At our church conference Sunday night September 22, we approved a memorandum of understanding with Pioneer Baptist Church.

This document is an expression of our intent to combine the membership and assets of our two churches into one church. Pioneer’s membership is reduced to two members, a faithful couple who have given their lives serving the Lord through this church, begun in 1956. Their desire and ours is that the gospel will continue to be proclaimed on this property and in this part of town. If the Lord grants that we can carry this through these two will become members of King’s and the campus at the corner of Old Dixie Hwy and Second Street will become a second campus and a new  opportunity for us to connect with people in our community to worship, disciple, serve and reach.

One of the clear desires expressed at our meeting was for us as a church to pray together for the Lord’s direction in this work. Henry Blackaby’s study, Experiencing God points to scripture over and over to show how God reveals His will to us. This one paragraph from his study is key:

Our Lord doesn’t come to us to discover what we’d like to accomplish for Him. He encounters us in order to reveal His activity and invite us to become involved in His work. An encounter with God requires us to adjust ourselves to the activity of God that’s been revealed. God never communicates with us merely to give us a warm devotional thought for the day. He never speaks to us simply to increase our biblical knowledge. Our Lord has far more significant things to reveal to us than that. When God shows us what He’s doing, He invites us to join Him in His activity.

Over the last four months it has seemed clear to me and to many in our leadership that the Lord is at work in an unexpected but wonderful way related to the work of Pioneer Baptist and King’s Baptist. What has happened in the last four months was not on my master plan. But it does appear to be a wonderful but challenging call of God to us as a church.

You remember Paul’s response to God’s unexpected call to him. He said,  “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10).

Pastor Dave Cook Sunday morning, reminded us again of God unexpected call to Moses.

The “heroes” of the faith through out time have been those who realized God was at work, inviting them to join Him. And they did.

The same God who blessed them is just as capable of working out His purposes through your life and our fellowship. The same God who gave them victory over seemingly invincible enemies, who provided for them when their own resources were insufficient, and who guided them in their decisions is prepared to work as powerfully in us here in IRC in 2019.

I urge you to join us in prayer this Sunday night as we continue to seek to obey the Lord’s leading in this important work.

There is another area of potential ministry that, Lord willing, I will acquaint you with Sunday night as well. It is possible that it might be particularly relevant to the Pioneer Campus but it would definitely be relevant for the whole our our church. While I have been aware of this ministry for some time, first exposed to it at various Southern Baptist Convention meetings, it is only in the last few weeks that it seems God is working to open it to us. There is much praying and work to consider as we seek the Lord’s will in this matter.

One final new thing that is about to begin is our Foundations Class for potential members. It has many of the hallmarks of the Membership Matters meetings we have conducted over the years. One distinct difference is that we desire to be much more intentional in helping people coming into our church find their place of service and a small group with which to connect. Pray for Pastor Tyler Bursick as he gives leadership to this work.

Frank