How Great Is Our God
The worship at the Pine Valley United Methodist Church council meeting was awesome Monday night! Once Karl started leading us in “How Great Is Our God”, I knew I needed to be there. We were truly having worship! “You're the name above all names. You are worthy of our praise. And my heart will sing, ‘How great is our God.’” I often tell Mark Edquid how I like to get quiet during worship service and just listen to the singing. This time, Mark leaned over and said, “Just listen.” Everyone in that full sanctuary was praising God. He was being told that He is worthy of our praise! Worship always puts things in perspective. Then we sang “Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art!” It seemed everyone only got louder! Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power…”
After all of that worship I really did not want a meeting! We were blessed that the Staff Pastors Relation Committee has nothing pressing on their agenda. The Trustees got our parking lot paved and marked and increased our handicap spaces. Through the renovation of the sanctuary, we gained 70 more seats. The restrooms in the Fellowship Hall are getting ready to be renovated. Our elevator in the Christian Life Center will be replaced in April while the preschool is out on break. They are also meeting and getting bids to take down the education building and looking at our future options.
Finance reminded us that the Trustees find the projects and finance finds the funding. In 2019 they saw a substantial increase in giving! The biggest increase was online giving which means when people are gone or out of town the tithe still comes in. And we are within $5000 of paying for our elevator to be replaced! How great is our God!
This is all good news! God is moving in such a way that we know our vision and the direction we are going is being blessed! You can tell by the fruit! Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” Pastor Tim reminded everyone that his first church council meeting at PVUMC was in 2012. They needed $200,000 to meet the budget. They decided if they got 100 people to give $2000 they would be ok. They felt the Holy Spirit that night when they read Exodus 33:12, “Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’” Before, they left that night they had $11,000 in pledges. The next day they had $26,000 and over $80,000 pledged the next week. And look at us today! How great is our God!
When it came time to hear about the Methodist denomination, I took notes until my hand hurt. As Pastor Tim said, what the media stirred up is all a big “what if”. Who knows what will happen. When the time is appropriate we will make decisions. While we wait we will continue to connect hearts to Christ and one another. All people’s hearts. We will love everybody. We do not want to be a part of anything that God’s presence will not be in. We want Him to lead us and guide us. I went home and thought about it and prayed about it. I woke up during the night and thanked God for giving me the words to share from that church council meeting.
Here is what God laid on my heart. The message is simple and echoes what Pastor Tim said. Just like Christ’s table, all are welcome. We are all sinners and need God’s grace. God’s grace is for everybody and we are going to continue to be about Jesus saving people. How great is our God!
Please join us as we enter a season of prayer for God to lead during this season. Worry will not do any good. We will be faithful and teach and preach the Word of God. Let’s keep making disciples. Our own Lynn Shuffler is the Harbor District lay leader which makes her a member of the NC Conference Board of Laity for the past eight years. She shared with us, before we left, that everyone knows about PVUMC. She said, “and they all ask the same thing - how are we growing when most churches are not.” She tells them “at PVUMC the Holy Spirit is in charge.” Amen! Proverbs 16:20, “God blesses those who obey him; happy the man who puts his trust in the Lord.” How great is our God!