Central Together: March 26, 2023

Central Family,

One of the real joys during this Easter season has been to see so many of you have a heart to pray for those that don’t know Jesus. We’ve been filling out those prayer cards each week and turning them in, and while I was praying through them this week, I came across an answered prayer. There was a man in our church who’s been praying with and for a lost friend of his for years. Not too long ago, that lost friend has said to him, “Hey, please stop praying for me. I don’t want you to pray for me anymore.” But just this past week, that friend who doesn’t know Jesus reached out to our church member and said, “Hey, can you please start praying for me again?” I don’t know what sparked that in him, and I don’t know what the Lord might be doing in his midst, but it just reminds us that God is always on the move. We want to keep praying towards that end during this Easter season.

As we look ahead towards Easter, there are a few things I want you to be aware of. To begin with, this coming Sunday is going to be our Missions Fair. Both before and after the worship service, we’re going to have some opportunities in the foyer for people to come and get connected to some of our amazing missions and outreach outlets in the church. You can learn more about our upcoming mission trip to Ireland or some of our amazing local ministries, some of the ways you can partner with us nationally and internationally. We want everybody in the church to find their place they fit into advancing the kingdom here and around the world.

Then, looking ahead, we’ve got our Gather Together event for our ladies coming up on March 28 and we’re hoping you make plans to join for a great night of fellowship and fun and encouragement as you grow in your relationship with one another and with Jesus. Looking ahead to Easter itself, of course we’ve got Easter Sunday on April 9 at our normal worship time at 9:30. But, as I mentioned this past Sunday, we’re going to do something new--a Good Friday service on April 7. It’s going to be a family-friendly service at 6:00 p.m. It will feel from a family-friendly standpoint a bit like Christmas Eve where we’re all gathered together as one. That way, we can focus our hearts on what Jesus has done for us on the cross, and we can ready ourselves for that celebration Sunday on Easter. There’s so many amazing things going on. I want to keep challenging you to give generously as we try to fill out our missions budget during this Easter season, as well.

We’ll see you this Sunday.

In Christ,
Phillip