REPORT OF THE ELDER BOARD
May 20, 2012
I
will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High, I will remember the
works of the Lord, surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and
talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is
holy; who is so great a God as our God? Psalm 77:10-13
As we consider the many aspects
of our local church, our thoughts should be much like the thoughts expressed by
the psalmist. Not only do we have God’s
Word that provides evidence of His historical care, protection and deliverance
but we also have innumerable stories of God’s grace and care for the people and
the ministries of First Evan.
Your Elder and Deacon bodies meet
monthly to fellowship, think, study and pray with one another. Our time of prayer consistently worships the
Lord, proclaims His goodness to us, petitions for His help and guidance and
lifts up those who are hurting and afflicted.
It is a joy to hear and see the deacons, pastors and elders of our
church responding to God in prayer. Our
opportunities for prayer have been great during the last few months as we have
experienced sadness thru suffering, delight thru sending and receiving and the
joy of experiencing God’s sovereign and kind hand in all things.
The last few months have also
provided our church with unique opportunities for Bible study, education and
worship. We have benefited from the
guest teaching and preaching of Rob Bugh, Bryan Chapell, Kurian P.V., David
Frazier, Jason Seville, Ronnie Stevens and others. Additionally we were provided with a very
insightful and interesting exposure of Muslim culture through this year’s
Missions Conference. And now, Cole is
leading us through the Old Testament book of Malachi. This has been a very rewarding study as we
have been compelled to hear the prophet’s testimony of the ultimate blessing of
God to us (“I have loved you, says the Lord”).
We have once again enjoyed the worship leading of our choir and
instrumentals during our Palm Sunday services.
As mentioned in my last letter,
the elders periodically determine a specific topic for study and
consideration. It is our desire that
these studies will give understanding and clarity to our view of the
application of scripture in the lives of our membership. We have started a new study and look forward
to providing an additional “position paper” to the First Evan website in the
coming months. If you are not aware,
there are several “position papers” currently posted on the website (www.firstevan.org).
The effort continues within our
elder body to follow the Lord in our shepherding activities. Our desire is to be able to know you, serve
you and care for you. There are 10 elder
shepherding teams comprised of approximately 50 elders that meet to pray and
study together.
For
whatever things were written before, were written for our learning, that we
through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
May we as the body of Christ “. .
. glorify Jesus Christ and magnify His gospel in all of life until He comes.”*
Respectfully submitted,
Robert W. Seay
Session Chairman
*Vision/Direction/Mission
statement for FEC – articulated by Cole, embraced and adopted by the Council
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