Opening Thoughts 

2019 marks the seventh calendar year of ministry together with me as your pastor.  It doesn’t seem possible that it has been that long!  What an exciting time it has been!  In this year’s Annual Report, I want to reflect on what God has done for us and through us while looking ahead to our continuing mission (mission fulfillment), how we are preparing to better complete that mission (strategic outlook), and how we are positioned financially to fulfill that mission (financial outlook).  The Lord is at work in our midst, and I pray that this report reminds us of His presence here.  

Pastor Justin DuBose 

Senior Pastor, MAC 

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MISSION FULFILLMENT 

Are we fulfilling our calling? 

What is the calling of God on our church?  The simplest answer is that we are to each be continually offering ourselves to God (Romans 6), led by His Spirit and full of His power (Acts 1:8), being active and alert disciple-makers (Matthew 28:19-20).  This is the calling of God on each Christian and every church. 

Every ministry of our church must be grounded in and geared toward disciple-making by Gospel-transformation.  How are you personally fulfilling this calling?  What are you personally doing to make disciples?  Similarly, what are your ministries (the ministries in which you are involved) doing to fulfill this calling?  What is the evidence that your ministries are making disciples?  These are the most important questions we can reflect on before the Lord and one another. 

In last year’s Annual Report, I noted that relationships must be foremost in completing our mission: our relationship with Christ and with one another.  Recognizing that, the Governing Board set aside $15,000 in last year’s budget to hire an administrative assistant to help with the daily operation of the church.  The purpose, as I mentioned last year, was to free up the pastor to “lead from the front” in developing new relationships.  I give glory to God that Katlyn Blackwell was hired last summer and has been doing an extraordinary job in that role.  Some of the fruit from this move is a Wednesday night small group I have been able to lead which involves 10-15 people.   Several people in this group are younger people who are new to the church this year. 

We must never forget that investing in Gospel-centered relationships is the very nature of following Christ and is essential to continual effectiveness in completing our mission.  I want to acknowledge the Lord’s work in this area since my arrival in 2013, and highlight specific changes which have occurred just this past year. 

Jamie Noble is currently serving on the Board as Assistant Treasurer.  Nathan Moore is currently serving on the Board as Treasurer.  Katlyn Blackwell is serving as Administrative Assistant.  Brooks Blackwell has helped transform the Athletic Department at CCA and continues to build relationships with young men there.  Hanna Edwards teaches 5th grade, leads a weekly Bible study, and leads on the worship team.  Matt Edwards serves as our worship leader and does a terrific job, while Matthew Pridgen selflessly serves in the background, donating his own time and resources (notice the beautiful drums, which sound uh-mazing!) to enhance our weekly worship.  These three people (Matthew, Matt, and Hanna) bring life and passion into our worship and fellowship.  Scott Crabtree serves as our Discipleship Pastor, is a full-time student at Toccoa Falls College, and is in the process of ordination with The Alliance.  Jennifer Noble serves as the church Bookkeeper as well as CCA Principal.  She continues to positively influence and transform the culture of both church and school.  Micaela Ward works in the preschool and is using her gifts as the Children’s Ministry Director of the church.  Her creativity and heart are helping children love Christ and His Church.  Axel & Jeanne McPherson are leading the high school youth each week and going above and beyond the call of duty in their service.  Nathan & Allison Moore are leading the middle school youth and, like Axel & Jeanne, are pouring themselves into those kids.  They also are an invaluable asset on the worship team.  Carey Ann Smith is serving diligently in both the church and school, and her hard work and dedication are commendable.  Bobby Phillips has been faithfully leading our weekly prayer meeting for a few years now.  Without his continued willingness and faithfulness, I would not be able to develop these new relationships on Wednesday night.  Sam Hinson faithfully and expertly teaches both in AWANA and Sunday School to lay a Gospel foundation for kids and youth.  Rose McPherson started a Sunday School class which continues to grow, and which cause Gospel conversations to spill over into the Sunday morning service and beyond.  Phil Honeycutt chairs the CCA school board (which continues to bear great fruit) and helps develop new relationships with our Wednesday night small group.  David Kelly has been visiting church families when requested and blessing our church family with his unique gifts and presence.  Vicky Ward & Barbara Morrison have both been doing an excellent job with our monthly mission’s breakfasts and reminding us of our missionaries who serve overseas and need our prayers and support. 

I know there are many others I could add to this list who continue to serve faithfully, both visibly and behind the scenes.  The names I mentioned above, however, each represent either a new role or a new person in our fellowship just in this past year.  This is the fruit of Spirit-driven relationship.  This is the fruit of the Gospel at work.  This is the work of the Holy Spirit among us, and I am so incredibly thankful and humbled by each one of you.  Just as Christ poured Himself out into His disciples and those around Him for the glory of God and the building up of the church, so must we.  While we do many things, we do nothing of eternal value without pouring ourselves into those God has put around us. 

So, God is at work in our midst and His Spirit is driving us to complete His mission for us.  But, how can we do a better job at fulfilling our God-given calling? 

STRATEGIC OUTLOOK 

How can we position ourselves to better fulfill our calling? 

As important as identifying our calling is knowing how to fulfill that calling.  If the first question is the theological question, this is the practical question.  What can we do to better and more ably do what God has called us to?  

I am convinced that Christ in His Providence has placed us at an important crossroads.  We have an established, well-meshed group of Christians who have been here for many years.  This group has lived life together for years and have long assumed ownership of the church and her ministries.  They have labored, sacrificed, and prayed over this local work of Christ for most of their lives.  This core group has provided much stability over the years, and much of what we have and who we are is a direct result of their faithfulness to the calling of God.   

In these last few years, this core group has been joined by a newer and younger group of believers.  Much of this group was mentioned in the previous section, and they are also now laboring, sacrificing, and praying over this local work of Christ and her ministries.  They are an answer to prayer from the older core group that the work of this Church might continue to be effective beyond one or two generations. 

Navigating this God-ordained crossroads of a multigenerational congregation is where many churches sputter and fail.  The temptation for us is to err to one extreme or the other: either we will be a church for the older generation or the younger generation.  However, God’s hand is on us here in that we still have the stability, wisdom and faithfulness of an older generation and the excitement, labor, and future of a younger generation.  It is strategically imperative that we lose neither of these assets in the process.  Christ has brought us together for such a time as this, and we must lean into Him and one another to better complete His mission and fulfill His calling. 

So, what does this look like?  Strategically speaking, 2019 is a needed and, I believe, God-ordained year of transition for Missionary Alliance.  Our younger generation needs to be intentionally and relationally developed into leaders for today and not just tomorrow.  Our leaders of yesterday can continue to lead most effectively today by allowing this younger generation to lead alongside them.  This provides a gradual and seamless transition from one Christ-centered group to another, all the while honoring God and continuing to trust and follow Him. 

This year, I and a group of our current leadership will be investing time and energy into a small group of men and families to prepare them to serve as leaders in the church.  We will meet monthly with the stated purpose of gradually transitioning these men into church leadership while gradually permitting those who have served so faithfully for so long to transition out of leadership knowing that they have solid replacements.  This is not an overnight transition, but one which will take place over a few years.  This allows both generations to serve together for a period of transition with the aim of eventually filling most of the leadership positions with younger men who have been trained for and prepared to lead today and tomorrow. 

What is your role in this?  Firstly, we all need to support these men and their families, encourage them in their pursuit of God’s calling, and find others who you can pour yourself into for the present and future of the church.  If you notice a “gap” in the church, then take the initiative and ask to walk alongside someone in order to fill the gap.  Let us not recognize a need for the church and sit back and wait for someone else to fill it.  The church needs you to be an active worker for the both the present and future of the church and to the glory of God. Without this Gospel-driven intentionality, we will find ourselves sterile and, eventually, dead.  Lifeway recently conducted research on church closures and discovered that 100-200 churches in America close every week.  When you extrapolate that out over a period of one year, that number is 6,000-10,000.  May we not join their ranks! 

Strategically speaking, we must invest in one another with the intended goal of reproducing and, ultimately, replacing ourselves.  This was the goal of Christ with His disciples (John 14), the goal of Paul with his converts (2 Timothy 4:6; Philippians 2:17), and it must be our goal as well.  The fact that younger men and women are here and expressing a desire to lead is both an answer to prayer and a gift from God.  We must not neglect or squander such an incredible blessing. 

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK 

Are we financially committed and healthy? 

We have examined our mission and our strategic positioning to best fulfill it.  What is included in that, and which we cannot ignore given our present circumstances, is the financial aspect of mission fulfillment.  We are blessed to have so much ministry that takes place here almost every day of the week.  We are also blessed to have more facility than anyone else in the county.  Our capacity for ministry is unlimited…our finances, however, are not. 

Our move to the Warrior Trail property placed a heavy burden of debt on a congregation as small as ours.  While joyously and freely giving to the work of ministry is always a responsibility for the Christ-follower, our present debt load causes that need to be much more evident.  While our average attendance has slightly increased over the past five years, our annual budget has actually shrunk.  

Our 2018 budget was $145,000 based upon our 2017 giving figures.  However, our preliminary 2019 budget has shrunk by almost $20,000 due to a significant decrease in giving.  Actual giving decreased by almost $10,000 from 2017 to 2018.  This decrease, of course, cuts into funds available for ministry, effectively crippling certain ministries for the coming year.  Our fixed expenses related to facilities and maintenance are 71% of our preliminary 2019 budget.  This is an astronomical percentage, and a significant increase from last year, again, due to the decrease in giving.  Most concerning is that this leaves no (zero, zilch, nada) money allocated toward ministries of the church.  This means that we have nothing to spend as a church on our children and youth, Sunday School, small groups, outreach, etc. Furthermore, these giving figures only address the giving to the General Fund of our church; perhaps even more concerning is the continual decline in giving to the Great Commission Fund.  Similar to our General Fund giving, our Great Commission Fund giving is down almost $7,000 from 2017.  These indicators should drive us to our knees in prayer and cause us to examine our hearts before God. 

As your pastor, and as a fellow Christian who is committed to seeing the Lord move in a powerful way here, I must challenge each of us to evaluate our financial commitment to our church.  In listening to the voice of God, is your personal commitment to this church and the work of God here in our community evident by what you give back financially to Him?  If we were to assess your priorities based upon your spending, where would Christ and His Church fall? 

As our corporate values communicate, our calling demands your full devotion and complete mobilization to the mission.  This, of course, includes your financial commitment to the work and purposes of your Lord and King.  We could each come up with a litany of reasons why we are “maxed out”, but we each know that we somehow find a way to spend money on what matters most to us. 

In our human nature, it seems that too often we need a crisis in order to live in a manner that we should live regularly.  For example, we don’t tend to change our diet and exercise patterns until a medical crisis necessitates it.  We don’t tend to value the things that really matter until we have a near-death experience.  The same is true of our finances: too often, we don’t tend to put ourselves in situations where we have to trust Jesus to provide until we…have to trust Jesus to provide.  Our current financial circumstance provides an incredible opportunity to trust Jesus to provide.   

 In evaluating your current financial commitment, let 2019 be a year in which you trust Jesus to provide in a greater way than you have before.  I would encourage you to give more and watch Christ provide more.  Our mission not only demands that level of commitment, but it is a personal acknowledgement that God is my Provider and that I can trust Him completely in every way. 

 Closing Thoughts 

2019 is wonderfully fertile soil in which to plant seeds of faith and trust.  Step out in faith and obedience in both your relationships with others and in your financial giving to the work of the Lord.  When you look around and talk to people in the church, you will clearly recognize that God is at work.  Let us not be the ones to hinder that work of the Spirit.  Let us be the examples of faithfully listening to the voice of the Spirit, actively obeying and following where He leads, and serving the Church by pouring ourselves into others so that we can be more effective.  God is sovereign and He controls the future, but He has called you to play an important role in shaping that future here.  May 2019 be a year that we will look back on and see the hand of God in our discipleship of one another, passing the torch from one faithful generation to the next. 


Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Justin DuBose

Memorial Service – Joseph Edward Lawrence
Crumpler Funeral Home
Raeford, NC
5 January 2019


Good morning!  My name is Justin DuBose and my only connection to the family is through Angela over here.  For the past few years, I’ve been privileged to serve as her Chaplain in our Army Reserve unit.  Thank you for allowing me to be here with you today.
Funerals and memorial services force us to think on certain things that we otherwise would perhaps not consider.  The most obvious is our own mortality.  No one likes to think too much about their own life and death, but these moments force us to think about it.  Before we leave here today, we will pause briefly and consider our own lives and what someone might say at our funeral.
However, before I do that, I want to provide an opportunity for some of you to share your own memories of Mr. Lawrence.  As the stranger here, I certainly don’t want to be the only one who speaks given that I did not know Mr. Lawrence at all.  So, at this point, if you have a short memory to share that would highlight some of the personality that made up, I want to invite you to stand up and share with us all.


As your stories and memories make evident, life is truly a precious gift.  It is really a testament to the inherent value that life has that brought us all here today.  Sure – this is a memorial service for Mr. Lawrence, but is a memorial to his life and a celebration of that life that brings families and friends together for occasions such as this.  We understand that life itself is precious, immeasurably valuable, and, above all, worthy of remembering and celebrating together.  It’s life, not death, that brought us here today and, if you’ll indulge me for a few moments longer, I’d like to share with you a truth that radically transformed my own view, understanding, and appreciation of the gift of life.  As you ponder your own life, I would ask you to please consider what I mentioned earlier – the meaningfulness of your life, the purpose for which you live now, and the words which, one day, some person will utter from a podium while you lie eternally still surrounded by your own loved ones.
During my teenage years I came across a poem by a man named C.T. Studd who was a famous British cricketer before he devoted his life to Christ and served as a missionary to China from the 1880’s until his death in the 1930’s.  The course of his life was radically altered when his brother became deathly ill and Studd, at the height of his athletic fame, was forced to address the question, “What is all the fame and flattery worth when a man comes to face eternity?”  In pondering that question, he immediately gave up his athletic fame and flattery for a life on the mission field.  While on the mission field he wrote the poem, “Only One Life.”  This poem radically changed not just my own understanding of life, but even my life itself.  The poem reads like this:
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


What was Studd saying here?  He was highlighting a deep, amazing biblical truth about life: our lives, as short or long as they may be, when surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ can make a difference for all eternity.  Studd understood, and I urge you to understand, the words of Christ from John 11:25-26.  Jesus here was speaking to a woman about what real, true life was, and he uttered these timeless words.  He said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
The Bible speaks frequently about life.  James 4 says very pointedly, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  Our lives, the Bible tells us, are like mists of water that are here for a little while and then vanish.  Psalm 90 even quantifies that word “life” for us.  It reads, “The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; for they quickly pass, and we fly away.  Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  At the ripe age of eighty-eight, Mr. Lawrence had some serious strength!
Even with the few Scriptures we have read already, the Bible is very clear about two things: life is short, but, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we may have eternal life and blessed rejoicing in His presence.
But what about us who remain?  What about those of us here today who carry on in this world until the Lord calls us home?  How may we experience that true life on Earth that Jesus was addressing?  Is it even possible, or is it reserved only for life beyond the grave?  I would suggest to you this afternoon that just as a physical Jesus was speaking to a physical woman about her life, so He would say the same to you: this day, because of the resurrected Lord, you too may experience this true life.  Your life, today, can be an experience of life the way our Creator intended it to be both now and for eternity – a walk that involves loved and being loved, known and being known by an eternal God.
On one of the many occasions when the Pharisees were questioning Jesus, He responded to them in John 5:24 and said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”  Don’t overlook the fact that Jesus uses that verb in the past tense.  You HAVE eternal life; you HAVE crossed over from death to life.  Jesus is telling us something of immeasurable importance here: it has already happened!  True life, REAL life, as the Lord intended it to be is available now and not just after we die.  What amazing truth that the Lord would have you receive this afternoon!  Real life – true life – life as it was intended to be experienced is available for this life, today, and the life to come.  How does this life that Jesus speaks of contrast to life that so many lead apart from him?
As strange as this may sound, I’d like to demonstrate this contrast of true life as compared to just living using an illustration from the famous children’s book, “The Velveteen Rabbit”.  This famous children’s book, published almost 100 years ago now, chronicles the story of a little stuffed rabbit and his desire to become real through the love of his owner.  As I read a section of this book, you can imagine the difference in a life lived without Christ, which is void of any real life, as compared to an authentic, dynamic personal walk with our Lord.


“The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others.  He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces.  He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else.  For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.  “What is REAL?” asked the velveteen rabbit one day, when they were laying side by side near the nursery fender, before nana came to tidy the room.  “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”  “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse.  “It’s a thing that happens to you.  When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”  “Does it hurt?” asked the rabbit.  “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.  “When you are real, you don’t mind being hurt.”  “Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”  “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse.  “You become.  It takes a long time.  That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.  Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.  But these things don’t matter, at all, because once you are real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”


    Is that not a magnificent illustration of the difference in experiencing REAL life and just living?  Real life is something that happens to you, as the Skin Horse told the rabbit, and the Scripture tells us that this “something” is the overwhelming presence of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Real life is not even understood apart from the love of Christ present in our lives.  And, what is most spectacular to me in all of this, is that Jesus tells us that this real, true life is available to us on this side of eternity.  Today, Jesus tells us, if we simply confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and surrender our life to Him, then we can finally, truly, and personally experience real, true life.  And, like the Skin Horse intimated to the velveteen rabbit, once you are real you can never be unreal again, nor would you ever want to.
You see, this is the difference in life with Christ and life without.  A life with Jesus is not just for life beyond our final earthly breath, it is very much for every day of this “mist” that the Lord gives you.  The difference is in being one amongst a crowd of faces and one who truly knows and understands love and can rest in such love.  He speaks to you today, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
I’ll ask that we all take a few moments and meditate on our own lives.  What kind of life are we leading?  What significant purpose is our life serving?  Based on today, what words would we expect uttered at our funeral?  And, ultimately, what is our eternal destiny?  I’m going to ask that we take thirty seconds of quiet meditation and go before the Lord and examine our own hearts and lives in light of this truth.


Let’s take 30 seconds.  I’ll watch the time.


I’d like to close this service by singing a benediction from Numbers 6.  It was a benediction of blessing by the priest over the people.  As you consider what we’ve considered today, I do pray and will pray that your life – today, tomorrow, and for eternity – would be blessed by the presence of Jesus Christ.
“The Lord bless thee and keep thee.  The Lord make His face to shine upon thee.  The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace.  And be gracious unto thee, and be gracious unto thee.  The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace.”


AMEN.