Finding Faith ... in wondering whether a faithful committee has run its course

By Pastor Devlyn Brooks

There is a very logical reason that we install fixed terms on a variety of positions we serve in.

Church Council, elected positions, nonprofit boards. … The list is long. 

We do so because human nature is that after serving in any position, your flame begins to grow dimmer. You lose the passion you once had for the service; your ideas become stale; the work seems more burdensome. Right? … That’s just what being human is!

Late in 2023, our congregation boldly took part in a revitalization initiative with Pastor Melissa Pickering who does this work with our synod. And then in March 2024, 10 folks from our congregation raised their hand to sit on the committee that was the outgrowth of that work. We called it “Faith Forward.”

Since the creation of that committee, the passionate and dedicated members of that committee planned, organized and hosted dozens of events in our church. There were food truck nights aplenty! There bingo days, and storytelling nights and benefit concerts for Churches United.

We worked with the City of Wolverton on events, and our new neighbor The Red Silo, and the longtime community institution C-W Elevator.

We reached out to our community in new and exciting ways! And this committee’s efforts produced a lot of fun, joy and a lot of awareness about our church through those events.

But that work also took time, resources and commitment. And it’s apparent that our “Faith Forward” committee could use a jolt of revitalization. This is not a negative judgement of those who faithfully served on the committee. They went above and beyond the call of duty!

This is just a reflection of the reality that one only has so much bandwidth to serve.

And so, some 14 months after “Faith Forward” was launched I’m writing to you all to ask new volunteers to raise their hand and serve on Faith Lutheran’s revitalization committee.

I celebrate the early pioneers of this effort. Look at all the joy and energy they brought us over the past year and more!

But now, we’re looking for others who can serve with just as much passion and with just as many fresh new ideas and just as faithfully to help keep our revitalization effort moving forward.

Ideally, we hope that one member who represents each of our established committees (Men’s Group, Faith Women, Youth, Music & Worship, etc.) would be willing to serve, and then a few extra hands as well. Because even with 10 volunteers this past year, there were plenty of responsibilities to go around!

Please prayerfully consider serving Faith Lutheran in this way. Revitalization is hard work. Extending our mission efforts outside of our four walls is hard work. Trying to imagine church differently is hard work. And it doesn’t get done without some committed folks raising their hands and saying, “I’m willing to take my turn.”

Last year, some brave members accepted the invitation to launch “Faith Forward” to help our church chart a new way forward, including finding a way that turns our gaze and our mission outward rather than in. Now we need the next generation of committed members willing to take the handoff and lead us into the next year of revitalization.

Please reach out to me or Lisa if you have any questions. And thank you in advance for prayerfully discerning whether “Faith Forward” is right for you!

Blessings to you all, Faith Family! See you in church!