In my 6th and last year as Lay Leader, I realize that being a leader in a church is more than just getting more people to attend; it's about giving folks a friendly environment to worship God. It isn't about getting more pledges; it's about giving people an opportunity to help others in many types of service. It isn't about having committee meetings; it's about having fellowship with each other. It isn't about telling folks what not to do, but showing them we all are Disciples of Christ by what we do. It isn't about shaming people into going to church; it's about sharing together the glory of God and spreading the Good News to family and friends and strangers that God is with us and loves us. I have been part of a fellowship group that has taught me what Friends in Christ means. In our early days we studied the Purpose-Driven Life and I understand that I have many purposes, and one is to use my God-given talents to help my church family and others. Our group gathers weekly to have general conversations and to pray for our friends in Christ. When I have to make a decision, I ask myself "what would make God smile?" We all make many decisions every day, and recently some of my decisions were not well-received by some of our church folks. As Lay Leader, I am to help create opportunities for members of our church family to make God smile. I have not done a very good job of that thr last few years, but I continue with the help of my church family, to make God smile as much as we can. I am supposed to meet with the Pastor regularly - this didn't happen again. But we did get to know each other a little better. As I have mentioned in my past reports, observation is a powerful tool, when used. If a person truly wants to learn how best serve God, that person needs to see how others serve Him and choose a way of service that fits you. Our church has some fine servants of God - just look around. We have assistants, the pastor, Children's Time leaders, acolytes, Chime & Vocal choir directors and members, our own audio/DJ expert, committee leaders that utilize our talents, committee members, our historian, those arranging altar flowers/displays, those doing our woodworking, our Bear Ministry, gardening, beautiful landscaping, public suppers, our locally-famous Apple Festival, and needy groups using our facility as they struggle with troubles. I have seen new folks come to our church with some great kids, and it warms my heart to see the congregation smile from the actions of the little ones, but then many of them have left. I have done little from a "Lay Leader" role, but I have gained so much from observing others. We realize that we need to grow spiritually to become a healthy church before we grow in numbers, and I have not helped in doing that. Instead in the last year or so, we have dropped from ~45 per service to about 30. We continue to look for opportunities to work together, pray together, and worship together, outside of the regular service. Because of my lack of accomplishments as your Lay Leader and my recent lack of desire to be the Lay Leader, I pass on this chance to those that could spend more time helping our church family.
Bob Mattern
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