January is a new beginning. This January was special because it was not only the beginning of a new year but also a new decade. As a church we have just celebrated 75 years of existence but as we celebrated the past we also have been looking towards the future. What will the next year bring? What will the next five years, ten years or even beyond that bring to this church? What sort of ministries will we be doing? How will we be making an impact in our community for God?

As a church we cannot rest on what has already been accomplished. We need to be constantly striving to make a difference for God within our church, in our community and even beyond our community but what will that look like? What will we do to fulfill our mission of “Helping people to connect with God and each other in loving ways?”

I believe we have started this year, this decade on the right foot. I have challenged the people of our church to make 2010 The Year of The Bible. I have challenged the people of our church to make a greater commitment than they already have in being in God’s Word, to read the Bible more than they already do. This challenge will look different for each person. It could mean for one person who doesn’t read the Bible very often to read the Bible everyday for five minutes. It could mean for another person that this year they’ll commit for the first time to reading the entire Bible. The reason I have challenge the people of Laurentian to make this commitment is that I believe we will not move forward as a church without an even greater commitment to following God and a stronger desire to seek His will in our lives. By reading the Bible and spending time in God’s Word our faith will grow and our desire to follow Him will increase.

Already in January we have conducted a church wide Vision Casting meeting. This meeting was an informal time of prayer and of sharing ideas with one another on how we can make a greater difference in our community for God. I want to highlight some of the ideas that were shared so that the whole church can know what was discussed.

• Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) during the summer.
• Welcome gifts to new families in the community so that we can invite them to our church.
• Hosting a weekly gathering of MOPS (Mother’s of PreSchool children).
• Flyers advertising our church letting people in North Bay know who we are.
• Creating Welcome pamphlets for visitors to the church.
• Adopt a Cause for prayer per month.
• Corn roast for a church open house in September.
• Building improvements – Move nursery and knock down the wall between current nursery and vestibule to increase the size of the vestibule.
• Purchase a new church sign
• Make our church feel more inviting by installing windows in the front doors.

These were just ideas and nothing was formally committed to. If you have other ideas that you would like to share you can either share them with me or another member of the LBA as we will continue to discuss these ideas. Please keep our church in your prayers and be asking God to continue to guide and lead us as we endeavor to follow Him.

God bless, Pastor Chris