What's Next - July 2023 Update
Hello Great Hills Church Family,
Pastor Danny here with a few things on my heart that I want to communicate with you. Ashley and I are in Alaska on a mission trip with many from our church and then we will take a week’s vacation while we are in this beautiful and might I say cooler part of our country.
I am grateful to God for His favor and blessings upon our church. We continue to see God move and provide even in very difficult days in our nation and world. A big part of my life and ministry as your pastor is to pray for you. I am praying for you daily and will continue to lift you and our church to the Lord. Some of you are going through some severe trials and I pray God helps and delivers you soon. Here is a verse that has such a powerful promise, Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our church. Because you pray, give, and serve, we can impact many with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me specifically thank you for giving to our Great Hills budget. When you give, you are supporting numerous international and home missionaries, helping minister to many in our own church with their spiritual and financial needs, you allow us to turn on the AC in the Texas heat, (thank you!) And when you give, you are allowing GH to support our wonderful staff of pastors and ministers who love you and have given their all to to serve Jesus by serving you. I sincerely thank you.
As of today’s taping, of this message I am sharing with you, we are continuing to pray about and do our due diligence in preparing for the future of our church. I read an article recently that documented the state of many churches in America. Many all over the nation are dealing with dwindling congregations who have increased pressure to pay for the upkeep of their church buildings and property. The article was hard to read but facts can be very stubborn. It says that in Ottumwa, Iowa, a city of 25,000 recently saw 8 churches close, and in Gary, Indiana, the city has 250 empty churches. That is so sad. GHBC is not empty, and we have a vibrant church, but we cannot stay as we are simply due to the same reasons mentioned in this article: there are not enough people to pay for the facilities we have. Please know a large part of my time as your pastor is dealing with this reality head on. I continue to have meetings and look for the answer God has for us. I will let you know when I know something substantive.
Let us continue to be faithful to Christ and the mission He has given us to make disciples of all nations beginning here in Austin, TX. Let us not give in to the temptation to become fearful or fall into despair; rather, let us trust God and fully rely on Him to lead us into His will. A great way to stay focused on the mission and not give in to fear is follow the BLESS’D outreach strategy we have adopted as a church: begin with prayer, pray for those who do not know Jesus, listen to them with care, eat with engage them, serve them well, and share Jesus with them.
These are challenging but also very exciting times in which to live. Ashley and I love our church and we know that God has a terrific plan for us as we continue to share the love of Jesus. I will close with a few verses from God’s Word. May these texts speak to your heart and give you both encouragement and courage:
Hebrews 11:1-3 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 states,
5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
Danny Forshee
Lead Pastor, GHBC
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
