Almighty God in 2011

2011 has been a fantastic year of Harvest ministry. You'd think this means everything was hunky-dory. It doesn't. A lot of people went through a lot of difficult things, but many, by God's grace, let the LORD lead them, heal them, recover or turn and it has been marvelous to observe. Worship is louder than ever. Here are some of the many acts of God among us in 2011:

Nearly everyone is understanding the power of real Christian fellowship.
"A ha!" moments occur every Sunday as people open God's Word and respond.
We installed Jason Kennedy and Tim Horton as elders in February.
Ministry teams with leaders were established to strengthen serving one another.
Biblical counseling is occurring in small groups, not just the Pastor's office.
We helped send two people overseas, one to Israel and one to China.
Marriages have been healed, restored and are now on the right track.
Parents are fired-up to raise their kids in distinctively Christian homes.
Children are growing in Christ, gaining a command of God's Word and joy.
Sin-patterns are breaking and being replaced with joyful godliness.
More and more are sharing their faith with joy and loving mission.
We have supplied and served teachers in the school where we meet.
God miraculously led us to a potential building opportunity.
More and more are serving toward the Harvest (Luke 10:2) and asking to do more.

One of the most exciting things coming in 2012 is not only what God is continuing to do here in Raleigh, but also where we will be going to spread the good news of Jesus around the world. We announced that we will be heading to West Senegal, Africa, to the unreached Kwatay people and to Mexico City to serve Harvest Mexico City who is seeing droves of Catholics respond to the gospel and place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

We are amidst our year theme "LIFT YOUR EYES", a common phrase in Scripture, but one we neglect unless reminded. The impetus and result has been the rising question, "What is the LORD doing in your life?" to which many didn't have answers at first. Now, they do. Faith is stronger, prayer is more regular, fellowship most meaningful and worship sincerely fervent. God is on the throne, not us. To Him we lift our eyes. Him we trust. Our trust in anything else is frivolous; therefore we worship the Creator and not created things (Romans 1).

A  young lady who was just saved said, "I love Harvest because everyone has issues. People are real and really growing. In this environment, I realized I needed to place my faith in Christ and stop playing the Christian game."

Amen.