2012 Pastoral Note from Ps Joshua (Curate)

Dear SJSM Family,

2011 was certainly a watershed year for SJSM! As had been repeatedly mentioned throughout last year, the biblical significance of the number 40 is that it marks a particular season of divine activity, followed by a crossing over to a new season. Hence the marking of SJSM’s 40th year was done with heightened care and spiritual sensitivity. We wanted to be alert to what God was saying to us and doing among us. We spent some months looking back and taking stock of our rich journey and heritage. And we spent some months looking forward to the new season God is bringing us into, and waiting upon Him for direction and wisdom. We closed the year with a significant and meaningful P40 Celebration Dinner and Covenant Service.

After the tremendously uplifting and inspiring week of special P40 events in September, the pastoral staff embarked on the process of preparing for 2012. Allow me to outline in brief the process of discernment that we went through to arrive at the theme & calendar (if you have not received a copy of the desk calendar, please pick one up from the Info Desk).

The first thing to mention is that Ps Rennis tasked me (Joshua) to lead the planning process. The main reason was that, having been appointed as Acting Vicar of My Saviour’s Church, Ps Rennis had to channel a significant proportion of his time to exercising leadership there. This was on top of his other SJSM and Diocesan responsibilities. I received the assignment with some trepidation, but was assured of the Lord’s guidance and grace, and the support of the staff team. Ps Rennis did offer himself as a sounding board, so we were not entirely without the benefit of his input. We divided the entire planning process into two phases: the first phase was for discerning the direction and theme for the upcoming year, and the second phase was for working out the specific events in the calendar.

God is a God of seasons. Our Vision Statement (adorning our Sanctuary wall and printed in our bulletin) outlines our long-term direction and priorities. The theme, however, is an articulation of the short-term priority and focus for the current “season”. So in the first phase of planning, we began by receiving input from three major groupings in order to discern what the key priorities would be for this next season. The three groupings were the invited pastors and missionaries for the P40 Pastors Prayer Gathering (PPG), the PCC members and Cell Pastors who were also at PPG, and the entire staff team. We trusted that by hearing what these groups were sensing from the Lord, we would have the involvement of a fairly representative cross-section of the church. Then the Division Leaders met to digest the many things we had received from these three groups and to identify what stood out most prominently. The following key ideas were identified: TRUST AND OBEY, CONSECRATION, STUNNING REVIVAL, NEW WINESKINS, AND HEALING.

We took these key ideas into a 2 day retreat with all the Heads of Department to crystallise the one key thing the Lord wants SJSM to focus on. On the first day of the retreat, our ideas and thoughts were ‘all over the place’! But at a certain point on the second day of the retreat, we found the Lord wonderfully brought about a collective resonance around the word ‘Consecration’, and that the theme was best expressed by our memory verse for that month! Upon checking with Ps Rennis after the retreat, he too concurred.
 

So Church, here is our theme for this next season:  

Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORDwill do amazing things among you. (Joshua 3:5)
 

The sermon series in January will unpack this theme and its implications. I urge us to prayerfully reflect on this theme and what it might mean for us personally, and for our families.

The second phase of planning involved translating this theme into Ministry plans, goals and events. This phase also involved several rounds of meetings culminating in a 2 day retreat at which the list of major events was substantially worked out. It was agreed that especially in this season of Consecration, we need to continue to be in ‘listening mode’, and leave room for the Lord to change some of our plans (if He so deems) and introduce new plans. So this calendar is not cast in stone.
 

Three things to highlight about the calendar at this stage:

1. July will be our Missional Christian month, during which we will be training the spotlight on the various ways in SJSM that we can each participate in the Great Commission. Every one of us can be involved in at least one form of outreach!
2. We are planning a large scale ‘Father Heart of God’ seminar/ course in the last quarter, in recognition of the fact that for many, unresolved issues with our earthly fathers translate into dysfunctions in our relationship with the Heavenly Father. This is very much an area that needs to be consecrated, so that God’s healing grace may flow. The dates of this seminar / course are not finalised, and therefore are not printed in this calendar.
3. We have not included the dates of every single ministry event and Christian Education course, as these will be publicised through the bulletin, pulpit announcements and other channels. We have included dates that SJSMers generally need advance knowledge about, to facilitate leave applications, course registrations and the like, e.g. Church camp, baptism and confirmation courses (New Life in Christ), major events etc.

Finally, a word about our sermon series. The two major series we will be doing in 2012 are ‘The Life of Abraham’ (in the first half of the year), and ‘The Epistle of Ephesians’ in the second half of the year. We are working towards having a published Cell Word booklet for the Ephesians series, which I know will be warmly welcomed by many.
 

Let us enter 2012 with hearts full of hope that God is going to aid us in consecrating ourselves, so that we may be vessels fit and ready for his use!

To God be all the glory!
Ps Joshua, Curate, SJSM

January 2012