For both CJ and I, this past year has been tremendously challenging and rewarding at the same time. Having a fourth child, moving across the country into a community and a culture that is different than anything we have known in the past, beginning ministry in a church, surviving a flood, figuring out how both of us can work on continuing our education, and working on navigating what all that means while orienting ourselves to what it means to be a pastor and a pastor’s wife.
I want to begin by thanking you all for how welcome you have made our entire family feel and for all of the encouragement and support you have all offered both as fellow members in the Body of Christ and for myself, as a new pastor trying to serve faithfully. I am grateful for this position as a chance to grow personally and professionally while supported by a church that is concerned about seeing me grow as much as they themselves desire to grow.
I have spent this year doing my best to learn both the culture of the church and of the community that God has called me to serve. I have been able to explore several different areas of involvement in the community. Taking time to invest in the school by subbing multiple times a month, by joining the Selby fire department, joining the local baseball team in the summer, and by joining the Selby ministerial. We have also opened up our home to a knitting club that CJ has just begun and I am working on finding a place to host a boardgame club as a way of continuing to reach out to people in the community.
Within our church family we have had both some exciting ups and some painful downs. The Fundamentals of the Faith class that we began in the fall has continued to meet on a (somewhat) regular basis and been diving into the doctrines of the Christian faith, challenging us in what we know of the truth of God’s Word. The church board has confirmed Emily’s call to missions and recognized the way God has continued to change her heart and equipped her to serve in Nepal, taking time to look at how we can continue to support her service there in the future as her sending church. We were able to host both of our regular missionaries that we support at Mission Fest, giving them a larger sum then what we have promised in regular financial support because of the generosity of the members of this church. We have seen the MOPS Bible study continue to serve both the families of our church and several from the surrounding communities.
With these different areas of ministry continuing to flourish, we have also felt the pain of loss in saying goodbye to two of the members of our church who went home to be with the Lord. Though they will be sorely missed, we can be assured of their salvation and in the knowledge that they are in the presence of their Savior that they served so faithfully throughout their life.
As we look forward to the new year I hope that Lowry Pilgrim Community Church can begin to look at our reputation in this community and strive for two things. That we be known for our love for God and our love for the lost. First, to be known as a community of believers that upholds the truth and authority of the Word of God and are committed to building up disciples of Jesus through sound biblical teaching. To be known as a church that is concerned about the doctrine and has a desire to stand for the truth and committed to teaching it to all who will listen and obey. To that end, it is my hope to begin, within this next year, to offer classes open to the community on particular areas of the Christian faith.
Second, that we be known as a community of believers that wants to reach the lost for Christ. To that end, we have begun the evangelism training course in Sunday School and are developing a plan to knock on every door in Selby within the next two to three years in an effort to present the gospel to any who are still in darkness. A commitment that I hope will be supported by everyone in this church, whether through aiding in the process of knocking on every door or through prayer for those who are going out on a regular basis.
I am fully convinced that God will use this church and its members if we commit ourselves to the authority of His Word and to service. We need only bow before him and ask for His wisdom and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as we go out to serve. I anxiously anticipate all that God has for us to accomplish in this next year as we continue to grow in our love for Him and for the world He has called us to reach.
Pastor Scott Nelson