Dear Morningside Church Family,
This week, we’ll reach the halfway point in our Planting Season vision series and the second week in our 30 Days of Prayer. My prayers for you and your family have included a request that you hear the Lord speaking to your hearts. As I shared last Sunday, Scripture teaches that the Spirit is speaking to us, if we have ears to hear. I thought I’d use my letter this quarter to share how Jesus has been speaking to me.

One of the things the Lord continually reminds me in my prayer times is the need to properly balance the two priorities of ministry: PEOPLE and PURPOSE. Caring for God’s PEOPLE is a part of Christ’s call on my life. Three times Jesus repeats his desire for Peter to love him by caring well for his people (John 21:15-17). When Jesus speaks to me, he often reminds me that his words to Peter are for me too. He wants me, and every pastor, to care for his people in his place, with his heart, through his Spirit.

Jesus then reminds me of the second priority of ministry. He has called me to fulfill his PURPOSE for my life. Again, the Scriptures are helpful here. Jesus goes on to say to Peter,

“Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21:18-19)

We’re all called to follow Jesus, but Christ’s call on Peter’s life is fundamentally the same as his call to every pastor. I’m to let Jesus lead me the same way he led Peter, which is to say, the same way the Father led Jesus: to the cross. As Jesus surrendered his will to the Father, Jesus was calling Peter to surrender his will. Only then would Peter’s will become an extension of Christ’s. His PURPOSE would no longer be his to decide, but Christ’s. In the same way, Jesus has called me to surrender my will to his, a PURPOSE to which I must daily commit.

The question of how to balance PEOPLE and PURPOSE may seem complicated at first. How do I balance loving PEOPLE and fulfilling my PURPOSE? How do I properly care for others and follow Jesus at the same time? You may wonder the same as you consider how God is speaking to you. I offer to you what Christ has shown me as I’ve pondered and prayed over this question.

This Sunday I will preach from Matthew 9:13, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Jesus tells the people around him to “go and learn” the meaning of this quotation from Hosea 6:6. In many ways, this passage answers the question of how I am to balance the priorities of PEOPLE and PURPOSE. Jesus is telling me—well, all of us really—people are your purpose. God doesn’t want me to bring him my offerings if I’m not first offering mercy to others. No purpose, no vision, no agenda—no matter how lofty, godly, or significant it may seem—should ever come before my commitment to caring well for people.

Through this Planting Season, I am taking the opportunity to renew my commitment to caring well for all of you. YOU are my PURPOSE. This is how I follow Jesus.

With love in Christ,

The Finance Committee has met monthly and reviewed the finances for the third quarter of 2023. The church contributions have continued to come in below our budgeted needs and our actual expenses. This downward trend is cause for concern and needs to be considered as we move into the preparation for 2024.

For the third quarter, our contributions were $263,903.70 while our budget was $308,575.02 (-$44,671.32) and our actual expenses were $314,448.10 (-$50,544.40). Year to date, our contributions are $835,136.50 while our actual expenses are $890,308.56 for a difference of $55,172.06. Our budget YTD is $905,276.58, a difference of $70,140.08 to contributions.

Our general operating bank balance continues to decrease as we use funds to cover our shortfall. We began the year with a balance of $232,064.08 in the account and as of September 30th, we are now down to $169,751.79, a decrease of $62,312.24 (26.8%).  While we are blessed to have these funds to draw from, I encourage all to look at your giving and consider increasing your regular contributions or making a special gift to help us get to our budget levels. You can see the full report in this church conference report.

The quarterly meeting of the MBC Personnel committee was held on August 29th, 2023. The Committee reviewed all staff positions and covered and approved staff changes to include Julie Ann Crane moving to a full-time position of 40 hours, and Christina Baptiste moving to 30 hours a week to cover her time for the oversight of the new tutoring program and her existing duties of Weekday preschool Director. Pastor Jonathan presented several new part-time staff hire opportunities to be considered by the personnel committee for the upcoming budget year. The personnel committee has asked for those job descriptions and salary proposals to be prepared and reviewed by the committee. Pastor Jonathan also suggested we look at the 2024 Personnel budget to identify how we provide funds for coaching and investment in leadership development for ALL staff. Pastor then asked for us to continue to remember the Gallups family as Pastor Wayne will be missed at Morningside and to remember our Senior Adult Ministry. We will continue to remember Carol and support these ministries. Lastly, we covered the budget timeline for the personnel committee to review staff items and make decisions to send to the finance committee for approval. Thanks to all the committee members for their time and commitment! Also, bless all our staff as they continue to serve Morningside.

The Global Missions Committee supported, with donations and help, the following ministries during the last quarter:

Morningside Preschool (parents’ breakfast), Brown Bag of Columbus, Tura'an Baptist Church in Israel, International Friendship Ministries, and Healing Hour Ministries. A short video was developed to share what Healing Hour Ministries is doing locally and in Nigeria. The Committee shared at the Reach & Go forum in September. The Committee is in the process of sending a goal of 400 shoeboxes to children across the world through Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan's Purse), and we are looking forward to promoting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering soon.

The Bereavement Ministry was honored to provide meals this past quarter to the families of Wayne Gallups, our beloved Pastor for Senior Adults, and Sandra Lowe, a dear and faithful servant. We hope and pray that these meals offered a small measure of comfort and respite for the families during their time of grief.

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