Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times.” – 2 Kings 13:18-19

Grace and peace, friends. I pray this finds you warm and well.

I must confess that I am still savoring all the Holy Spirit was stirring during our churchwide Vision Night last Sunday in our Sanctuary.

The passage I taught on was a little story tucked away in 2 Kings about King Jehoash and the prophet Elisha. Jehoash was the King of Israel and Israel was about to be attacked by Judah. Jehoash needed a miracle. Who better to help the king and Israel find a victory than the prophet Elisha? So Jehoash came to the prophet on his deathbed and asked for a blessing.

Elisha advised Jehoash to do two things: One, with his own hand over the king’s as he held a bow and arrow, Elisha directed him to shoot the arrow out the window, promising a victory as a result. Two, Elisha then instructed Jehoash to take the remaining arrows and strike them on the ground, which he started to do. Yet, Jehoash struck three and stopped. Why waste all the good arrows when God had already promised victory, right? However, Elisha was angry with the king because he stopped short. He quit before he should have. And because of that, there were victories that would not be known as a result.

Friends, it’s amazing to see all that the Lord has done through The Woodlands Methodist Church, and the Lord isn’t finished! Let me share a few of the other big moments that came from last Sunday’s Vision Night.
 
In the service we heard the exciting news from Rev. Dr. Jeff Olive, our Pastor of Church Multiplication, that beginning March 3, your church will launch one of the newest Chinese Global Methodist churches on our main campus here at TWMC. Rev. Ray Sung and his wife Rose will lead this new seed of a church plant, which we are helping to fund in this start-up season. To God be the glory!

We also heard from Rev. Karen Tyler, our Pastor of Missions, that when God’s people do God’s work day in and day out, year after year, the eternal impact we see is staggering. An example of this is in Southeast Asia – through the giving and generosity of our church, 43,000 people have come into a relationship with God.

Lastly, Rev. Mark Swayze took a little time to talk about our NextGen Ministries and shared all that God has been doing in and through our future generation. A moment I will carry with me forever was that moment in the service where every child and student stood on the stage and extended a hand praying over the adults while we did the same over the students.

Truly, it was such a moving night from beginning to end.

These past two-and-a-half years that I have served as your Senior Pastor have been some of the hardest and most challenging years of ministry, yet they have been the most rewarding and fruitful years I can remember.

2023 was an historic year in the life of our church as we voted and officially joined the Global Methodist Church. Now that we have affiliated, the temptation in this new year could be to coast, take it easy and ride the wave. Yet, the challenge I gave Sunday night was just the opposite. We need to continue to strike the arrows as we move ahead in this newly formed denomination.

I’m more energized and excited than I ever have been to see all that God has in store. What a job and an honor it is to walk alongside each of you as we step into this next season of ministry together.

God bless you all!