by bringing people into a love relationship with Jesus Christ
through worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service.
The Annual Pastoral Report
Pastor Matt Mitchell
Year in Review: 2013
Dear Church Family,
Happy New Year! Each year, I understand more fully what a high privilege it is to be your pastor. This year, it really came home to me during a half-day prayer retreat I took in September. This is what I wrote on my blog after the experience:
Today, I headed off into the woods of Black Moshannon State Park with a pile of prayer cards and a determination to bear the burdens of the flock under my care, the families of Lanse Free Church, to the one who bears our burdens (Ps 68:19).Some of those prayers have been answered already. Some we’re still awaiting the answers. What a privilege it is for me to be your shepherd! Thank you.
I saw the sun (and the moon!), beautiful Fall colored trees, sparkling water on the lake, a loon, leaves all over the path, and white tailed deer running in the distance.
I breathed in delicious fresh air and breathed out desperate prayers. So many of our folks asked me to pray about difficult situations: trials, health trouble, difficult job situations, and especially un-saved family members. I asked the Lord so many times to "Please, capture the heart of ...."
My prayer hike was good for me, too. I started with praise and adoration and then moved into personal confession–one of my biggest prayers was for help in not being lax about prayer, a pastor needs to pray for his people. I want to become an Epaphras, whose people know that he "is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured" (Colossians 4:12).
It came to me today what a privilege it is to be able to pray–that God listens to the request of His people. And what a joyful privilege it is to be set aside for the Word of God and prayer! So thankful that I don't have to carry our little flock's burdens on my own, but am able to cast them on the Lord because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Looking forward to seeing how God answers some of today's prayers.
Last year, I said that 2013 would be year of expansion, and it turned out to be:
• As a church, we expanded our missionary force by taking on three new missionary units (two of which expanded their families and had babies this year!).
• We expanded our district involvement by hosting the Allegheny District Conference in April. I’m as proud as a pastor is allowed to be because of how our church family rallied together to put on such an awesome event!
• We expanded our outreach by not only putting on the Good News Cruise again, but also offering a follow-up Gospel Hour concert. That wasn’t the only concert we hosted, either. We also had the Moody Bible Institute Chorale, the Gray Havens, and an Oaxaca Missions Team music night!
• We remodeled the conference room into a family/handicap restroom for expanded accessability.
• We expanded the arsenal of scripture in our hearts through the "Hide the Word" initiative on Sunday mornings. Can you still say Ephesians 3: 20-21, 1 John 4: 7-8, Proverbs 12:18, Isaiah 40:30-31, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 27-1, John 1:14 from heart?
• Each of our many ministries prayed about how the Lord might expand their effectiveness in worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service. Read their accounts elsewhere in this report to see what God did!
• We expanded our attendance. The average participation on Sundays was 149 people (up about 3% from 2012) with Resurrection Sunday (258) and Christmas Eve (212) being our best-attended services.
• We also expanded our membership. Todd & Heather Dobo, Schenley Pilgram, Tyler & Kendra Piotrowski, and Ildiko Schall were added to membership.
• One of the biggest surprises was the birth of another home-grown missions trip for our church family. We had not planned one so soon after our Serbia trip in 2012, but God began putting things together in 2013 for a trip that is now just around the corner. At this writing, the Oaxaca Mission Team (11 men, women, and teens from LEFC) is fully funded (almost completely from giving within our generous church!) and is preparing to go. That’s expansion!
Pastoral Ministry
I envision my pastoral role in three main areas: preaching, equipping, and shepherding.
Preach the Word
What a privilege it is to preach God’s word! In 2013, we finished our series on the book of 1 John called “Essential Christianity.” We also talked about talking in a sermon series on “The Tongue of the Wise.” And I began our current series on 1 Samuel, “A Heart for the Heart of God.” I also got to speak about Resisting Gossip in several places, talk to the West Branch Bible Club a few times, preach in churches in Western Canada on vacation, and open the Word at the Windy Hill Nursing Home in February.
When I was out of the pulpit, we had terrific guest-preachers: Henoc Lucien, Roger Piger, Tim McGill, Jeff Powell, Jim Panaggio, and our own Cody Crumrine (first time ever!).
Equip the Saints
We have so many great people working “behind the scenes” at LEFC to do the work of the ministry. I love getting to be a “coach” to equip them for effective service (Eph 4:11). It’s not glamorous to go to committee meetings, but it’s one of my joys.
I continued to be heavily involved in the EFCA both in our particular district (heading the Constitutions and Credentials Board, leading a regional pastors group for Central PA), and nationally (as book review coordinator for EFCA Today). I was able to write an article for EFCA Today entitled “Social Media Shepherd?” which laid out my philosophy of using technology such as Facebook to pastor people. I also got to teach on Resisting Gossip at EFCA One, our national leadership conference (which Heather and I attended with Roper and Lita Houston–their first!).
Shepherd the Flock
Thank you for allowing me into your lives. I love the privilege of visiting, counseling, discipling, and praying for you and your families. Being a people-shepherd is my favorite of this job!
It was a joy to baptize four of you this year: Esther & Joshua Guerra and Jonathon Guerra on Resurrection Sunday and Velma Francisko on Mother’s Day! Conversely, it was a sad privilege to lead five funerals in 2014: Ed “Buggar” Orwick, Tom Plisco, Rosemary Kovach, Anna Neidrick, and Darla Coble.
Personal Highlights and Thanks
My book came out this year! Thank you to all who prayed me through the very long publishing process and then celebrated with us in this milestone. Thanks for throwing a Resisting Gossip release party (complete with Texas Sheet Cake!) and hosting CLC publisher Dave Almack and his wife Deb for a nice visit.
I’m enjoying being a published author, but I enjoy simply being your pastor even more. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving Heather and our kids. Thanks for releasing us for a whole month this year for another fantastic Canadian vacation. Thank you for paying me so generously and for praying for us so faithfully.
I’m thankful for a hard-working staff and a strong elder board. This was, after several decades of service, Blair Murray’s last year as an official board elder. I can’t say how thankful I am for his faithful service over those many years. Thanks, Blair!
This year, I completed my fifteenth full year as your pastor. I am praying for a least fifteen more.
Vision for 2014
I believe that the key word for 2014 is “stretching.”
∙ I see the Lord stretching our Oaxaca Mission Team as most of them head out into uncharted territory.
∙ I see the 2014 Challenge Conference as being a call for our teens to be stretched in new ways.
∙ We have a number of newly elected leaders, including 2 new elders. I’ll bet they are stretched as they learn the ropes and the rest of us are stretched to embrace new ideas and perspectives that they will bring.
∙ We look forward to finishing the “Great Clean Out” and reorganization that began with the remodeling project we did last year. Hopefully, that will stretch our abilities to minister effectively to more and more people.
∙ I have a feeling that we are going to be stretched in new directions as the Holy Spirit answers the prayer with which we started 2014:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
In His Grip,
Pastor Matt
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