READ all about what happened around our Church during the first Quarter of 2011.
Welcome to the 4th issue of Reaching Out and the 1st in 2011. But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31.
I’ve been asked by Bro Samuel to write this issue’s Editorial with anticipation of what 2011 will bring to all of us. This will be the first quarterly Issue of 2011 and the first issue where we have been blessed by the Lord of having a new Senior Pastor in the person of Pastor Manny De Leon. 2010 ended with our former Senior Pastor Victor Lopez and family leaving us to pastor the WIN church in Silicon Valley. The church body had mixed feelings about their departure but we all knew well that as we dwell in the presence of our Lord and according to Hebrews 13:5, our Lord will not leave us nor forsake us, never! Even if our Pastor left our Ireland church, Our Lord God will not ever leave us – so our lives went on towards 2011.
The church leadership planning last December 2011 about new larger and better plans for the New Year. Not only did we fill up all the months of the calendar with ministry events from camps, joint bible studies to seminars but we also emphasized the continuous equipping and education of the brethren – all leaning towards to goal to fulfil our Lord’s Great Commission.
The pastoral team also stressed the need for the church to be a more prayerful church. We are faced with worsening economic conditions brought about by the IMF Bail-Out; our brethren are facing even bigger challenges in 2011. Prayer will be the core ministry that will bind us all in everything we do and in everything we plan for the future. According to Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
I chose the verse in Isaiah 40:31 as fitting editorial to start of the year as it reminds us all from the leaders to the workers of the church how we need to be encouraged that we are capable to do more extraordinary things as we commit our lives to our Lord. As we continue to develop our new church building, establishing our Men’s Ministry (KinGs) extending our Monaghan Services to twice a month and holding more equipping classes than ever before, we are rising up new leaders and opening new doors of opportunity for us to allow more brethren to heed the call to service. We will also re-launch our new website in the 1st Quarter which will become a larger vessel of the WORD to the vastness of cyberspace. We are truly heading the way in Europe in 2011.
With our New Senior Pastor Manny De Leon and his Family moving to Ireland only in July, our leaders and pastoral staff are faced with even bigger challenges to lead the church. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our leaders have alternately delivered the Sunday Word during the Worship Services while pastors from our WIN Europe churches have been visiting us to deliver the message twice a month. Like young eagles we are given the opportunity by our Father to leave our comfort zones and spread our wings and soar to new heights. We are truly eagles in the ministry! I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone who would like to share your experiences and blessings from the Lord to submit articles and pictures for our Reaching Out Newsletter in 2011. There will be more uplifting and life changing stories to come that will encourage us. Let us continue to pray that our Lord will continue to be with us and that His presence to continually guide us in all our plans.
Bro. Ian Ramirez
Sprint ISSUE of Reaching Out 2011
You can also read previous issues of our Reaching Out Quarterly Newsletter here.