e-news for week of 1/9/11

God is real. He’s alive. He’s in the business of changing and transforming lives!!!

As I trudged through umpteen inches of snow drift in -15 below wind chills to get to the office today, I’m thrilled to write this: 2011 HAS STARTED OFF AS A GREAT SEASON OF MINISTRY!!!!

Great to share in the baptisms of Ronnie Fritz and Ashley Dawson on Wednesday night. I meant what I said on Sunday – it would be great if we were the first church ever to wear out a baptistery.

We want 2011 to be a stellar year of ministry and impact and part of that arises out of faithful giving. Therefore, I need to encourage everyone to trust the Lord with your giving. 2010 was a financially tight year for Forum where we did many capital improvements to the facility as well as other ministry initiatives. I’m encouraging you to consider increasing your giving in 2011 by $10, $20, or even $50 a week. I do believe God will fill in the blanks as you live by and stretch out in faith.

I want to take a moment to lift up the great staff God has assembled here. It’s a joy to serve God with every one of them. Each has individual talents, gifts, ministry passions, and drives. I want to express thanks to Jared for laying out and putting together the exceptional Forum Connection that you should have received in the mail. (if you didn’t, you can get it online at our exceptional NEW website – also laid out by Jared Wortman). I also want to express my thanks to Bradley Williams for the great job he did in the pulpit last Sunday as well as putting together the lifegroup materials. If you haven’t picked those up – you can get them in the lobby or online under resources.

Sunday we continue to walk with God in Colossians 3. We’ll be in that chapter over the next couple of weeks. This is transformational stuff. God is real. He’s living. He’s active. He’s shaping your life so you can live and give your personal best. Can’t wait to worship with you Sunday. — Scott