life of our church. We had several other men that are serving as deacons for the first time.  It is such an encouragement to me to look out at our deacons and their wives because they are a reflection of our entire church family. We talked some about the challenges that we face in the midst of our culture and the depth of commitment that it is going to take to do the task that God has given to us.   In the days to come, I will be talking more about some of the things we covered last night.  This group was extremely encouraging and has a real heart for what we are seeking to do. I know of no place that has a body of deacons that give greater support to the church than the ones we have here at North Spartanburg.

As you pray for your church, I would encourage you to keep several things on your list. I certainly want you to continue to pray for me and the members of our staff. Pray for the lay leadership in our church that they would remain strong. And pray that as a result of our commitment, God will use us in a way that is beyond anything we might hope or imagine.