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A TRULY GREAT DAY!
The reverberations from Sunday afternoon continue to ring throughout the auditorium. What
a great gathering of God’s people —254 Christians praising our God in heaven! Many of the
congregations in southeast Arkansas gathered and even a couple of congregations from
Mississippi. I want to thank all of you who helped make Sunday afternoon such a special day.
Whether you provided cookies, set up chairs, helped with parking, led in worship, handing out
programs, or just good old hosting to be sure our visitors were taken care of, you did a great job!
Sunday is not a one or two person job, it takes “a village”! You are to be commended for your
efforts.
Some would question me as to the need for such a meeting each year, so let me share what
our Area Wide does for the church:
1) First of all, and most important, coming together as God’s people to give Him the glory is
ALWAYS a good thing! May we never forget the importance of praising our God and when
we can do it with other saints throughout the area, it only magnifies our praise to Him!
2) We remind ourselves that the church is not limited to just Monticello. There are saints
throughout southeast Arkansas trying to live their lives for the Lord. When we come
together, we encourage each other with our singing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) and fellowship to
“up our game” in our various locations. And in so doing, we are making our lights for the
Lord even brighter!
3) We are an encouragement to some of the smaller congregations, who may be struggling in
their location. I have been to most of these congregations, and they are trying to serve the
Lord to their utmost ability. Being with a large gathering has to boost the spirits, as they
continue to serve the Lord.
4) I didn’t get to look at the parking lot Sunday afternoon, but can you imagine the thoughts of
folks who live here in our neighborhood as to how many vehicles filled the lot? And better
yet, to see black and white gather under the same roof?! My understanding is that the new
parking lot will have 100 spaces (we had 99 cars Sunday!).
I could go on, but I think the words that best describe Sunday is “To God be the Glory!”
May the Lord continue to use us in Monticello to be a bright light in southeast Arkansas! ~PM
