From the Pastor…
As we enter the beginning of another church year, it is time for our children’s Sunday School classes to promote those who are moving up to new classes on the first Sunday of September. Our Awana ministry will resume on Sunday evenings in September as well. God is blessing and we are having a good turn out for worship, but we are also in the midst of a new outbreak of COVID in our community. Due to this reality, we are going to forego some traditional activities. This year we will not be having a Labor Day cookout or our 9/11 luncheon to honor our local heroes. After another church year with minimal committee activity, we will continue with the same elected leaders that we have in place. If you are serving in a position and are no longer able to fulfill the duties of that office, please contact a member of the nominating committee to ask them to find a replacement. While we want to provide an opportunity for all to serve in their elected positions, we don’t want to risk volunteer burnout and we understand that circumstances sometimes change. Likewise, if God has laid a ministry on your heart and you’d like to explore the possibility of serving, please let us know so that we can help you find your place of service here at Roberdel.
One thing we are planning to resume this year is Homecoming on October 10, and I am excited that my friend, Chris Hawks, will be here to preach for us on that day! We will also be having our annual Pee Dee Association meeting in Laurinburg on October 17th. Our annual West Virginia mission trip will be abbreviated again this year. It will happen sometime during the first full week of October and we will only spend a night or two in WV.
Some new ministries we had planned to have off the ground by now, like Cancer Care and 24 Hours of Prayer have been delayed, but are still on the agenda to begin soon.
Perhaps our greatest growth has taken place in the Preschool. Randi Wood and her team have done a wonderful job growing this ministry! We are absolutely full and the potential for exponential growth is there. We have a Kindergarten class this year, along with 11 preschool classes. We are always in need of volunteers (hint, hint)! Our after school ministry is already underway and this is another area we could expand with more workers.
A unique opportunity has presented itself that could be the answer to our need for more space! The county has labeled the old Roberdel School as surplus property and would like to sell it. The school administration is happy that we might be interested in using it for preschool and/or elementary school classes. We have toured the property a couple of times and have had some builders assess the needs if we were able to use the building. There is a very good possibility that we can purchase the building and 12 acres for much less than the value of the land alone! Even if our plans were to change, owning that property would be a huge blessing. If we can acquire the property we have been told that we could update the building and prepare it for use for a fraction of the cost of new construction on our property. We have already had promises of donations to help finance this project and may be able to make the purchase without using any of our budget funds. Our deacons have unanimously voted to place an initial bid on the property. No final decisions will be made without a vote from the church in a called business meeting. Please pray that God will direct us in this opportunity, and that He will make His plan clear.
As difficult as the past couple of years has been, it is an exciting time to be a part of RBC! As long as Jesus tarries, I believe He has some big plans for us as His church here in this community. We must be obedient to His guiding if we want to continue to see His blessings!
In Christian Love,
Pastor Billy