January 22, 2026
Dear Central Church,
Last Saturday, our church leaders and pastoral staff met for a one-day retreat. It was a time to pray together and think strategically about the next year of ministry.
Our focus was on celebrating what God is doing, evaluating what we can improve upon, and planning for what God is calling us to do in the future. I wish I could share all the “wins” we were able to celebrate this past year, but it would be hard to single out one specific area of ministry. As I think about 37 people being baptized last year, it’s clear that God was at work and the Spirit is enabling us to fulfill our mission of “making Christ-like disciples IN our community FOR our community.”
Our dreaming and planning time was focused on the “FOR” part of our mission statement. We believe God is blessing our church so we can be “for Kansas City!” God’s covenant with Abraham was so that “all people would be blessed.” That’s our prayer as we think about what new ministries to launch and how to deploy the resources God has given us. We want to “impact our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
I always leave these gatherings uplifted and encouraged. Here’s a photo of our board and staff.
Would you commit to pray for them? We have some exciting ministry initiatives that I can’t wait to share with you, but there’s a lot of work to be done before we’re ready to share how God is leading. In the meantime, keep asking God to give our leaders discernment as we move from a ministry dream to a ministry plan!
Last week I asked you, “What would you do for God if you knew you could not fail?” In the days ahead, I look forward to sharing how our board and staff are answering that question!
This Sunday, Pastor Bethany Acre will continue our “Story Tellers” sermon series by looking again at the life of Abraham. This “Father of our Faith” had a promise from God but had to learn to live in the “not yet” of that promise. Pastor Bethany is a gifted and passionate communicator of God’s Word, and you will not want to miss what the Lord has put on her heart to share with us.
Until He's Finished,
Pastor Mark