I truly appreciated the article "State of congregations: Committed
& challenged" (January, page 32). As a lay minister serving a small
rural congregation in the interim pastor's role, I want to tell you
that the commitment is greater than the challenges. We average only 10
communicants on Sunday (we had 36 on Christmas Eve), but everyone
tithes (or better) and we do God's work by being good stewards, through
friendship evangelism, weekly ecumenical Bible study with other area
churches, and by loving each other in the midst of our trials. Yes, we
could do more in our community, but we love Jesus. And our commitment
lies in preserving the integrity of his gospel. If that places us in
Category 3 (page 34), then we are proud to be there.
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