The vote of confidence that you have extended to me in calling me as your Pastor is both humbling and deeply appreciated. When we accepted your call to serve as Interim Pastor nine months ago, the thought of being asked to serve as your pastor was far from our imagination.
Gloria and I had already agreed that if I was asked to serve one more church in an interim capacity that we would prayerfully consider it and accept the responsibility if we felt that it was the Will of God for us to do so. When you extended the invitation last July, we both prayed and we both felt that God was in that call. We have been delighted to serve with you in the capacity of interim.
In this time together, we have come to love and appreciate you. We have been inspired and challenged by the dedication and commitment that we have seen in you to keep Crabtree Valley Baptist Church alive and on mission. We have witnessed the love that you have for this fellowship of believers. Some of you have said that you do not want to see the doors of this church close. You have said that this is your church, this is your church family and you do not want to go to another church.
Over these nine months, we have seen the church stabilize. Our Sunday School and Worship attendance is up. Contributions to the church are up. The spirit and enthusiasm in the ministry of the church is growing. We have all been praying the prayer of Jabez, asking God to bless us a lot, to expand our territory, to keep his hand upon us and to keep us from evil. We are witnesses to the fact that God is answering that prayer.
As Gloria and I have been inspired and challenged by what we are seeing God do at Crabtree Valley Baptist Church, we are honored by your call to come along side of you and work with you as your Pastor. Together, our great challenge is to join God in the work that He is doing here. We are, as the Apostle Paul so beautifully expressed it, “laborers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9). To God be the Glory!
In His Love,
Charles
