Shane Ash

Dear New Beginnings Church,

The yearly “family newsletter” is a fun tradition in many households. Often included with a family photo, the newsletter chronicles the happenings within a family over the past year, and is sent out so others too may know the stories. The details told might include sadness from the death of a love one, joy from a new birth in the family, laughter from a vacation memory, or even, anticipation of plans for the future.

This year, the family letter for New Beginnings Church would require multiple pages filled with stories of both brokenness and beauty, sadness and joy, division and unity. However, our family newsletter is still being written; the Author has yet to reveal the final pages. Therefore, we are asked not to revel in our brokenness, but to live as a community devoted to living out Christ-likeness. In a way, we are each a newsletter being sent out to tell the world of a faithful God who provides new beginnings.

As we look forward to another year, let us remember to carefully watch and listen, seeking to discern together what God is authoring within our church community. And as you pray, join us in praying for what we believe God has in mind in this next chapter of ministry:

• Strengthened unity. We are praying for clear understanding of the unity Jesus desires for his followers.
• A multiplication of our NBCommunities. May God call and help us equip leaders who passionately pursue planting of missional communities throughout our geographical area. This “scattered” element of our discipleship strategy holds great potential in our hope of being a Christ-like church.
• Continued and renewed partnership with New Generation Christian Church. May God help us find more ways to partner in this Kingdom-minded ministry for the sake of the Lee’s Summit community.
• Maximized resources. We are praying for God to lead us in ways of expanded building usage for ministry.

As we move into January, here are a few immediate opportunities to look forward to:

• Starting January 8^th we will reconvene our Conversation Hour classes.
• January 29^th we will have a combined service with New Generation Christian Center. This will be an opportunity to affirm our covenant partnership and create opportunities for fellowship.
• This year we will provide a daily devotion at www.nbconversation.com. This site will offer daily prayers, readings, and additional resources to help equip and prepare us for our Sunday gatherings.

So, as we celebrate the New Year, let us remember the faithfulness of God who loves us, corrects us, forms us, and sends us. And may Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 17:20-21 serve as our benediction from the year past and an invocation for the next:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us sothat the world may believe that you have sent me.” – John 17:20-21

Let’s start the year off worshiping together! See you Sunday, January 1^st, 2012.

Pastors Shane, Margaret, and Justin