Pastor Kelvin E. Turner
The 2016 ministry theme for the Zion Baptist Church family is “Called and Empowered to Witness.” For more than two thousand years, the words of Jesus have echoed and reverberated throughout the corridors of human existence:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Over the past 12 months, the Zion church family has celebrated the works and wonders of God, as one of His many representatives in the greater Hampton Roads community.
While we have boasted of His goodness and favor before family, friends and the faith community, it is now time for us to take our witness much further. Not in a braggadocios way, but in a way that shares His fame for the favor and faithfulness that He has shown to the Zion church family for more than 150years.
Since coming to Zion more than six years ago, I have seen firsthand, ministry leaders and members working hard and diligently to return Zion’s ministry life to congregational normalcy. Having been dislocated because of the fire, the church has been under the community’s microscope, being inspected and dissected by our every move and decision. And look what God has done! Look what God is doing! Look what God desires to do!
The community has been allowed to see for themselves, God’s faithfulness and favor on behalf of the Zion church family. Because of that, we have a responsibility to tell our story. We have been both called, and empowered to witness to family, friends, and the community regarding what God has done on our behalf. Individually, and congregationally, we are called and empowered to witness.
In 2016, we want to be serious and intentional about the call and responsibility to witness, but not just witness. We also want to be serious and intentional about growing the kingdom through “… winning souls, strengthening the family, and developing godly leaders for community transformation.”
In closing, I would like to challenge the congregation as a whole to take the next 30 days, to prayerfully discern your role and responsibility in becoming an effective witness for the body of Christ in 2016.