By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor
We have had an amazing and God-honoring beginning of 2015.  We have been called, trained, equipped and commissioned by the Holy Spirit to be a place where we become “towel-bearing” disciples.   The call is clear and we have had many people say yes.
The question I encourage for all of us to ask is simple:  “Am I plugged in?”  Christianity is not a spectator sport, but a faith of action.  We are saved by grace but we are not simply called to sit around and do nothing.  There are many people in our corner of the world who do not have a faith saving relationship with Jesus.  Our work is clear: we are called to serve others, love them into a relationship with God.
It is too easy to seek a place of comfort instead of a place where God could use us.  If you are still on the sidelines, I ask you to pray and listen.  Is the Holy Spirit nudging you to let go and get more involved?  Someone once said that if you’re not serving, you’re not really living.  Now is the time to risk rolling up your sleeves and getting involved.  Your presence in this placed is cherished.  We want you to grow and we know how that happens.  Put your faith in action.  Why not start today?

By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor
If you weren’t in church last Sunday, you missed an amazing experience. Our bishop, Andy Doyle was present for confirmation, reception and commissioning of ministries. Sounds pretty typical for the annual bishop visitation. You might think so, but it wasn’t anything but typical!
January has been a month where we are building on the vision that I announced at our Annual Meeting in December. I told those who gathered that this is the year that calling us to be “towel-bearing disciples” both to those who make COTHA their church family but also to Katy and the surrounding area and to all those places in the world that we are called to be evangelists.
In January, we built on this by having a Ministry Coordinator training, our inaugural Ministry-Palooza and all church ministry training. I could tell that momentum was growing. I was thrilled to see the number of people who stepped forward to lead and to serve. What I didn’t realize was that God was soon to move among us in such profound ways that I did not expect.
Last Sunday, the Bishop asked if we, as a congregation, were ready to take our lives a step deeper. He challenged all of us to come forward and for him to personally lay hands on each individual asking the Holy Spirit to equip us for ministry. I didn’t expect more than a few people to come forward and I am sure he didn’t either. But what happened was nothing short of a miracle.
I saw one person stand up and then another. Then I noticed that the entire congregation began to move forward. There wasn’t room for everyone! The Bishop had to maneuver through the mass of humanity and I noticed and felt that I was not the only one feeling the Holy Spirit. God moved mightily among us!
As I reflect on this event and I know what was happening. God was confirming the vision and calling us to indeed be towel-bearing disciples. What an incredible morning. So what do we do from here, we continue to say yes and take up our towel and serve. Let’s do that, not only when the assembly gathers but in our every day existence: at home, work and school.
What happens when a church has an altar call and everyone comes forward? Blessings upon blessings and a call to respond to God’s call to be the kind of place that can truly change the world!
See you this weekend! I can’t wait!!