3 Year Anniversary Letter to CBCW

Below is the letter I wrote to my church for our 3 year anniversary celebration. You can read my previous year's letters here and here.

Dear Christ Baptist Church,

It is a delightful honor to write this letter to you on the occasion of our third anniversary as a church. The purpose of this letter is reflect on the kindness of God to us over the past year and to anticipate what we want to see God do in and through us over the next year. This letter is an attempt to express my deep gratefulness to God for the ways He has blessed this church that I love so dearly. I feel like the most blessed pastor in the world. My gratefulness for Christ Baptist Church is stronger than it has ever been. Let me mention a few things I’m especially grateful for.

First, I am thankful for Christ Baptist’s unchanging core values. A lot can change in three years. And, a lot has changed in all of our lives. However, our focus, our commitment, our values, our center has not changed. And, by the grace of God, will never change. Church, let us never take for granted that we are part of a church that is seeking to be God-focused. Our souls would shrivel up and die if all we did was talk about and sing about ourselves. Our souls were made for supreme beauty. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in the powerful God of creation.

And, let us never tire of hearing Bible-saturated preaching. The opinions of man come and go. The jokes and stories leave us craving for solid food. But, the Word of God is the lasting, unchanging, rock-solid foundation of all joy in this life and in the next. May we ever demand that God’s Word be proclaimed unceasingly at this church. Apart from the true preaching of the Word, the church ceases to exist.

And, let us grow in gratefulness for a church that desires to be gospel-centered. Nothing grieves my heart as deeply as the fact that churches today are loosing their grip on the gospel of Jesus Christ. The most serious issue facing most churches today is the removal of the gospel from the place of first importance. I am grateful that, by the grace of God, Christ Baptist understands the centrality of the person and work of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that our songs are Christ-centered, our sermons are Christ-centered, our relationships are Christ-centered, and our mission is Christ-centered. May Jesus Christ always be preeminent in the life and ministry of Christ Baptist Church. I could go on and on expressing my gratefulness for the core values of this church. May we never forget what a privilege it is to be a part of a church seeking to glorify the Savior.

But, let me express my gratefulness for a second thing. I am grateful for the way this church has sought to reach out to our community and beyond this year. It has been a joy to see so many of you stepping out of your comfort zone to serve others. The Whirligig Festival, our Spring Festival, the Soccer Camp, yesterday’s car wash, and countless one-on-one conversations have been refreshing for me to see. We all recognize that we have seen very little fruit from our hard labors these past few years. However, we know that our labor for the Lord is not in vain. We can plant and water the seeds, but only God causes the growth. Let’s be patient and faithful, trusting that in God’s time and God’s way, the harvest will come. I am also grateful for the way this church responded to the opportunity to send out Lisa to extend the mission of Christ Baptist half way across the globe. May we ever be committed to the fame of His name among all peoples.

Thirdly, I want to express my gratefulness to the leaders of this church. Particularly, I want to thank Tim and Jonathan for another year of care and love for Christ Baptist Church. I continue to be amazed by their godliness, wisdom, and deep love for the Savior. Church, Tim and Jonathan are among the clearest expressions of God’s kindness to us. They are good gifts from His hand. I also want to thank Chris for his leadership over our music. It has been thrilling to watch Chris grow and thrive these last few years. I am regularly amazed at how well he chooses songs for our gatherings. Chris has a unique ability to use songs to drive the message of the Scripture into the deepest parts of our affections. I also want to thank our Bible Study teachers and Children’s workers. Please forgive me for not thanking you enough for your consistent and faithful example and care for those entrusted to you. Thank you for serving this church with your gifts and time. May God bless your labors.

Finally, I want to express my gratefulness for all the members and friends of Christ Baptist Church. Your desire to hear God’s Word, your consistent attendance, and your constant encouragement make me a very happy pastor. It is a joy to preach God’s Word to a church that longs to learn, grow, and apply it to their lives. God is building this church through the preaching of the Word. God has blessed us this year with some rich portions of Scripture. I’m grateful for the end of our Gospel of John series, where we were able to walk with Christ as He bid farewell to His disciples, prayed the High Priestly prayer, was betrayed, arrested, mocked, hung on the Cross, and rose triumphantly from the grave. I’m grateful for our series in the book of Daniel, where we were challenged to live for the sovereign God who is able to rescue His people. And, I’m grateful for all that we have seen in James 1. May God make us a church that responds to suffering with joy and that responds to the Word with obedience.

I am eagerly anticipating what God has in store for us this next year. I’m looking forward to growing in our relationships with one another. I’m looking forward to fighting the fight of faith with you. I’m looking forward to falling more in love with the Savior as a church. I’m looking forward to treasuring Christ together for another year.

As we enter our fourth year as a church, let’s pray for God to do great things in us and through us. Let’s pray for God to add to our number those who are being saved. Let’s pray that God will grant us a love for one another that will be visible to the world around us. Let’s pray that with one voice we will glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s pray that the Savior will be treasured and that our lives will be conformed to His image.

All good gifts were purchased by Christ and given to us by our heavenly Father. Christ Baptist Church is one of His most precious gifts to us.

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand,
Pastor Justin
Romans 8:32