Cross Lanes Baptist Fall Revival 2008

We will be holding a Fall Revival Meeting, coming up next week. Evangelist Rick Coram will be the preacher. Rick is an anointed preacher and a man with great integrity. I have known Rick since the early 1990s and have been tremendously blessed by his ministry.The Jason Lovins Band will lead in Worship and Special Music. Jason and his band have led in Worship previously at CLBC and have been a part of a number of West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists events. Their music is powerful. Make it a priority to be here for these special services. Invite someone to come with you. Above all, pray for a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit in our midst.

Pray for Us

In 2 Thessalonians 3:1 the Apostle Paul told the church at Thessalonica, “Brothers, pray for us.” It was a straightforward, simple statement but one that was communicated from a position of great need. It is echoed in Romans 15:30 “Strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.”

Paul had all of the natural resources that he needed. He had wonderful gifts and talents. He had a brilliant mind and great tenacity. Yet he was pleading for prayer.

Pray for us, he wrote. Why?

1) What matters the most in Christian ministry cannot be accomplished in the flesh. We are reliant on the power of God.

I Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

I am mindful that I am limited, very limited in my own strength. Yet God’s power is without limits. He is the One who calls us to the task at hand, and then empowers us to accomplish it.

2) God in His sovereignty has ordered His plans so that prayer makes a difference.

2 Thessalonians 3:1 Pray for us that the Word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified.

It is part of the sovereign plan of God to accomplish His work through the prayers of His people. I have often heard it said, “There is power in prayer” but I disagree with stating it that way. God has the power, but He has chosen to work through the prayers of His people, which in turn make prayer powerful because God is powerful.

Colossians 4:3-4 Pray for us that God will open up to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

I am thankful for the prayers of God’s people. I covet the prayers of God’s people. Serving the Lord effectively and faithfully takes clear focus and great resolve. Let us pray for one another as we seek to do the will of the Lord!

Cross Lanes Baptist- Know, Grow, Go

For a number of years now, our Passion Statement as a church has been "Growing God's Forever Family", based on John 15:5. Recently, we have worked through a process that has led us to further communicate what this means to us as a church, and how we actually can fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in obedience to Christ.

The process that we have arrived at is- KNOW, GROW, GO. We desire to lead people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance and faith. Each believer should be growing in their faith, and then going and reaching others with the Gospel. This is an ongoing process that will not end on this earth until Jesus returns.

All of our ministries will be filtered through this lens to help us evaluate where we are as a church, and determine how best to fulfill the calling that God has given to us.

You may note that this is a fairly simple process, at least at first glance. I am convinced that our faith and work for the Lord is not complicated, but it does require our best effort. May God be glorified through this!

CLBC Worship and Bible Fellowship Update

This past Sunday was a great day in the Lord at Cross Lanes Baptist Church. For the past 5+ years we have been working on a Bible Fellowship (Sunday School) transformation. The ministry has been steadily growing and Sunday was a new chapter in the journey. We transitioned to two Bible Fellowship sessions along with two Worship Services, on a 9 & 10:30 Schedule. 91% of those who attended Worship also attended Bible Fellowship on Sunday.

Attendance Sunday represented a tripling of the Bible Fellowship Ministry in recent years. How could that be when all the experts say that this is a ministry of a bygone era? Well, at CLBC we happen to still believe it is important to REACH people for Jesus, TEACH them His Word, and MINISTER to their needs. We also happen to believe that the Bible Fellowship Ministry is one of the best ways to do it. It is the church in action, actually doing the work of the ministry.

A close inspection of what has occurred around here in recent years reveals some very important information. As Bible Fellowship attendance has risen, so has stewardship, nearly a percent for percent increase. As Bible Fellowship attendance has risen, so has service in other areas of church ministry, nearly a percent for percent increase. As Bible Fellowship attendance has risen, the overall commitment level of the church has significantly improved.

What conclusion should one draw from this? Here it is, don't miss this: When people get involved in Biblical community, a God honoring fellowship that is focused on making disciples, they have the opportunity to become like Jesus, live like Jesus, serve like Jesus, and love like Jesus.

We have had to be creative to accomodate the continued changes in the ministry. We are using the space we have to the fullest. We began shuttle parking routes again last week to open up plenty of parking for guests and others as the church continues to grow. Convenient? Hardly. But it's not convenient for people to spend eternity in Hell either. The importance of the mission outweighs any minor inconveniences we may experience.

I am so thankful for what God is doing here. I appreciate all of the wonderful people at CLBC who love Jesus and want to make a difference for Him. I am so grateful to God for the privilege of serving as the Pastor of this fellowship. I look forward to what God is going to continue to do with great anticipation in the coming years.

Living Out the Great Commission at CLBC

Baptism is always an exciting time for the church as people publicly profess their faith in Jesus. Jesus told us to go and make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is at the heart of who we are and what we do as a church. Nothing is more encouraging, or builds faith more than seeing it lived out.

This past Sunday we closed out a summer full of ministry with baptism in one of the morning services. I look forward to many more baptisms in the new church year that we just began. At the end of each baptismal service, I always conclude by saying, "And yet, there is room for more." The congregation always says it with me. This is not original to me, and I do not remember where I first heard it, but it is a powerful reminder. It is a reminder that God is working out His will, and is constantly drawing people by the power of the Holy Spirit, into a relationship with Him.

Our responsibility is to be obedient and proclaim the Gospel and teach people how to live for Jesus once they come to know Him. The best definition of success that I know of, spiritually speaking, is this: "Success is faithfulness." This is what God requires from us. To follow Him wholeheartedly and to be obedient and faithful to the work at hand. God gets the glory, and we have the privilege of being a part of what He is doing!