Dear Morningside Church Family,

On the third day, Christ rose from the dead. In the third year of my tenure as your pastor, we finally celebrated a Resurrection Sunday without Covid!

It may be difficult to recall, but our first Easter together was entirely virtual. We and the rest of the world were locked down out of concern over the virus that would eventually change our world. Last year, we offered separate worship services to allow some who needed special accommodations.

This year, we celebrated our Lord’s resurrection by starting a new message series designed to bring us together and remind us of the bond of love between us. CONNECT: Your Source for Real Love and Power comes right out of 1 John. There John teaches that God’s love isn’t a one-time gift but a gift that keeps on giving.

What a joy, then, to see life and freedom pulsing in our worship gatherings! On the third day, his resurrection offered us hope that no grave would contain us. In the third year, his abiding Presence has brought all of us up out of the grave of Covid fear and isolation!

Finally, consider how many new individuals and families the Lord has brought into the Morningside family of faith. How wonderful to be preparing to celebrate six baptisms this coming Sunday! How exciting to see how many of you have stepped forward to host CONNECT groups!

I can’t wait to see what he does next!

Your Servant in Christ,

The deacons have been busy contacting their assigned families as well as working with the church staff, Bible fellowship leaders, and elders in making a concerted effort to reach out to members that have become less frequent in attendance. Our first-time deacons have already had opportunities to serve in areas of family ministry and have done quite well. Their attitudes and hearts in those situations affirm your choices as a church body with regards to identifying servant leaders.

As we continue to return to the normal or traditional way of doing things, such as taking up the offering or dispensing Communion, please feel free to provide feedback to the deacons and elders with any suggestions or concerns.

The Finance Committee meets monthly to review the church financial reports. We feel we are beginning the year in a good financial position and look forward to a great year in 2022. We are slightly over our budgeted expenses due to some unexpected, unbudgeted items that we had to pay in the first quarter. However, we have adequate cash on hand to cover this shortfall. Attendance and giving continue to increase and I encourage everyone to remain faithful in your giving to the church and to the mission of providing a great facility to worship and learn.

If you have visited the Family Center lately, you may notice a subtle sense of relief and contentment on the faces of the leaders. We feel as if we have finally "arrived" as every group within NextGen ministry is under one roof. The Student and College ministries are enjoying the adjustment to being hosted in a beautiful new space, and parents are appreciating the convenience and safety of having the entire family in one location. 

Although we feel as if we have "arrived," this next quarter of ministry must be a season of both harvest and preparation. We are thrilled, especially in student ministry, with recent numbers of record attendance, but we know that God is calling us to continually expand our expectations as He provides more people for us to reach with the Gospel. 

There are a few ministry opportunities that you do not want to miss in the next couple months! First, be sure to attend StarQuest: A Morningside NextGen Production on Friday, May 6 at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. StarQuest will feature a group of children and students who have prepared a Scripture-filled musical production that is "out of this world!" 

Also, Spark Studios VBS is June 20-24 from 9 am - Noon. Preschool, elementary, and middle school participants can register at morningsidebaptist.com. 

Our first planning meeting for VBS leaders and volunteers is Sunday, May 29 at 4:30 in the Family Center Main Entrance. There is also a mandatory Safe Shepherding (child safety) training session for all NextGen volunteers (Preschool, Elementary, Middle/High School, College, and Security) on Sunday, June 5 at 9 am (during Bible Fellowship) or Wednesday, June 8 at 6 pm.   

The Personnel Committee has met once this quarter and has held several subcommittee meetings for Weekday Preschool Director search interviews. We have also communicated numerous times via email for updates and approvals. Those serving on the Personnel committee this year are Larry Coger, Gary Holmes, Sherri Callaway, Seth Johnson and me. Our Deacon representative is Sam Simmons and our Elder representative is Jim Pass. Those who served on the search subcommittee for Weekday Preschool Director, included Zack Masdon, Gary Holmes, Dennis Walsh, Teddie Ussery and Pastor Jonathan. At the conclusion of this process, we are pleased to announce Christina Baptiste as our new Weekday Preschool Director. Please congratulate Christina on her new position.

We would like to say thank you to Carol Gallups for assuming new responsibilities as our MBC Finance Director. Carol is doing extremely well in her new role and responsibilities. We want to congratulate Carol for her completion of a financial course at Columbus State University continuing education program where she performed very well! Please make sure you let Carol know how much we appreciate her!

We would also like to congratulate Gwen Pigg on her retirement as Director of Weekday Preschool in December! We thank her for her 10 years of service at Morningside. Please extend a thank you to Gwen for her contribution to MBC Preschool when you see her.

We have worked closely with Pastor Jonathan to clarify and finalize all current employee job descriptions along with continued coaching and educational opportunities where applicable. Continue to pray that the Lord will bless our staff and all giftedness each one brings to us and provide us the resources and staff as needed to serve the Lord as we grow!

We look forward to wonderful things ahead!

Past Quarter Highlights:

• Morningside contributed $12,291.46 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. These offerings went to the support of foreign missions.
• Shoes, food, and toiletries were collected and donated to SafeHouse Ministries.
• Thursday, February 24, 2022, was "orange juice and muffins day" for the parents of MBC's Weekday Preschool. Fellowship and outreach were made among our parents of preschoolers.
• Morningside has provided leadership to the Columbus Baptist Association as a team is being formed for construction/renovation at Camp Hawkins in north Georgia. MBC hosted a planning meeting on March 22.

Current mission opportunity explorations:

• The Missions Committee members are actively exploring ways to support and get involved with local missions.
• Truth Spring, Inc. provides housing, an academy, and vocational training for the North Highland neighborhood.
• Wynnton Neighborhood Housing is providing temporary housing for homeless families.
• SafeHouse Ministries, located in the Rose Hill neighborhood, helps transition men and women from homelessness, addiction, and incarceration.
• The Morningside Prayer Ministry is meets on Sunday mornings (10:10) Wednesday evenings (6:00) in the sanctuary prayer room.

Next quarter opportunities:

• The Annie Armstrong Offering is collected at Easter. These offerings support North American missions. To date, MBC has donated $1931.00.
• Camp Hawkins Renovation Mission will occur May 9-13, 2022.
• VBS will be June 20-24, 2022.
• The Global Missions Committee will have a "kiosk" display area in the Gathering Room where mission opportunities will be highlighted. One of our goals is to help our congregation find opportunities where their talents can be used for God's kingdom. We have many members who want to serve ... we want to help you get connected.

Members of the Volunteer Maintenance Team: Mike Allmond, Mike Babb, Chris Deal, Dan Snow, Mike Jones, Ed Karnotski, Dewey McCabe, Shay Ingle, Bob Jordan

Projects completed in January – February – March 2022 (220 total man hours)

• Repair walls from water damage in Fellowship Center foyer
• Install umbrella on playground
• Remove wallpaper and paint green area
• Hang window shades
• Mount men/women bathroom signage in NextGen space
• Build video filming set
• Remove video set and place in storage
• Assemble tables with new metal legs
• Apply film to windows in Family Center
• Mount game boards in NextGen space
• Mount three large white boards in NextGen space
• Mount rack for pool table accessories in NextGen space
• Apply yellow safety paint to parking pad stops in front parking lot
• Replace safety belts in children’s red carts

Our Morningside bereavement teams provided meals to families of two of our beloved members that passed away this quarter. Jim Howard’s family was served a meal prepared by Rhonda Kees and her team on February 10th. On February 24th, Mary Stewart and her team prepared and served a meal to the family of Rosetta Conley. Please continue to pray for the families.

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