"It is worth it!"
When I think back to everything that happened at The Mill Church's Edgar location in 2016, these four words immediately come to my mind: "It is worth it!"
The Mill Church's Edgar location was launched on September 13, 2015, and in the past sixteen months, God has done some pretty remarkable things in this little village:
- 1 person accepted Christ for the first time
- A new Edgar-specific Life Group was launched, bringing the total number of Edgar Life Groups to 2
- 3 babies were dedicated
- 3 graduates were celebrated
- 11 people were baptized
- Over 12 families previously unassociated with The Mill Church started regularly attending at the Edgar location
- RockZone kids' programming was launched for 1st through 5th Grade students
- An average of 20-30 children were served every week during our in-church kids' programming
- A new women's homemade burp rag ministry was created to serve young mothers in our local community
- The Mill Church hosted an ecumenical outdoor worship service in a downtown Edgar park that was advertised to the entire community
- Local citizens were served by our packing & delivery outreach during the Edgar Rummage Sale weekend
- Hundreds of people had a chance to learn about The Mill Church through our participation in the Edgar Fireman's Carnival Parade
- And so much more!
Yes, indeed, it is worth it!
Looking Forward
As our church looks ahead to the rest of 2017, we have some big goals and dreams at both locations. In times like these, it's easy to forget all of God's faithfulness and provision for our church family and, instead, to get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tasks God has called us to, or to feel fatigued by the week-to-week grind of running two mobile church sites simultaneously. However, it is precisely times like these where we learn that our true strength must come not from ourselves, but from God. After all, when we fail, God does not. When we grow weak, God does not. When we are lost, God is not.
Therefore, as the Apostle Paul would put it, "let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). It is worth it! Jesus is worth it!
I eagerly look forward to the next sixteen months of The Mill Church's Edgar location's existence and witnessing with all of you the incredible things God will do in and through our church family. It is worth it!
Humbly Submitted,