As you know, at our last voter's meeting we voted to collaborate in a ministry effort called Cures and Connections with the Pacific Southwest District and a number of other churches in the area. Part of this process will consist of our congregation taking what is called the Natural Church Development survey. Many of you have been through this process before and so you are aware of what this all entails. However, many of us are new to this so I thought a word of explanation would be helpful.

The purpose of this survey is to help our congregation define our strengths and weaknesses. Such an analysis will benefit us as we consider where our efforts as a congregation ought to be focused. The folks who lead the survey have asked us to select 30 people from within in the congregation to take the survey. Some of you will receive an invitation to take the survey and participate in discussion concerning the results. This will be a great opportunity for us to discuss the mission and purpose of our church and how we can work together to be more effective in our community!

Once the survey is completed and we have spelled out our strengths as a congregation, a small group of representatives from our church will join the other congregations who are participating in Cures and Connections to see how we might be able to team up and support one another in our ministries. It is our prayer that as we are united in this effort we will be strengthened as the body of Christ in this area to more effectively reach out with the Gospel.

I am asking that you would all please pray for this effort. Everyone in our church is critical to the process, whether you take the survey or not. Your prayers, words of encouragement, and critical thoughts are all incredibly important as we set out to see where God is leading our congregation. So, as you remember our congregation in your prayers, please pray that the Lord would use Cures and Connections to guide our congregation in mission.

Pastor Bob