Pastor Letter: May 25, 2018

Dear Buck Run Family:

I remain convinced, now more than ever, that in God’s mercy and providence He has anointed Buck Run for a special place to show His grace and goodness. I marvel at what God continues to do here and the spirit that I see manifest in the members of this blessed church. As I recently stood by the bedside of one of our members, I witnessed firsthand the care that his community group showed for him and for the family. As our pastors visited and cared for them, we were far outnumbered by the deacons, community group members, and other friends from the church who stopped by to pray or sent texts or offered food or whatever needed doing. That is how a church is supposed to function.

This provides an excellent opportunity to emphasize the importance of our community groups. They matter. This is the best way for every member to be part of a group in which love, ministry, encouragement, and exhortation flow abundantly. If you only attend church on Sunday morning, you are certainly fed the Word and you get to worship with your church family, but you don’t have a conduit of blessing in ministry. If you have a crisis, you don’t have a group of your church family members who will respond and mobilize to help you. Even more importantly, you don’t have a group of people to whom YOU will respond and serve in their time of need.

At Buck Run we use Sunday School for biblical and theological education and we use community groups for ministry, connection, and community. As your pastor, I plead with you to do both. Enroll in a Sunday School class during each term and be a part of a community group. The difference that will make in your life over the next ten years will be massive.

We always post our current and upcoming classes by the adult wing entrance and we have brochures available for community group classes. After the summer we plan to do a major reboot of our community groups and that will be a great time to get involved. Make that decision now.  If you need some help and advice you can always talk to our pastors and we will help you find the best classes and community group for your needs. Feel free to try several community groups to see which one fits you best.

Finally, I want to introduce our newest staff member, Matt Morvay, and his wife, Lacey. Matt is originally from Alabama but is a student at Southern Seminary. He is one of those rare students that I knew I wanted to serve at Buck Run almost as soon as I met him. He will serve primarily as my assistant pastor, but he is also working with community groups and assimilation of guests and new members. We will introduce them in the service on June 3. Make sure you open your hearts and your homes to them as you have all others who have served here.

Summer schedule is about to begin, and that is always a challenge in church life. I simply ask you to be faithful. Make worship on Sundays a priority. Use your summer to develop relationships for the purpose of sharing the gospel and bringing people to Christ and getting them to be a part of this wonderful fellowship. Let’s use everything as a tool for the Gospel!

 

Your grateful pastor,

Bro. Hershael