For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:12-13, emphasis added).

 

What a journey we have all been on over the past year. If you would have told me at the turn of the year, that before July my family and I would have moved from Michigan to Ohio, I would not have been able to comprehend it. But the Lord in His goodness graciously opened the door for us to be here at Parma Heights Baptist Church, and I can’t begin to express to you how excited we are to be a part of this church body. And that is exactly who we are. We are the body of Christ. While we are made up of many different members, we are one.

 

If you haven’t figured it out by now, you will soon: I love the church. Make no mistake about it; the church is not a perfect place. That’s true because none of us are perfect. We all have our share of faults, and we tend to bump into one another from time to time, but we do have a perfect Savior who loves us and never gives up on us. And Jesus thinks His church is pretty important. He even calls us His bride. He has a home waiting for us one day in heaven, but right now, He wants us to be about the business of building His church.

 

I am convinced from Scripture that healthy churches are growing churches. The more we surrender ourselves to His rule and His power, the more effective we will be in our world. One of the things that you simply cannot get past from Jesus’ plan for His church is that He expects us to build His church together. There are no superstars in the church other than Jesus. We all have a role to play and we need each other.

 

As we look towards the future of PHBC, we have every reason to dream big dreams together. There is no reason the best days cannot still yet be ahead of us. But this will only happen as we surrender to the Master Architect’s plan for His church. And while there are many aspects of church health that we must consider, be assured of this, a health church can only be healthy when we have a fundamental understanding that “we do it better when we do it together.”

 

And I for one can’t wait to get started joining together with our church family in fulfilling the Lord’s will for PHBC.

 

Better Together,

Pastor Shane