As I reflect on the year that has just concluded and the new one that has just begun, I am overcome with a sense of gratitude. It is something that has been building for the last four years that we have been together as we have become closer and been able to be church with and for one another. So I want to begin 2018 remember how truly grateful I am to be part of the community of faith at Augusta Road Baptist Church.
I am grateful for a church that loves and cares for one another, and that is a place where we can overcome differences of thought, belief, and affiliation to focus on what truly matters in our common faith in Christ. The last year brought a great sense of loss to our church as we grieved the passing of those who had been part of our faith community for longer than many of us could remember. Their absence is clear, but their legacy of faithful service lives on in us and though the work we do. There were others who faced a great sense of anxiety because of health concerns, job and life transitions, and broken relationships, yet you surrounded them with love and served as the physical manifestation of the caring presence of God for them. There were others who may have had concerns that they didn’t even share with us, and yet they found a community to whom they could come and not need to say anything. They simply needed to know you were there, and you were. It is these experiences that we share as a community that remind us of our common humanity and need for Christ’s presence in a way that creates stronger bonds among us than anything else could.
I am grateful for the fact that you recognize that the church can impact the world around us in many different ways. In the last year we didn’t simply serve our congregation. We served preschoolers, after school students, summer campers, and their families by offering care and love in Christ’s name. We ensured they had a safe environment in which to grow and play, to do homework, to have fun, and to build relationships with teachers and counselors who serve as mentors and faithful examples. We continued to open our doors to the AA groups who have met on our campus for twenty-five years now. We have recognized that our campus is not only one of our greatest assets, but it is also one of the greatest gifts we can offer to a community that needs places to gather for support. We also ministered to the needs of our community by supporting the work of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, United Ministries, Samaritan House, Westside Crisis Center, Greenville Church Without Walls.
You should be truly proud of the work you did in God’s name by giving your time, talent, and treasure for the good of those around us. We will continue this work in the year ahead of us, and we will strive to do even more. As you are making plans for 2018, be sure to plan to join us as we worship, grow, and serve in all the ways you are able.
I am most grateful for a congregation that believes God is doing something special through us. As we continue to discern God’s vision for our future, we know that it will be bright because of the way we feel God’s Spirit at work among us. We feel it through the sense of welcome and hospitality we feel whenever we are together, through meaningful worship that enables us to encounter God, through relationships that transform us into the people God desires us to be, and the fact that we can find ways to use our gifts in God’s service together. It is that Spirit that will guide us through the next year as we continue to journey together.
Thank you for your constant support of and participation in our ministries. Thank you for believing in God’s work through Augusta Road Baptist Church. Thank you for being part of our community as we follow God together. May we all recognize God’s blessings and be found diligently working in God’s service throughout 2018.
Peace,
Rev. W. Mattison King