Dear Morningside Church Family,

I want to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude at your outpouring of care and affection for me and my family. Your prayers, your words and notes of encouragement, and all the terrific food you sent down with me these past three Fridays have meant so much. I’ve always said Morningside cares as well as any church I’ve known. Once again, you’ve shown Christ’s compassionate kindness—and we feel it deeply.

When my parents moved from Virginia to Georgia this past May, they had no idea the next six months would be so difficult for them. But because they were close by, Dad was able to recover in our home for two months following open-heart surgery. Before she passed, Mom was able to be close to two of her siblings after decades of living so far apart. And we all received the blessing of time together right up until the Lord took her home.

In January, I began preaching to you from Scripture about how God in Christ is making all things new. From the moment of my mom’s diagnosis, you’ve been preaching right back at me with your acts of love. This is exactly how church is supposed to work. God speaks, and we answer. It’s how we keep faith with him. As we do, we become the sign of his redemptive work—the evidence that he really is making all things new.

Christ’s words, “I am making all things new,” are meant to awaken hope in us. He spoke them 2,000 years ago as a promise. Though we may not see him or understand his ways, he’s always working. What we see now is not the end of the story. And he’s reserved the granddaddy of all fireworks displays for his final act of redemption. Though I’ve said my goodbyes to Mom, I know I will see her again. I know this because God is true to his word, and he never forgets a promise.

Thank you all for being a wonderful spiritual family to me and for your care and kindness to my family.

With Love in Christ,

The Deacons completed the interview process for 2023 Elder and Deacon openings. You, as the church body, approved the recommendation of Sam Simmons as Elder beginning in 2023. Morningside also approved the recommended slate of deacons, so we thank and welcome these men who begin their terms in 2023:

Mike Allmond, Rick Beatty, Brandon Cryar, Mike Davenport, Chris Deal, Paul Hampton, Bruce Hutchens, Shay Ingle and Scott Wehrenberg.

In our January 14th  kickoff, the deacons elected as officers CJ Repass (Secretary), Sonny Adams (Vice Chair), and Rob Sappington (Chair). Family ministry assignments were also distributed, so you can expect to hear from your deacon in the coming weeks.

Special thanks to Darryl Walsh, Larry Coger, and Sam Simmons as they completed their current term as deacon at the end of 2022. We appreciate your service!

As we end the year 2022, I am pleased to see the results for the 4th Quarter. The emphasis on giving in November and the expense controls that we have put in place over the last six months have had a positive effect on our church financial position. Over the last two months, our giving has surpassed our actual expenses by $25,250. This is a great turnaround and gets us on an upward trend as we move into 2023. With the new church budget for 2023, which is 8% below our 2022 budget, we are in a great position to meet our budget on a monthly basis and to continue to grow our ministry here at Morningside.

Upcoming Events & Activities:
Spring Musical (Date TBD)
Easter & Egg Hunt            
VBS June 26-30, 2023

*The Children’s Ministry is still updating the Outfitters Room and accepting gently used toy donations.

The Personal Committee met several times in the last quarter of the year 2022.  These were working meetings, held to discuss and work through the 2023 personnel budget that was submitted to Finance committee for approval and then ultimately approved by the church in the 2023 budget process.
 
The committee also hired a part time Maintenance Technician, Joe Tassoni. He started in November of 2022.  If you see Joe or Bob Gilson around, please share a word of thanks to them for the improvements being taken care of around the church!  We are glad to have Joe on the Morningside team.
 
We also helped sponsor a staff Christmas dinner at the Pastor’s house in December. All staff and their families were invited to attend and celebrate the Christmas season. Each employee received a gift from Morningside in appreciation for their service to the church.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank a few of the personnel committee members that will be rolling off the committee this year.  Gary Holms, served a 3-year term and Larry Coger, served for a year and a-half filling an unexpired term left vacant by a member taking on other responsibilities.  We sincerely thank both of them for their service given to the personnel committee and ask each of you to express thanks to them for giving of their time and talents to serve you at MBC.  We will welcome 2 new members this year, Jenny Hale and Mike Babb who will each be serving a 3-year term.

We ask each of you to continue to pray for all of our staff, church leaders, members, and those yet to be reached as we continue to reach out to our community as we move into a New Year – 2023!

God Bless each of you,

During the final quarter of 2022, the Global Missions Committee was involved with the Celebration Banquet at the Truth Spring 6th Avenue Project, the Operation Christmas Child box-packing, the Lottie Moon Post Office in the Gathering Room, and the promotion of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We are looking forward to helping the construction team for the 6th Avenue project, and to supporting local and other mission opportunities as opportunities arise. Disaster Relief Training will be offered on January 20 and 21 by the Columbus Baptist Association. This training is required if anyone volunteers to help with future disaster relief missions. Contact the Columbus Baptist Association if interested.

During the fourth quarter, the team donated 33 hours of service to install coat racks in the Children’s Ministry area and trim trees on the church campus.

The Bereavement Ministry was blessed to provide a meal to the family of Cecil Hanner. The meal was served by Mary Ann James’ team on Monday, November 7 in the MBC fellowship hall after the service, led by Wayne Gallops.

Also, after serving four years, I am rotating off as the Leader of the Bereavement Ministry. I am thankful and blessed that I was able to serve in this position to such a meaningful ministry and work with four dedicated team leaders and their teams. I will continue to lead my faithful team and serve our church family members. I am thankful that Mary Stewart has agreed to become the new Leader for the Bereavement Ministry beginning January 2023. Mary has had a team for many years, and she will be a great leader for the ministry. We look forward to working under her leadership.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 
~2 Corinthians 1:3-4