Worship at 10:30 Sunday Morning

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Please bring non-perishable food items to church for the Doyle Center food pantry on Sundays October 6, 13, 20 and 27.  They have limited storage space at the Doyle Center, so bring something each Sunday if you can.  Focus on non-perishable items.  Protein is good -- canned salmon, chicken, ham, tuna and beans.  Stews, soups, vegetables, pasta and packaged meals are all good.  Donations are also welcome so they can buy fresh eggs, milk and bread.

"And if you offer yourself to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light will rise in the darkness.:  Isaiah 58:10

Pastor Frank Oakman and Jim Cox will be part of the Kairos Prison Ministry on Thursday through Sunday, October 3-6, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Torres unit in Hondo.  We need your prayers and donations for Kairos.  We will be bringing Jesus and the Holy Spirit to the chapel at Torres that was built with private donations. For more information, www.kairostexas.org. To sign up for prayers:  https://www.kairostorres.org/form

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."  Hebrews 13:1-3

A generous member of the church has offered to give up to $500,000 for the building fund if we can raise a matching amount.  If you are interested, please complete the pledge form available in the sanctuary.  The pledge can be payable in installments any time through the end of 2025.  A pledge can be changed at any time if circumstances change. These matching building fund donations are in addition to pledges for normal church operations. Even if we are enormously successful, a million dollars will not buy a new building given high real estate costs in Kerrville -- but it will make a serious start for an interim facility that allows for our continued growth.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us.

"For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."  Isaiah 56:7

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I give thanks to our gracious God for putting you all in our lives. Your faithfulness and your enthusiasm fill my heart with joy and helps 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.

The Global Methodist Church just finished up their first ever General Conference that was held in Costa Rica. Talking with some colleagues who had the pleasure of attending reported that although there were some important business that was accomplished, prayer and worship was the foundation of creating an atmosphere of healing, and hope for a new future. One of the major items that was voted on was a new mission statement that would help bring back the Wesleyan focus of Holiness. 

The new mission statement of the Global Methodist Church is:

“The Global Methodist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ AND spread Scriptural Holiness across the Globe.”

The emphasis on AND is mine because this is an important part of why the GMC exists. Spreading Scriptural Holiness is something that has been lost in the past few decades. What does it mean to spread Scripture Holiness? Great question. Webster’s Dictionary define this an “The act of God’s grace by which the affections of humanity are purified or alienated from sin and the world and exalted to a supreme love to God.” It is important for those who follow Christ, to begin spreading the truth that because of God’s grace we have an opportunity to be made holy, or in the likeness of Christ. Through confession, repentance, and acceptance we can be saved, and allow God to begin making us perfect.

Too often we emphasize repentance but fail to share the importance of grace and the truth that God begins a work in our lives at the time of our acceptance of Christ as Lord. We demonstrate that work through baptism. But God wants us to be Holy as He is Holy, and allows His Holy Spirit to work in our lives to guide us that way. Yes, we have to submit to His authority. Yes, we have to learn obey the teachings of Christ, but that is for our journey to holiness more than it is for God’s ego.

John Wesley believed in sanctification. John Wesley believed in personal, as well as social holiness, and John Wesley believed in being made perfect. His believed was founded on scripture truth and holiness. We as Methodists need to affirm Wesley’s belief, as well as teachings, and begin to strive for such holiness in our lives.

One way John Wesley emphasized this Scriptural Holiness was in Band groups. Three or Four men would gather together regularly to confess, be offered forgiveness and held accountable for their walk with Christ. The Western Church, the American church got away from Band groups because our relationship with Christ was taught that it was personal and just between us and God. Which is partly true. We need the larger church to help us strive for that Holiness. We need brothers and for women, they need sisters in Christ to build a more intimate and transparent relationship that will encourage us, and yet correct us.

If we want to see Scriptural Holiness spread, we must live Scriptural Holiness in our lives. We must first seek to be like Christ, so we can show others how. My prayer is that we embrace our mission statement and take it seriously not only as Global Methodists but as followers of Jesus Christ.

May we continue to allow our Heavenly Father to love on us, and help us to work out our Salvation that was gifted to us through Christ’s sacrifice. May we continue to move towards a holiness that reflects Jesus in all we say and do. And may we spread the truth of Scriptural Holiness so others will come to believe in Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed week!

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Blessings to you!

Pastor Frank

Anew 2024 Women’s Ministry event will include time for worship and connecting with women from your local church and women from across the conference. 

There will be teaching and preaching from nationally known speaker and author Lisa Harper, Dr. Leah Hidde-Gregory, and Rev. Tynna Dixon, the first Elder ordained in our new Global Methodist Church.  

Anew 2024 will conclude with an opportunity for prayer and communion together. It will include a lunch break where women can enjoy lunch at a Waco area restaurant.

For some GMC women the cost of this event is prohibitive. If you would like to provide a scholarship, please contact Jim Noble, Conference Treasurer, for instructions at jimnoble@midtexasgmc.org.

If you are a member of First Waco, please contact Joann Dominguez at joann@firstwaco.com to complete your registration through her.

By registering for this event you give permission for your photo in event pictures to be used for promotional materials and also for your name to be added to the Mid-Texas GMC’s Women’s Ministry mailing list to receive email regarding GMC women’s news in the future.

For women registering before September 1, the price will be $40. If tickets are still available after September 1, the price will be $50.