Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Advancing the Kingdom

Matthew 28:16-20

Faith Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to give thanks to our gracious God for allowing me the privilege of serving as your Senior Pastor. Your faithfulness and your enthusiasm fill my heart with joy and help complete my hope in Christ. Every day I look forward to serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alongside each of you and growing in our discipleship journey together. I pray as God has continued blessings us, may we continue to be a blessing to others.

I would like to take a break from sharing about the Catechism questions and share with you a little about the training I have experienced during our in-person Cabinet meeting in Waco, Tx. Most all of the Presiding Elder’s gathered in Waco with our Conference Superintendent Rev. Dr. Leah Hidde Gregory, Bishop Emeritus and our Chief Operating Office, Rev. Ryan Barnett, as well as the Cabinet Support Team. One of the major focuses this week was the health evaluation of Pastors and Congregations. We discussed ways of discovering the strengths and growing edges of both Pastors and congregations to move to fruitful Kingdom impact on their individual communities.

The problem many congregations face is the habit of being inward focused. Every ministry, every goal, every resource is used to care for the existing members of the congregation. Many congregations have carried with them what was emphasized in their previous congregation. In some cases, the only thing that changed was the name on the church sign. 

Fortunately for us, that is not totally our situation. Sure, we still carry ideas and experiences, but most have acknowledged that God is doing a “New Thing” within the Global Methodist Church, and with Kerrville Global Methodist Church.

With that said, my goal for 2027 is to intentionally begin teaching and training our leadership to strengthen our outward focus direction. Building on what we are doing, yet, identifying the growing edges and doing what we can to look harder, and more faithfully into the community and meeting the real needs with relevancy. Part of this advancement is helping all members, and non-members fully understand our doctrinal beliefs as Global Methodist, creating opportunities for us to live out our Mission and Vision. We claim to be a growing Church, and I sincerely believe we are both numerically and spiritually. But to continue that growth we must begin advancing the Kingdom of God.

I have said on many occasions, our role is not to grow the local church, but to grow the Kingdom of God. When we start to grow the Kingdom of God, the church will follow. God will bless local churches who are faithful to the mission of making deeply committed disciples for the Kingdom. Jesus says, “Go and make disciples”. Jesus says, “Teach them everything I have taught you.” 

For us to teach others, we ourselves must learn and in some cases unlearn. I will be working with K.C. Blackketter, and the Discipleship Team to create a user friendly, and practical Discipleship Pathway that will help our current members and worshippers to grow in their discipleship journey, equipping us to advance the Kingdom, and reach others for Christ. John Wesley said, “We have nothing else to do but to save souls.” If the church isn’t winning people for Christ, they are not living out their calling.

Again, some of the baggage that has been carried over from our former denomination is the mindset -- “that’s the pastor’s job? That’s why we pay him/her.” The truth is Biblically the role of the Pastor is to “equip the Saints for ministry.” Additionally, we are to be co-workers for Christ and with Christ.” It isn’t “one” person's role or job; it is the mission of the entire Faith Community.

I look forward to rolling out the tools that will enable our congregation, as well as the other congregations in our District to truly know who we are, where we are, and how do we move to the next level and begin living out our Mission of Making Disciples for Jesus Christ and spreading Scriptural Holiness throughout the Globe.” 

Yes, this will bring changes, this will cause us to sacrifice, to give up certain preferences for the sake of Kingdom Growth.

I truly believe the leadership of Kerrville Global Methodist Church is up for the task, and I truly believe the Faith community called Kerrville Global Methodist Church is in a season where we are ready to see significant spiritual growth in our community. I look forward to the coming year and the many years ahead serving alongside you, leading you in the charge, and Storming the Gates for Jesus Christ.

Praise God from Who All Blessings Flow!

Have a blessed Week!

Pastor Frank