Dear Morningside Church Family,

I’m saddened today by the unexpected passing of my dear brother and fellow pastor, Wayne Gallups. And my grief is all the heavier knowing the impact his passing is having on my dear sister Carol and their family. As she shared with me this morning, they thought—we all thought—there would be more time.

Brother Wayne has been connected to Morningside in one way or another for many years. Until June of 2020, however, most of us knew him as Carol’s husband. Following his retirement as pastor of the church they planted together in Seale, Alabama, and in the throes of the Covid epidemic, Wayne graciously accepted my invitation to come and serve as our Minister to Senior Adults. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know him and Carol as they’ve served in ministry together these past few years. I am immensely grateful for the time we did have.

Wayne regularly shared with me feelings of frustration and guilt at how his condition prevented him from doing more for the church. Each time I would smile at his generosity of spirit and shake my head. I would remind him again that, since he wouldn’t accept a salary from the church, I wouldn’t accept any notions that he was letting me—or any of us—down! “It’s clear to me that God is using you to serve his people,” I would say, “but how you do so is between you and him.”

Wayne served Jesus first, and he did so to the very end. He knew, after all, that the end is really not the end at all. Wayne’s strivings may have ceased, and his sufferings as well, but his worship is just warming up. At his funeral we will likely sing his favorite hymn, “Rock of Ages.” I pray you’re encouraged by words that speak of promises Wayne held dear:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee
Let the water and the blood
From Thy wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure
Save from wrath and make me pure

I will miss my friend and brother, Pastor Wayne, and I will grieve his passing. But I will do so standing firm in the hope that all God’s promises are “Yes and Amen!” in Christ.

Love in Christ,

The finance committee has met monthly and reviewed the finances for the quarter. The church is in a good financial position although contributions has continued to come in below our budgeted needs and our actual expenses. For the second quarter, our contributions were $276,568.36 while our budget was $308,872.96 (-$32,304.60) and our actual expenses was $279,412.40 (-$2,844.04).

Year to date, our contributions are $571,232.80 while our actual expenses are $575,860.76 a difference of ($4,627.96). Our budget YTD is 617,146.96 a difference of ($45,914.16) to contributions.
 
We are blessed to have the adequate cash on hand to cover the shortfall but I encourage everyone to look at your giving and consider increasing your regular contribution or making a special gift to help us get to our budget levels.

You can see the full report in the report section of this church conference report

VBS was a hit! We averaged 120 kids per day with the help of 45 volunteers! Through Missions, the children were able to raise $577 for the Children’s Hunger Fund providing 2,308 meals! To give back to the community, the boys and girls competed against one another through a Food Drive and collected 600 items that were donated to Hillcrest Ministry Resource Center in Columbus.

The Morningside Kids put on an amazing performance of Back to the Cross in May. We ended the school year with water balloons and a popsicle party. Our Family Fun Day was successful in reaching our Morningside Neighborhood. VBS was a hit! We averaged 120 kids per day with the help of 45 volunteers! Through Missions, the children were able to raise $577 for the Children’s Hunger Fund providing 2,308 meals! To give back to the community, the boys and girls competed against one another through a Food Drive and collected 600 items that were donated to Hillcrest Ministry Resource Center in Columbus.

Wednesday Night Breakout Returns August 9, 2023, at 6pm Family Center  

The Personnel Committee held its quarterly meeting on July 13th, 2023.

The committee reviewed job descriptions of Morningside staff in terms of roles and responsibilities, as some have shifted over the past year. We will continue to work on improving workflow and adjust as needed as we grow the expectations of serving those at Morningside and our surrounding community. Pastor Jonathan reported that several staff members are continuing to be coached and mentored to assist in their overall growth and development.
Pastor Jonathan also took the opportunity to share the vision of ministering to the Morningside neighborhood and how it might impact the staff as we begin to serve in these outreach capacities. These ministry areas will require higher expectations as will be needed with the beginning of the tutoring program. We ask that you join with us in keeping the staff in your prayers each day as they continue to serve Morningside and begin to pray about the work you can offer in these ministry areas to serve our community for Christ!

We also recognized Carol Gallups with a service award during this 2nd quarter. Carol reached a milestone anniversary celebrating 15 years of service at Morningside Baptist Church. Carol was honored on a Sunday morning with flowers, a plaque, and a monetary gift for her faithful and dedicated service. Please join with us to extend your heartfelt thanks and good wishes to Carol.

May God bless each one of you,

The Truth Spring 6th Avenue Project involved more than 40 members of MBC on two weekends in June 2023. Two homes were framed during the weekends. Additional volunteers provided the construction team with food and drink. Bob Jordan headed the project.

Cory German came to Columbus from Montenegro, and had an information session at Anne German's home on July 6th. Cory and Jessie are one of the two missionary groups supported in part by MBC.

The Bereavement Ministry was honored to provide a meal for the family prior to the memorial service for Carmen and Alan Massey. The meal was provided and served by Diane Padgett and her team on Saturday, July 1st.

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