Last week, September 23^rd to be exact, Mother Nature turned the page from Summer to Fall. For most churches, ours included, that seasonal turn-of-the-page marks the threshold of the busy season. Although our New McKendree family is never not busy, in the months ahead, we’re kicking it into overdrive.  

Later this month, we’ll begin our annual generosity campaign. Mid-month, you’ll receive your 2024 pledge card, and then starting October 21/22, we’ll begin a three-week worship series on Christian generosity. On November 4/5, the last week of the series, we’ll offer our pledge cards as an act of worship during each of the three services. And then, as the annual pattern goes, our church staff and leadership will begin crafting our 2024 ministry budget. 

While all that’s going on, our Sides Construction general contractor and crews will continue their work on our High Street kitchen and begin work on our Fellowship Hall improvements and numerous other renovations made possible by your generous participation in our MOVE capital improvement initiative. Thus far, your generosity has provided $908,000 (91.5%) of the $1,003,000 pledged total! I don’t doubt that we’ll finish strong and, in the Spring of 2024 (hopefully), celebrate the blessing of a two-campus church home equipped to serve our Jackson mission field and beyond for years to come.

And that’s just a sample of what’s on tap inside our church home in the months ahead. Beyond our church walls, we’ll have the opportunity to participate in a JR2 School District’s Coat Drive and, as has become a yuletide tradition, join the JR2 Hope for Christmas celebration.  

God has blessed us with a growing, vibrant, energetic church family, and with that blessing, the responsibility to share our blessings in our community and beyond. Beyond our Jackson home, our New McKendree family serves our responsibility through our ongoing support of our friends in Haiti and, more recently, our US Border Ministry. Inspired by our summer mission trip missionaries, we’ve established a relationship with Border Perspectives and Catholic Charities in the Texas/Mexico border community of Pharr, TX. Although still in the infant stage, our vision is to partner with these two organizations in assisting those legally entering our nation’s southern border and those already living in the area. Much like our Haiti mission in years past, our vision goes beyond mere financial support. Following the lead of our missionaries who traveled there last summer, we aim to send adults and youth to serve our brothers and sisters seeking asylum throughout the year. And not just New McKendree family members, but invite other less resourced churches to participate as well. As I said, God has blessed his New McKendree family. It’s our responsibility to invite others to share in the privilege of participating in God’s kingdom work.