A Letter From Pastor Kyle
Hello North Anderson family!
As we begin to wind down 2024 and start looking toward the new year, I thought it would be both wise and fitting to share a few thoughts with you concerning what I believe the Lord has been showing me through prayer and the scriptures in regard to vision and strategy moving forward and a body of believers.
Most of you will remember that as I began my tenure here as Pastor, I shared with you that while I typically lead by putting the pedal to the metal and have a “all gas, no break” approach to ministry, in conversations with trusted mentors and accomplished leaders, I was cautioned to be slow and methodical in assuming the Pastorate where I would be succeeding a long-tenured and faithful brother.
I took that counsel, and I believe that there was great wisdom in doing so!
Though it’s often been difficult (and frustrating) for me to pump the brakes, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time simply listening, learning, and developing a better understanding for the unique rhythms of the church.
That said, strategically, I did think that it was important to implement a few things that would provide some general direction and would prepare the church for the day when it was time to pull back on the throttle.
You’ll remember that we published those concepts and talked about them on a day we set aside called, “Vision Sunday”.
We labeled these C-6 Strategy and have been working, mostly behind the scenes in incorporating them into the DNA of our church.
The six areas of emphasis were consecration, communication, commission, community, coaching, and cooperation.
I have been pleased with the progress we’ve made in each area and though there’s still ongoing work necessary with each area of emphasis, these pillars will continue to serve us well.
Briefly, allow me to summarize a few specifics things that have quietly strengthened each area:
Consecration – We have worked hard to foster an environment that conducive for the corporate pursuit of holiness. For example, regarding our worship service, our Ministerial Staff meets weekly to plan our Lord’s Day service so that the order, structure, and content of our liturgy may accomplish the goal of fostering consecration among our people.
Among many things that I could mention, we’ve accomplished this through the usage of theologically sound music that works to support the theme of the message that is being preached and undergirds the Word of God, a focus upon scripture reading and Responsive Readings from Scripture that emphasizes God’s Word as the focal point of our gathering, the weekly use of the Doxology and a Benediction from the scriptures to bring our corporate time of worship to its completion.
Communication – We have diversified our communication streams which now include a new, modernized and continuously updated website (which includes a calendar of events), a free App that has officially exceeded 300 downloads and nearly 40,000 views, a stronger social media presence on a variety of platforms, a “This Week @ North Anderson” email blast that includes everything that is going on, a printed monthly newsletter called, “The Lighthouse”, and aside from all of that, verbal announcements that are shared in both Bible Fellowship Classes and in our worship services.
To put it bluntly, with the multitude of ways that we communicate each week, it is quite literally impossible for anyone to honestly say, “I didn’t know about that” because we’ve worked diligently to better communicate all that is going on.
Commission- We’ve been very blessed over the past couple of years to send short-term missionaries from our church family to Cuba, New Orleans, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, on mission for Christ.
Community- In a desire to expand the opportunity for people to engage in Biblical community/fellowship, we have added an additional Adult Bible Study service time on Wednesday mornings at 10:30am that has been very well received and attended. This service is identical to the study that we offer on Wednesday evenings.
We’ve also been blessed to have added a College/Young Adult Bible Fellowship class on Sunday morning at 9:30am and a bi-weekly cohort that meets at the home of church members.
These opportunities for fellowship and growth have been in addition to the wonderful Bible Fellowship Classes that we already have in place (I would love to add another class that is geared toward senior adult men in 2025. Would you join me in praying that the Lord would raise up a man to lead that?)
Coaching - Aside from one-on-one discipleship relationships that have been forged, there were also several members of our church family (Youth through senior adults) that took advantage of the corporate Experiencing God Study earlier this year. In this study, we’ve gleaned so much that would serve as instruction for our lives.
Cooperation - In addition to our ongoing Cooperative partnership through the local association, state convention and national convention, we’ve been intentional and strategic in developing a 5-year church planting partnership with Reclamation Church in Pittsburgh (a few of our church members recently toured the new church). Reclamation Church officially launched this past Sunday, and the prayers and financial support of North Anderson helped to make Pastor Brent and the Reclamation teams dream a reality.
As I’ve already written, we’ve can improve upon all of these areas but listed here are many things that we can absolutely celebrate. Praise God for progress!
Now, having said all of that, let me share some really exciting news with you.
While I’m grateful for what I have learned about myself, the Lord, and our church through quietly exercising some tactical patience over the past couple of years…I sincerely believe that it’s time to casts some specific vision, remove the foot from the brake pedal and, for lack of a better term, get after it!
I’ll be sharing, in depth, what this looks like on Sunday, November 10th at 10:30 on our second “Vision Sunday” but for now, in bullet point form, here’s where we’re headed:
- We’ll be creating and maintaining increased engagement and activity of our various ministry teams.
We’re blessed at North Anderson with some great lay leaders and servants but have not adequately taken advantage of their collective wisdom, strengths and abilities. Beginning in January, the various lay led ministries and elected teams (such as our Church Council, Deacon Fellowship, Personnel, Properties, etc.) will begin meeting quarterly with myself so that we can have clarity, synergy and increased fruitfulness moving forward.
We are currently working diligently on an Annual Calendar that will list the dates and times of each scheduled meeting throughout the year and will distribute that 2025 calendar by the close of November.
- Monthly corporate prayer service
In addition to the monthly and ongoing ministry of prayer through the offered through our WMU ladies and the prayer chain that we have in place, beginning in January, we will reserve one Sunday evening each month for the intentional purpose of prayer and worship. In my view, this will be the most important as corporately seeking the Lords through prayer is of paramount importance in regard to effectiveness and fruitfulness in the future.
- Intensified Evangelistic Fervor
This year, we’re going to become more intentional and strategic in our evangelistic efforts. We will be hosting periodic personal evangelism training opportunities for anyone in our church to attend. But be aware that training alone does not bring about the conversion of souls. Our training will be put to work through scheduled church-wide Gospel sharing opportunities and times of public Gospel proclamation. These teams will be called share teams.
- Strategic Encouragement
We realize that while we’re all called to share the love of Christ, that can be done in a variety of ways. This year, we are launching a monthly card and letter writing ministry that will use a provided list of names and addresses to write notes of hope and encouragement to individuals in our church family and outside of it who would be blessed by it. We’re calling this team our “Care Team”.
- Increased Ministry Toward Widows & The Fatherless
Primarily through our Deacon ministry team, this year we will be placing special emphasis on reaching and ministering to this vulnerable group of individuals, sharing the love of Christ and His church in tangible ways.
I could go on and on, but we’ll save the details for Vision Sunday on November 10th. I pray that you’ll mark that day on your calendar and make every effort to be in attendance.
My office door is always open. I'd love to sit down and chat with anyone who'd like to do so over how we can best implement these concepts and drill down on what they could mean for the future of our church family and our collective effectiveness in reaching people with the Gospel.
Before I wrap this up, I do want to mention that after interviewing and counseling with the men who had an adequate number of nominations and were qualified for the office in accordance with the Scriptures and our Church Constitution, I am pleased to say that there were three men who have agree to come on as Deacons. These candidates will be presented for congregational affirmation Deacon on Sunday. On a related note: It has been a few years since we’ve had the necessary number of eligible, qualified, and willing men be elected to this office, so join me in praising God for His provision!
Our Nominating Team is also beginning their work in appointing faithful, engaged, supporting members of the church body to leadership roles before you have the opportunity to offer congregational approval through your vote. Please be in prayer for this team.
I also want to encourage and exhort you to pray diligently concerning personal stewardship.
As you are well aware, national inflation has certainly had an effect on individual homes but what many may not think about is that it effects churches, as well. Not only do churches see a decrease in giving in difficult times like these, but the cost of everything from the ministry that we offer to paper products, to cleaning supplies or food has increased as well. This puts a burden and strain upon the budget!
We all believe that the Lord provides, and we know that He often provides through His people. If you are able, and feel so led, please consider blessing the church body through an increase in your offering whether weekly or as a one-time gift. Every little bit helps. Remember that "little is much when God is in it"!
I look forward to seeing you Wednesday!
In Christ Alone,
Pastor Kyle
As we begin to wind down 2024 and start looking toward the new year, I thought it would be both wise and fitting to share a few thoughts with you concerning what I believe the Lord has been showing me through prayer and the scriptures in regard to vision and strategy moving forward and a body of believers.
Most of you will remember that as I began my tenure here as Pastor, I shared with you that while I typically lead by putting the pedal to the metal and have a “all gas, no break” approach to ministry, in conversations with trusted mentors and accomplished leaders, I was cautioned to be slow and methodical in assuming the Pastorate where I would be succeeding a long-tenured and faithful brother.
I took that counsel, and I believe that there was great wisdom in doing so!
Though it’s often been difficult (and frustrating) for me to pump the brakes, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time simply listening, learning, and developing a better understanding for the unique rhythms of the church.
That said, strategically, I did think that it was important to implement a few things that would provide some general direction and would prepare the church for the day when it was time to pull back on the throttle.
You’ll remember that we published those concepts and talked about them on a day we set aside called, “Vision Sunday”.
We labeled these C-6 Strategy and have been working, mostly behind the scenes in incorporating them into the DNA of our church.
The six areas of emphasis were consecration, communication, commission, community, coaching, and cooperation.
I have been pleased with the progress we’ve made in each area and though there’s still ongoing work necessary with each area of emphasis, these pillars will continue to serve us well.
Briefly, allow me to summarize a few specifics things that have quietly strengthened each area:
Consecration – We have worked hard to foster an environment that conducive for the corporate pursuit of holiness. For example, regarding our worship service, our Ministerial Staff meets weekly to plan our Lord’s Day service so that the order, structure, and content of our liturgy may accomplish the goal of fostering consecration among our people.
Among many things that I could mention, we’ve accomplished this through the usage of theologically sound music that works to support the theme of the message that is being preached and undergirds the Word of God, a focus upon scripture reading and Responsive Readings from Scripture that emphasizes God’s Word as the focal point of our gathering, the weekly use of the Doxology and a Benediction from the scriptures to bring our corporate time of worship to its completion.
Communication – We have diversified our communication streams which now include a new, modernized and continuously updated website (which includes a calendar of events), a free App that has officially exceeded 300 downloads and nearly 40,000 views, a stronger social media presence on a variety of platforms, a “This Week @ North Anderson” email blast that includes everything that is going on, a printed monthly newsletter called, “The Lighthouse”, and aside from all of that, verbal announcements that are shared in both Bible Fellowship Classes and in our worship services.
To put it bluntly, with the multitude of ways that we communicate each week, it is quite literally impossible for anyone to honestly say, “I didn’t know about that” because we’ve worked diligently to better communicate all that is going on.
Commission- We’ve been very blessed over the past couple of years to send short-term missionaries from our church family to Cuba, New Orleans, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, on mission for Christ.
Community- In a desire to expand the opportunity for people to engage in Biblical community/fellowship, we have added an additional Adult Bible Study service time on Wednesday mornings at 10:30am that has been very well received and attended. This service is identical to the study that we offer on Wednesday evenings.
We’ve also been blessed to have added a College/Young Adult Bible Fellowship class on Sunday morning at 9:30am and a bi-weekly cohort that meets at the home of church members.
These opportunities for fellowship and growth have been in addition to the wonderful Bible Fellowship Classes that we already have in place (I would love to add another class that is geared toward senior adult men in 2025. Would you join me in praying that the Lord would raise up a man to lead that?)
Coaching - Aside from one-on-one discipleship relationships that have been forged, there were also several members of our church family (Youth through senior adults) that took advantage of the corporate Experiencing God Study earlier this year. In this study, we’ve gleaned so much that would serve as instruction for our lives.
Cooperation - In addition to our ongoing Cooperative partnership through the local association, state convention and national convention, we’ve been intentional and strategic in developing a 5-year church planting partnership with Reclamation Church in Pittsburgh (a few of our church members recently toured the new church). Reclamation Church officially launched this past Sunday, and the prayers and financial support of North Anderson helped to make Pastor Brent and the Reclamation teams dream a reality.
As I’ve already written, we’ve can improve upon all of these areas but listed here are many things that we can absolutely celebrate. Praise God for progress!
Now, having said all of that, let me share some really exciting news with you.
While I’m grateful for what I have learned about myself, the Lord, and our church through quietly exercising some tactical patience over the past couple of years…I sincerely believe that it’s time to casts some specific vision, remove the foot from the brake pedal and, for lack of a better term, get after it!
I’ll be sharing, in depth, what this looks like on Sunday, November 10th at 10:30 on our second “Vision Sunday” but for now, in bullet point form, here’s where we’re headed:
- We’ll be creating and maintaining increased engagement and activity of our various ministry teams.
We’re blessed at North Anderson with some great lay leaders and servants but have not adequately taken advantage of their collective wisdom, strengths and abilities. Beginning in January, the various lay led ministries and elected teams (such as our Church Council, Deacon Fellowship, Personnel, Properties, etc.) will begin meeting quarterly with myself so that we can have clarity, synergy and increased fruitfulness moving forward.
We are currently working diligently on an Annual Calendar that will list the dates and times of each scheduled meeting throughout the year and will distribute that 2025 calendar by the close of November.
- Monthly corporate prayer service
In addition to the monthly and ongoing ministry of prayer through the offered through our WMU ladies and the prayer chain that we have in place, beginning in January, we will reserve one Sunday evening each month for the intentional purpose of prayer and worship. In my view, this will be the most important as corporately seeking the Lords through prayer is of paramount importance in regard to effectiveness and fruitfulness in the future.
- Intensified Evangelistic Fervor
This year, we’re going to become more intentional and strategic in our evangelistic efforts. We will be hosting periodic personal evangelism training opportunities for anyone in our church to attend. But be aware that training alone does not bring about the conversion of souls. Our training will be put to work through scheduled church-wide Gospel sharing opportunities and times of public Gospel proclamation. These teams will be called share teams.
- Strategic Encouragement
We realize that while we’re all called to share the love of Christ, that can be done in a variety of ways. This year, we are launching a monthly card and letter writing ministry that will use a provided list of names and addresses to write notes of hope and encouragement to individuals in our church family and outside of it who would be blessed by it. We’re calling this team our “Care Team”.
- Increased Ministry Toward Widows & The Fatherless
Primarily through our Deacon ministry team, this year we will be placing special emphasis on reaching and ministering to this vulnerable group of individuals, sharing the love of Christ and His church in tangible ways.
I could go on and on, but we’ll save the details for Vision Sunday on November 10th. I pray that you’ll mark that day on your calendar and make every effort to be in attendance.
My office door is always open. I'd love to sit down and chat with anyone who'd like to do so over how we can best implement these concepts and drill down on what they could mean for the future of our church family and our collective effectiveness in reaching people with the Gospel.
Before I wrap this up, I do want to mention that after interviewing and counseling with the men who had an adequate number of nominations and were qualified for the office in accordance with the Scriptures and our Church Constitution, I am pleased to say that there were three men who have agree to come on as Deacons. These candidates will be presented for congregational affirmation Deacon on Sunday. On a related note: It has been a few years since we’ve had the necessary number of eligible, qualified, and willing men be elected to this office, so join me in praising God for His provision!
Our Nominating Team is also beginning their work in appointing faithful, engaged, supporting members of the church body to leadership roles before you have the opportunity to offer congregational approval through your vote. Please be in prayer for this team.
I also want to encourage and exhort you to pray diligently concerning personal stewardship.
As you are well aware, national inflation has certainly had an effect on individual homes but what many may not think about is that it effects churches, as well. Not only do churches see a decrease in giving in difficult times like these, but the cost of everything from the ministry that we offer to paper products, to cleaning supplies or food has increased as well. This puts a burden and strain upon the budget!
We all believe that the Lord provides, and we know that He often provides through His people. If you are able, and feel so led, please consider blessing the church body through an increase in your offering whether weekly or as a one-time gift. Every little bit helps. Remember that "little is much when God is in it"!
I look forward to seeing you Wednesday!
In Christ Alone,
Pastor Kyle
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