Dear St. Timothy family,
James 1: 2-4 “Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Trials test what we believe about God’s goodness, and that testing produces perseverance. Does this world-wide pandemic qualify as a trial? Will God enable us to persevere through this season of testing? Absolutely! God is in control and He is faithful! We are witnessing His daily provision and blessing during these difficult trials.
Day to day ministry. Our ministry staff has been working daily to lead us through these changes in a way that helps us meet the needs of our people and our community. The Board of Directors and other leaders are meeting weekly to oversee the various aspects of our church and school, from health guidelines, to spiritual needs, and to finances. God has been so faithful to provide for St. Timothy. Our finances are steady because of your generosity through online giving and sending of offerings even though we are not able to worship together.
The Generations Campaign. The Generations Campaign is on “pause” for the present time. The entire Generations Leadership Team, the Board of Directors, and the staff met via online video conference and there was complete agreement from all our leaders that while we have a great plan, we need to pause through the summer and meet in September to reevaluate our situation.
This pandemic is a seismic change that has affected our church and the entire world. Many have lost jobs or have been furloughed. Others are very concerned about their jobs and families. Many of our members have been severely affected by the losses and struggles in the oil and related businesses and the overall economy. It is poor timing to ask people for “sacrificial over and above gifts” given the challenges we are facing. We will reevaluate in September to determine our next steps as new information will be available at that time. Proverbs 16: 9 says, “man plans his course, but God determines his steps.”
A look back. God’s timing is not our timing, and this delay is not without precedent. In 2008, St. Timothy delayed the building plans for the new school and adult education building for three years when the economy crashed. We delayed then and trusted God’s timing. The Expand HIS Kingdom Campaign helped us build the new Bright Beginners building and playground and the Adult Education and Music Ministry building in 2012. That entire building program of $3.2 million was paid off completely by 2015. A delay here will not prevent us from reaching generations, but it does affect the timetable.
This pandemic has taught us to be flexible and filled with faith in Jesus! Our staff, Board of Directors, and Board of Elders are continually working on adjustments to this “new reality.” Life will be different and so will the church. However, we are committed to keep following Jesus Higher, Deeper, and Wider.
We are planning on resuming public worship on Pentecost Sunday, May 31. It is the birthday of the church, as the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples with power to take the Gospel to all nations. We believe this will be a “new outpouring of God’s Spirit” as we meet together, but it will look and be different. We are working on very careful and specific guidelines for public worship from the State of Texas. The staff, Board of Directors, and Board of Elders want to be certain that every necessary precaution is in place when people return to campus. We know that the best way we can love our congregation and community in this time is to make sure that we follow the guidelines established as we make every effort to keep people safe. These guidelines and protocols will be sent out by May 21.
We believe that God is leading us through this “season of trial” and helping us to persevere together!
In Christ Jesus, Pastor Steve and Pastor Brad
March 19, 2020
Dear St. Timothy family,
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of love and power and a sound mind.”
We are experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of a world-wide pandemic with the COVID-19 virus. Things are changing rapidly and people are dealing with fear and anxiety yet we are called to Follow Jesus and Make a Difference. That means that even in the unknown, we trust Him fully, knowing that He loves us and will care for our needs. We are moving forward by faith, and not fear, but we need to exercise the “sound mind” that Paul speaks about in his letter to his friend Timothy.
The federal, state, and city governments have all joined together asking us to distance ourselves socially to mitigate the spread of the virus. In order to abide by the guidelines established by our civil leaders, we will continue to have Sunday worship together online only Sunday, March 22 and March 29 at 9:30 a.m. Our Wednesday Lent services will be online as well at 6 p.m. on March 18, March 25, and April 1. At this point, we plan to resume worshipping together as a family at St. Timothy on April 5, Palm Sunday through Holy Week, Resurrection Sunday and beyond.
The leaders of St. Timothy also prayed and decided to re-direct our efforts at this time from our Generations – Share HIS Legacy Campaign and focus on caring for our members and our community in the midst of this crisis. We will not have Commitment Sunday on March 29 or First Fruits Sunday April 12. More information will follow as things progress.
During this time of “social distancing,” we need to do even more to stay connected as a church family and stay grounded in the Word. This is the time for us to be in fervent prayer with and for each other; to be the “hands and feet of Jesus” to each other and our community. We will continue to worship online as a church together and do all we can to call, text and encourage each other as part of the church. Together, we will PRAISE our God who is with us in the midst of the storm.
In Christ,
Steve Henze
Senior Pastor
Revelation 2: 10
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Important Dates of the Campaign:
What can i do?
Mark and Becky Lanier have graciously opened their property to us for use to celebrate God’s faithfulness to St. Timothy. We will have vans and golf carts to transport everyone across the street or you can walk. A delicious BBQ lunch from Rudy’s BBQ will be served. We will have music, bounce houses and games for the kids, a train ride, playground, animals, and more! We are grateful for the Lanier’s kindness and excited about a great day to celebrate our Generations Campaign.