Pastor Ritter ~ October
Set Apart to Serve!
The month of October is National Church Worker appreciation month. Traditionally it has been celebrated as National Pastor Appreciation month, but with so many great workers doing tremendous ministry in such a variety of ways, the LCMS is expanding it to include all workers. I think this is a tremendous opportunity for us as a congregation to take time to reflect upon how truly blessed we are!
One of our strategic goals was to be fully staffed. This year we are excited to say we have met this target. We have two pastors, a Director of Christian Outreach, Facility Administrator, 15 full time teachers, a Principal, two-full time administrative assistants, 1-part time receptionist, classroom aides, cooks and a bookkeeper. We are blessed to also have three organists, a choir director and our director of contemporary worship. God be praised!
As blessed as we are here at Immanuel, we remember when we were without many of these positions filled and sadly this is the case for many of our sister congregations throughout the LCMS. There is a huge need for more workers in our churches and schools. The LCMS has begun an initiative called Set Apart to Serve to encourage young people to prayerfully consider entering into full time church work as well as to encourage and affirm those already working in ministry. You can help as well.
To start, please pray as Jesus directed in the Gospel of Matthew where he says in chapter 9 verse 38 “therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Daily we can be praying that God would raise up faithful men and women for the work in His kingdom, that the message of salvation through Jesus Christ may go out to the ends of the earth. We can be speaking with and encouraging young people who we see serving in church to go into the ministry, whether as a pastor, DCE or DCO, teacher, deaconess, musician and the list goes on. There are so many ways to serve within the church as a full time vocation.
For our workers here at Immanuel. You can be praying for them and sending them encouraging words, whether in person, email, or a thoughtful note. During the month of October, we are encouraging all of our members to take time each week praying for and encouraging specific groups of our church workers.
For the Week of:
October 6th– we pray for and encourage those serving in ministry support roles including: secretaries, bookkeeper, cooks, aides, organists, and worship leaders.
October 13th– Please pray for and encourage all of our teachers in our school
October 20th– Please pray for and encourage our Administrative staff such as our Pastors, Family Minister, Principal, and Facility Administrator
October 26th– Celebrate that as a church and a school We Are One in both our mission and our vision and pray that God would continue to bless the ministry of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School.
The harvest is ready, but the workers are few. Let us work together to encourage more to consider a church work career!
Amen.
Pastor Timothy Ritter