A Glimpse of What's to Come | Pastor's Paragraphs

Next month we will reach the fourth anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at Benson Baptist. Back then, many of you may have wondered what would be next for our congregation as we shifted from in-person to online only. We wondered how we would keep journeying as we faced unprecedented times.

While there are many ways that we can see how God has been faithful to us since that time, yesterday's full Sunday was a beautiful look into it all:

• The morning worship services saw over 100 people joining us for worship in-person and online as we sought Christ's voice together,
• The fellowship breakfast saw lots of conversation, laughs, and smiles over doughnuts and fruit,
• Sunday School classes for all ages were full as teacher volunteers shared lessons they'd studied–– one teacher even Zoomed in from Kansas to teach the college class!,
• We expanded our community across the world as we entered into a three-year covenant with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and CBF Field Personnel in Cyprus, Rev. Stella Perrin, 
• The Diaconate announced the new Governance Restructuring Steering Committee that will give YOU a chance to be a part of what's next,
• Our Missions Council met CBF missions staffer, Rev. Ellen Sechrest, for a 'missions assessment' to dream and vision about our current missions partnership and what missions looks like at BBC as we move forward,
• Our kid's ministry jumped around at SkyZone in Raleigh,
• Our Fellowship Hall was full as one of our own celebrated his 90th birthday,
• Our teenagers met for youth group and continued their walk through the Old Testament,
• Our own Bridget Whittington led an art & faith workshop in which we learned about the faith of famous artists and make our own flowers using markers, water, and watercolor paper.

While all of these things are great as stand alone happenings, together they paint a picture of a congregation that is vibrant and growing as we explore where God is calling us next.

In yesterday's sermon, I preached that our God is a God of impossible situations. While much of what is ahead of us might feel impossible, it is not a hopeless journey. Our God calls us to 'hope against hope' as we step forward into the immeasurably more already being seen in our midst.

I hope you'll join me in continuing to pray for our congregation and all that's ahead of us!

The best is yet to be.