The outsized Ikea Christmas tree has been removed from the Jarvis living room, and all of the rogue pine needles have been swept up. A bit early perhaps, but a new year beckons and space is needed for Christians to gather and hatch plans for the new year, whether it be for teen ministry, professionals ministry, tuning up our lovely website, or whatever.
We are now ready to start a new year and a new theme for our Glasgow Church. In 2023 we will be pondering, and applying to our lives, “Boast in the Lord” as a theme. This concept appears in several places in scripture, not limited to 1 Corinthians 1:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, and several verses in Isaiah and the Psalms.
2023 Theme – Boast in the Lord
We are excited about this theme because it directs us to what God has done, and will continue to do in our lives if we are faithful to him. It directs us away from thinking that we can do anything in our lives that is worth boasting about when we are made from dust and saved by grace through faith. If we do boast — and we should — in the Lord, then God will be glorified and our hope is that many more people will experience the joy that we have from our redeemed lives “in the Lord”. [If you want to know what a life “in the Lord” is like, then please use the contact page to arrange a meeting with one of our ministry workers].
Talking of ministry workers, our much loved Rubik and Fiona Ghalustians have returned to London, to the ministry that they left in October of 2020 to come and serve here in Glasgow. They have certainly made their mark here in Glasgow and leave the church in a condition larger and more vibrant than they found it, and poised for future growth.
During the last month they were here we put on a talent show, which featured food along with poetry, song, and music; not to mention other superfluous frippery showcasing the undiluted “talent” of a number of individuals within our congregation. Some might say that certain bods should stick to worship leading and preaching. I couldn’t possibly comment.
Mike & Marie Jarvis Start Leadership Adventure
Mike and Marie Jarvis will be serving in ministry and leading the church from January. They have been spending the Christmas break planning a fresh preaching rota and other activities for us going forwards. The plan is to have a different mini-theme for each month, taking us through the full gamut of what Christ asks us to think about and engage with as his followers, but all the time maintaining a solid plan to follow his great commission outlined in Matt 28:18-20. This is the bit where Jesus promises to be with us to the end of the age if we disciple and baptise the nations – so we want to make sure we are doing that.
We will continue to meet on Sundays at Clyde Community Hall this year, starting at 10.30 am on a Sunday morning. The format of the worship services will be similar to last year, with many of our a capella songs, on some occasions supplemented by our musically-talented brothers on guitar: or perhaps even some string performances as we heard in 2022. We take communion every week, with a brother or sister sharing something that makes them grateful for the cross. And the sermons in January will revolve around the first few chapters of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth.
To go with the theme of boasting in the Lord, we intend to hear personal testimonies from a number of members of the church. This should be very inspiring, as it will likely remind us of how we all came from very different backgrounds to faith in Jesus. I love listening to testimonies; it reminds me, when we extrapolate our lives into the millions of souls out there, of how many people really are in need of something more than the humdrum of life. It makes me realise that although many people claim not to be interested in Jesus or the church, actually for a significant minority it is a very important need in their lives. Humility to the gospel should be normal, and not the exception to the norm – and it is a huge encouragement when it is seen. Some people are very earnestly seeking for God in their lives, and that should make me all the more keen to share my faith and connect with them.
Faith Building Midweek Meetings
We also plan to have 4-midweek meetings a month, primarily for the edification of members of the church. Two of these will be for men and women together, and then the men and women will meet separately for each of the other two monthly meetings. In January, these will mostly be taken up by talking about the year-plan and praying, because praying is such an important part of the ministry of the Word.
Our Tuesday night website meetings in January will bring together the people in the church with a heart and a talent for creating and optimising content for online media. Several of our number work professionally in this area and it is our intent to improve the content of the website to optimise it for those living within the Glasgow conurbation, and to better meet their needs spiritually. This is an exciting avenue to go down: someone pointed out at the last meeting that the early disciples used the new-fangled Roman roads to spread the gospel. Our challenge is to use the modern “information super-highway” to the same end.
Expect more new content soon, but please do continue to peruse the old stuff as well. We’ve put a lot of time into the content and structure of this website already; but the real excitement is when new people come to church and see the value of deep, heart-level relationships between people who love God and are willing to leave their sins behind.
Freeing ourselves from the heavy baggage of sin opens us up to the most wonderful relationships and the greatest fulfilment in our lives.
Evangelism Opportunities To Share Your Faith
There are many ways to share our faith, and one of the ways we have decided to do this in January is by meeting up for the purpose of talking to people on the streets of Glasgow. This also is an effective way of freeing people from the bonds of sin, as many people currently on the membership of the Glasgow church were converted in this way. This is our other mini-focus for January, and we can use it as a way of re-focusing our hearts and minds after the (probable) inactivity of the Christmas and new year holiday.
We have already had some sessions in the early days of the year which have been both encouraging and successful at finding people who are interested in seeking God. On one notable session recently, three consecutive men who we spoke to were keen enough on what we said to exchange numbers with us.
At other times when things are a bit slower we just enjoy one another’s company. Last week a few of us ended up in a charity shop to get out of the rain and tried out the furniture and perused the secondhand records and CDs. We just don’t know what situations God will use to bring people to faith in and submission to Christ. But as this method has helped many of us, we like to keep doing it.
Fun Family Group Activities
Our church has three ‘family groups’, which are small groups which meet in different parts of the city to cater for more individual needs than the regular Sunday services. The family group meetings are more informal than a church service and somewhat less structured, which means that friendships and rapport can grow in a more organic way. These groups have been re-organised for this year and we have one in the south-west of the city, including Cardonald, Paisley and Newton Mearns.
We have another serving a more central region, which has a bit of a younger demographic; and we also have a group which meets online and meets the needs of those living further afield. All of these groups regularly host bible discussion evenings, and also other informal events, such as trips to concerts or the seaside (weather permitting), or sports in the park.
These groups are already re-starting for January, and if you would like more information, please use the contact page to get in touch.
Come Join The Glasgow Church In January
So, as you can see there are many things going on in January. If any of this interests you, or you have questions about our beliefs, or just want to be part of an active and loving community of believers please get in touch. You can email us, and we’ll get back to you within a couple of days, or for a more immediate response you can use the phone number on the contact page. We look forward to hearing from you!
