Alton Bay Christian Conference Center
This past week has been a quiet week around the office as we have had a number of our people on vacation, but it has been a busy week as we are preparing for a senior staff retreat in a few weeks. Yesterday, we spent the day working on getting ourselves prepared for that time. Please keep us in your prayers as we are spending October 2 & 3 away from the office focusing on the vision and mission of ACGC and strategic planning on our focus in our departments.
Steve Lawson
Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? Our lives can change so quickly by an act of terror or a dangerous situation. I remember how churches opened their doors for special prayer meetings and people began to turn to God when faced with an uncertain future. These past few weeks I have heard many acknowledging their dependence on God even when we don’t know what may be going to happen. Psalm 46, my favorite psalm, is my reminder that this world can change, but my God is faithful and I need to stop to acknowledge that truth!
Steve Lawson
It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over and September is here! It is even harder to believe that we are already looking at locations for Leadership Conference and the next Triennial Convention. We made a trip last week to look at a facility to consider for one or both of those gatherings. We are also working on a retreat for our senior staff to evaluate our roles as ACGC directors and coordinators and to focus on strategic planning for the next three years. Please be in prayer for this time of purposeful discussion with our staff, that God would direct our time and give us a vision to support our churches and to glorify him as a denomination.
Donna & Michael Bassett
This past weekend I had the privilege of joining with Holly Grove Advent Christian Church in Benson, N.C., as they celebrated Pastor Appreciation Sunday for their pastor Rev. Michael Bassett and his wife Donna. Holly Grove was my first pastorate in North Carolina from 1986-1991 and it was great to go back and see the church doing so well under the ministry of Pastor Bassett. As a former pastor, there is always a tender spot in my heart for the churches I have served. For me, they are a part of my family and I continue to have a love and concern for the ministry and members of the church. As I was back at Holly Grove this weekend I saw a lot of familiar faces and missed a lot of key people who have died since my ministry days. But it was exciting to see so many new faces and young people involved in the ministry.
Last weekend I went up to West Virginia for the conference meeting at Camp Whitney in Clendenin. I left on Friday morning to spend some time with Rev. Michael Todorovich, pastor of the Clendenin AC Church. I had spoken to Pastor Todorovich on a number of occasions about the ministry of the church after the flood about a year ago and their recovery at the church. It was a real blessing and a showing of the hand of God that Michael (Mike) and his wife Cindy were living and pastoring in the area. Both of them served in the National Guard and serve in the area of relief for natural disasters. It was amazing to spend time with Mike, traveling around the community and seeing how people responded to him with such love and appreciation. The church has helped so many people and made contacts through this difficult time. I am not going to post any pictures of the church and how beautiful it looks because they are planning a special Homecoming celebration soon. God has blessed them with so much through this time and it is a powerful testimony of how God can work in difficult times to bring out blessings and testimonies.
