"Suffer the little children to come."--Jesus

 January 16, 2014

I am so excited about what is happening here at All Saints.  Before our parish meeting on Sunday, I wasn't sure about what you all were thinking, and I've wrestled with how to implement the things I sense God is calling me to do as your rector.

What I heard you say is that you want for All Saints to grow. I believe that growth is the expectation of the gospel of Jesus, and that God wants that growth for his Kingdom here in the All Saints family.

Right now, we are not growing with people.  And because we are not growing, I have sensed that there must be some things that we are doing that are blocking that growth.  Like a dammed up river, we have to remove the barriers to that growth that God wants for his Kingdom. 

On Sunday, I heard you say that we need to minister to families with young children.  I agree!  Wholeheartedly, I agree.  In order to do that, we have created programs and staffed the church in ways to facilitate that vision.  In terms of a staff, that means we should have full-time and part-time program ministers, like our family life minister and perhaps a children & youth supplemental intern who have the know-how to create and implement program that engages the faith of children and youth.  I must support those ministries through my role to teach parents.

This means we have to support ministry events like Vacation Bible School, the St. Nicholas Craft Day, and others, that are specifically designed to reach out to families to invite them to All Saints.  By support, I mean, you have to participate in them.

What is keeping us from fulfilling this emphasis on children and families?  The short answer is "funding."  I have not asked for more funding for these ministries for two reasons.  The first reason is that I know many of you, in this parish, tithe.  And I've been hesitant to ask you all for more than your 10%.

But more so, the second reason I've not asked for special funding is because we already have the money.  What I have come to understand and share with your elected leaders and ministry heads is that we have the financial resources; we're just spending them in the wrong place.  We are a church of 113 average attendance.  We have an infrastructure of 30,000 sq. ft., and we staff a sexton to help maintain that infrastructure.

We have a full-time sexton, yet we do not have a full-time children's minister or youth intern.  Let me ask you, if you want to grow a church:  Do you think that families would be drawn to the church because you have a full-time sexton?  Or do you think they would be drawn to a place that creates programs for their children to learn more about Jesus?

That's why I am excited about what you said on Sunday.  You want for there to be children and youth programs.  You stated clearly that you know that is the path we must take in order to bring more people into God's family, here at All Saints.  Pray for me, and for your vestry, as we begin to make our church budget and staff reflect those core values.  Pray for yourself that God will help you embrace the changes that we will make in order to fulfill his plan for All Saints.

God bless you,
Fr. Stephen