Harvest Time

We are moving into my favorite time of the year. Of course I have all the Holidays, Christmas and my birthday, but these are not, altogether, the reasons I enjoy this season. This is the time when worship attendance starts to grow, I get to see people I have missed, Disciple Bible study and other classes become established and new rhythms emerge around the church. Confirmation classes are just around the corner and I can feel the excitement and slight anxiety of those who will be attending. The choir has returned from their break and I hear the new and existing members make up this ministry. New hymns and anthems make their way into worship. There were weddings and births over the summer and people moved into the neighborhood, bringing new faces to worship each week. The fruits of nine months of prayer, work and dedication are evident all around, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” Luke 10:2.

The laborers at Laurel Heights may be few but you are wonderful. Each year, you ask each committee of the church to prayerfully consider what God may be asking Laurel Heights to do for the Kingdom of God. Each committee is asked to prayerfully consider each call and the resources they believe will be required to fulfill each calling. Those needs are then prayed over, evaluated and complied into budgets and reports to be presented to the entire congregation. Thanks to this amazing congregation, lives in San Antonio continue to be impacted and Laurel Heights continues to lead in making these significant improvements in our community.

Laurel Heights provides the leading ministries in San Antonio for Super Adults and preschool age children and their families. We continue to be one of the premier venues for classical music and house one of the top three organs in the city. Teachers in the Weekday School are teaching the grandchildren of some of the school’s previous students and Super Adults has been copied by churches all over San Antonio. The laborers may be few but they are amazing and faithfully operate in the belief, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible’ ” Mark 10:27.

The 2017 budget and ministry needs was the largest approved in the history of Laurel Heights. Existing ministries like music and afterschool programs are expanding and new ministries have been added. More families continue to find a welcoming and loving church home and groups like the Pathfinders flourish, expanding the need for ministries with children.

You, the remarkable worshipers of Laurel Heights, and your gracious willingness to share, are how God meets the ministry needs of our community. You are the reason, year after year, that ministries are identified, met and surpassed as lives are significantly enriched. Each year, almost 25% of the total resource needs of the ministries of Laurel Heights are gathered in the last six to  eight weeks of the year. Because of this faith and trust, ministries can continue all year creating a deficit as we move into each new season. It is my prayer that as we close the books on 2017 we will again answer the call to meet and surpass that deficit and prepare for the ministries of a new season.

The harvest may be plentiful and the laborers few, but with God’s help, Laurel Heights has the best laborers in the field and I am excited for Laurel Heights to meet God’s call with the same enthusiasm as we have each year.

See you Sunday,
Jim