Thank you for the ways in which you have participated in our vision process. You have shown up to offer your thoughts about our past, present, and future. You have written us with analyses of our current ministries and dreams for where God may be leading us in the future. You have shown your unwavering commitment to participating in the life of this community of faith. You have prayed for all God is doing through this process, and that our focus would be about discerning God’s will for our future. It has not gone unnoticed.

The last vision conversation we held with the entire congregation left me invigorated. I continue to think about what happened, as I was able to jump from table to table, hearing dream after dream, and seeing things start to come together as we found common passions for mission, ministry and finding ways to work so that ARBC is the center of spiritual engagement in our neighborhood. It is exciting to continue to dream of what ARBC will be in 2024, as we reach our 100th anniversary and are able to celebrate all that God has done and will be doing in our lives together.

On May 5th the Vision Team will be gathering with Bill Wilson of the Center for Healthy Churches for a time of analyzing all that we have heard and clarifying the vision that God has been giving us throughout this entire process. Please pray for that day, and the work that will be done. Once we have a clarified sense of our future vision, we will bring it back to you. We hope to present you with a guiding framework for the work we will be doing for the next six years that will excite you and make you more passionate than ever about our church and our future.

Once we have a finalized vision plan, and once the congregation adopts it, the hard work begins. We will be giving everything we can to make sure that we are living into this vision together. So your prayers are more needed than ever. Pray that we will continue to have God’s will in mind. Pray that we will be open to the future God is offering us. Pray that we will be willing and equipped to do the necessary work to make our community of faith as impactful on the world around us as God wants it to be.

Thank you again for joining us on this journey. I am truly grateful for each of you.

Peace,

Rev. W. Mattison King