“PASTOR”…..A MOST HOLY AND SACRED CALL FROM GOD

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors  and  teachers, for the equipping  of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying unity of the  body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to be a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;  that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does it’s share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”  Ephesians 4:11—16 (NKJV)

*PASTOR—(The original meaning of the word was shepherd, and in this sense it is sometimes used in the Bible.  The Eastern shepherd must both protect  and feed his sheep—so there is a derived meaning of spiritual leader, minister, one given charge of a church of Christ, to care for spiritual interests of the people and feed their souls with spiritual food.  This meaning also is found in the Bible) *this notation is taken from Cruden’s Complete Concordance.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1 (NKJV)

This is a tribute to my Pastor Dr. Thomas Batts, his wife Lynda who is our Choir Director, Musical’s Coordinator and our Women’s Ministries leader and Todd their son who is our Worship Leader and also works tirelessly with our growing Youth Group.  Also Included in our Pastoral Staff is our Youth Ministries Pastor, Rev. C.J. Fussell. Brother Fussell has such a burning and compelling desire that each youth accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior at an early age.

I could never begin to list all of the wonderful and individual things that Dr. Batts and his precious wife Lynda, their son Todd and C.J. Fussell have brought to our congregation.  Each one has God given ministries, that work together to make our church a complete WHOLE in Jesus Christ.

I am speaking for each member of Welcome Assembly of God, as I invite you to be in attendance tomorrow, September 21, 2014.  Our Sunday School begins at 9:30 (csdt) and our Morning Worship will begin at 10:30 (csdt).  Immediately after the Morning Worship service, we will share a meal together, so bring your favorite veggies, casseroles, pies, cakes and all things good to eat  The entrée’ will be provided by the Church.

WE LOVE YOU Dr. Batts, Precious (Lynda), Todd and C.J.   We all pray that God will let you continue to be our Pastor’s until Jesus Christ calls us home in the rapture of His Church.

With love and blessings, Gloria

Copyright 2014 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.