State of and Future of PCAC

State of and Future of the Church

Pastor Tom MItchell

It all started late in 1994 when I got call from Dr. Gary Benedict, who was then the District Superintendent of the Alliance churches in Minnesota. He asked me about candidating at Perham Community Church. Up to that point I don’t think I had ever heard of Perham before. I was working at Rimrock Foundation as clinical therapist and supervisor of the Out patient unit. I had taken 3 years off from pastoring and felt God was again leading us back into full time ministry.

When I left the church I had pastored in Billings for seven years, I didn’t know if I would never pastor again. But after three years at Rimrock I felt a stirring and wondered if God could use me again as a pastor. We came, candidated and you asked me to be your pastor and we have been here now for over 15 years. This year the church will celebrate it’s 20^th anniversary.

I don’t know the future. God’s will unfolds for all of us in exactly the same way—one day at a time. And as much as we say we want to know what will happen next week, next month, or next year, it is good that the future is known only by God. When people ask if God has a roadmap for their lives, I think the best answer is “Yes,” he does, but I know of no way you can get a copy in advance.

I’d like to read from Phil: “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”(Phil 1:3-6 NLT)

I have had the privilege of marrying, baptizing, dedicating, and leading many of you. The real story of the last 15 years is about lives being changed one by one through the power of Jesus.

We’ve seen prayers answered, sins forgiven, marriages saved, backsliders restored, families healed. Together we have gone through grief, pain, hardship, and sometimes confusion, but all the while holding on to Jesus and to each other.

Our Mission Statement is: Loving God and loving others by becoming faithful followers of Jesus. Those 11 words describe my heart’s desire for this church. Our plan to complete our mission is: Connecting with God and others, Growing in your relationship with God and others, Serving God and others, so they can connect, grow and serve God also.

I want to say a special word of thanks to those who serve with me. Mike, Kay and Jeff, and Colleen, are hard-working, energetic, incredibly dedicated to Jesus and his work. They are devoted to their families, ready to help and to pitch in wherever needed. I thank God for the privilege of serving with them.

How has the church changed in 20 years? The church began with a small group of people in the fall of 1990, in a rented facility that was totally remodeled and eventually purchased. I remember when we paid off the mortgage. We outgrew that building and began to look at options. In the process we talked with the Board of Bible Baptist Church (Doug and Kent) and they graciously gave us a gift, this wonderful building. As a bonus Doug, Kent and a few others decided to join with us and they have been a rich blessing to us. Since our move to this present location we have become larger, younger, more diverse, and more involved in community outreach. We are very busy people. We find it difficult to balance career, home, school, church and community demands.

Our Youth and Children’s Ministry: A number of people have started attending here because we offer a positive Biblically based ministry for youth and children. I asked Kay to give me some stats on our youth and children’s ministry.

She reported that about 60% of our senior and junior high schoolers and 50% of the younger kids come from families who don’t attend our church. What a fantastic mission field God has placed at our doorstep. Week after week we minister to nearly 43 children and 52 teenagers.

Last year we took a step of faith (with our budget) and put Kay on full time to give leadership to the youth and children’s ministry. In 2009, we did not meet our operating budget and had to draw on our reserve account to pay the bills. The Governing Board, staff, and I have watched our expenses very carefully but our expenses out paced our income by $10,000. This fall we have also seen our average church attendance drop from 200 to 170. We have struggled to figure out the reason but do not fully understand the drop. We continue to pray, plan and seek out answers and direction.

All that being said, where do we go from here? I believe we must address four needs.

1. I believe we need a renewed emphasis on prayer. All churches pray in various ways and in varying degrees. Sometimes it seems like prayer just happens in the midst of everything else we do. But often that is not the case. I hope that in this year and especially in January we can see a major renewal of prayer. This will not be easy because the urgent always crowds out the important. Prayer is key to spiritual growth in our lives and in our church and community.

I would like you to consider making a commitment to Awakening Prayer as opposed to Maintenance prayer. Maintenance prayer can be defined as: prayer that is focused on physical or personal needs of those inside the church. Too often we don’t move beyond Maintenance prayer. Awakening prayer is a desire, a hunger to know and experience God more and see a spiritual awakening in our lives and the lives of others.

In Exodus 33 Moses prayed:“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” This is a prayer that God would become a visible reality within the people of God and their community. Moses knew that if God wasn’t involved and leading there was no purpose in going.

To help us make Awakening Prayer a priority I want us to join together in a 21-day time of prayer from Jan 11-31 of this year. We have put together a daily prayer guide to assist you. I hope many of you will join together in this focused time of prayer.

2. We must reemphasize our strong Biblical heritage. We will continue to face pressure to water down our convictions about the Word of God and especially the necessity of the new birth that comes through a personal faith in Jesus. Many people in our pluralistic, politically correct culture do not want to hear that the Bible is our sole authority for what we believe and how we live. We read, teach, and preach the Bible because it tells us how to live and how to think. Some want us to compromise our beliefs but we must continue to be faithful to Jesus and his teachings.

3. Convert Consumers to Christ Followers. A new book “The Divine Commodity” explores how consumerism has impacted our understanding of church, worship, mission, community, and God. Many church attenders see themselves as consumers or customers. They come to church, take the goods and services that are provided and go home. They believe that the church simply exists to serve them and they see God as a divine butler or spiritual therapist who is there just to make our lives better.

Let me illustrate. What is the difference between Dean’s grocery store and a co-op grocery store? At Dean’s you are a customer, a consumer who goes in to pick out your product, pay for it, leave, and go home to consume it. But a co-op is different.

Years ago we belonged to a co-op. In order to buy product from the co-op we became a member and took our turn working (without pay), at the store one day a month. Is your concept of the church like a grocery store where you are a customer or like a co-op, where you are an active member?

The Bible says the church is a co-op, but some of you are acting like its Dean’s grocery and you are a consumer. You are not using your God given gifts and abilities to serve others. 1 Peter 4:10: “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” I know some of you are thinking: “Well Pastor Tom, I don’t really have a lot of talent.” Who should I believe, your observation or God’s?

So what am I asking you to do? I’m asking you to pray and to plug in. Find a place where you can serve where you’re gifted. Make a decision, because of what Jesus did for you, to give your time, talents, and finances. Get more involved in your church.

This church outgrew me and our staff a long time ago. We can’t do it by oursleves. I see my major role as making sure the church is well fed and moving in the right direction. That’s my biblical responsibility. Mike and Kay are working hard to help you develop your ministry gifts, but they can’t do it if you don’t plug in. Acts 2:47 tells us that when everyone did their part, “The Lord added to their number daily.”

4) Hire a Minister of Music and Worship: We are so grateful for the work our volunteer musicians do Sunday after Sunday, but they need and would like help. Two generations ago when denominational loyalty was high, a church was chosen primarily based on denominational belief. Today, the music style is one of the top priorities when choosing a church.

Rick Warren, the author of the best selling book “Purpose Driven Life” and leader of one of the largest churches in the US made this statement:

“Music may be the most influential factor in determining who your church reaches for Christ, and whether or not your church grows.” If that is true then we must give our music ministry more leadership and hire a Minister of Music and Worship.

The challenge is how do we fund the position? I don’t have any fundraising ideas. But I know how pray for God’s guidance on how much extra I should give. I can also ask you to pray and ask God how much extra you can give for the next year to fund this ministry. You have been given a commitment sheet to fill out and return to us. The staff and Gov. Bd have already committed to giving $8080. above what they are already giving. When you give please designate this in your giving.

We now have one worship service where some people’s preferred style of music is contemporary chorus and others whose style is hymns and gospel song. We need a music minister who enjoys both traditional and contemporary music, who can move easily and willingly between both styles, and who enjoys the challenge of ministering in a diverse, flexible, and changing ministry context. Above all else, he must have a heart for true worship no matter how it is expressed in its various outward forms. He/she must be comfortable with who we are and where we are going as a congregation. Is there such a person out there? We think so.

In the future, as we continue to grow, we plan to have two worship services, possibly one contemporary and one traditional—that would enable us to reach more people.

Our great desire is to reach more people for Jesus Christ. Out beyond these four walls there are people who need to know and experience Jesus. God has asked us to reach as many as possible. So I’m asking you to do what Jesus said:

“ Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.” Matthew 6:33: