Great Gospel SingOut - Pathfinder Christmas Concert - Miracle Sunday
Hi all,
What do these three things have in common?A few days ago, Rick, Sarah, Kristen, and I represented Pathfinder Church at the annual Great Gospel Sing-Out, held this year at Vicksburg High School. It was a wonderful experience, we got to listen to choirs from several area churches. What we saw were choirs that range in size from about 10 people to, at the largest, 20 people. Recently I spoke with a music director at a nearby church and I heard something that is very common today. She said, "We have a choir of about 12 people, and we used to do a cantata at Christmas time, but we don't have enough people to do that anymore." Last summer I visited my parents church in Zeeland, Michigan, the church in which I was raised. It's not a small church at all. I was surprised because there was NO special music during the service. They have no choir, no special music. Zip. Nothing.
Why am I telling you this?
Because in a time when church choirs are getting smaller and cantatas are becoming a thing of the past, we are heading into the Christmas season alive and well at Pathfinder Church with a choir of over 40 people, 20 instrumentalists, kids choir, and soloists!
How can we do this? Is our church THAT big? No, it's not. If you look at the numbers, the size of our church, this should not be possible for us to do!
When I look at our goal for MIRACLE SUNDAY, to raise $600,000 in one day, I think to myself the same thing, "this isn't possible for us to do.
But I believe that it WILL HAPPEN! The same way I believe that our Christmas concert will be amazing this year--beyond anything that a church like us "should" be able to do.Miracle Sunday will be a success the same way the Christmas concert will be a success:
- Each person shares their excitement with others, and encourages others to get involved
- Each person sees the big God we have and understands that God is moved by our bold prayers and by our faith
- Each person commits to doing as much as they can
I'm not just writing to you all, but this applies to me, too. I'm really excited about the plans for Pathfinder Church! Of course I could go on and on about the sanctuary remodel, about how great it will be, how necessary and long over-due it is. But there are many other things, less exciting to me personally, but equally important to our church, e.g. the remodeling of the Daycare wing, creating a safe and convenient place for childcare, adding a fire escape to the lower level so that the rooms that sit empty all week long can actually be put to use, expanding the restrooms near the entrance, and much much more!
Pathfinder Church is my church home. It's not just a place where I get to do fun music things with a bunch of great people for God's glory. It's a place where we get together as a church family to encourage one another and build each other up (I Thess 5:11), to share each others' joys and burdens, to encourage each other on our walk with God. I believe that God is at work within us and through us at Pathfinder Church, not only in allowing us to be healthy from a numbers perspective, but I believe that His Spirit is working in our hearts and in the collective heart of our church, growing us to becoming more like Jesus.
Miracle Sunday isn't just about the money. It's about saying to God that He is first, and asking what He will do within us and through us when we put our complete trust in Him. I'm on board for Miracle Sunday! I'm excited about it, I'm committed to it, and I'm sharing my excitement with you! Please join me!
Steve Beukema, Ph.D.
Worship Director