What does 2017 hold?

“But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” –Luke 18:16 NASB

It’s hard to believe that 2016 is already drawing to a close. It seems to have just flown by. There has been so much change this past year and there is more to come. I want to spend this post talking about what it looks like the Lord wants us to do in regards to ministry in 2017. We have great hopes for the church in coming years, and 2017 is a kick start towards those goals, as well as a time to gather information so we can truly meet the needs of the community.

All of the ministry that we will be doing in 2017 will be free. We do not live in an affluent area, and even if we did, ministry should not cost the people. We provide it from our hearts and do not expect anything in return, financially or otherwise.

The first thing that will be taking place is a weekly training/class for Pastors. Jonathan has been doing a bi-monthly class but starting in January, this will become a weekly, more in depth class for the pastors. Jonathan is currently teaching on spiritual disciplines and formation and will go more in depth with those subjects now that the foundation has been laid.

The next 2 things actually go hand in hand. As you probably know, Jonathan and I teach in English at a bilingual school on the north side of the city. There is a great desire among Dominicans to learn English so we are going to be utilizing our abilities and skills in that area. It has been decided that a community outreach provided by our church, will be started in our area. Sunday mornings there will be a 45 minute bible class for children that will be taught by various teachers. The hope is to teach either bilingually or in English only. This class will be used as a way to teach English to the children of our neighborhood as well as spread the Gospel.

In addition, I will be teaching an hour long worship dance class. The hour will include a short devotional to discuss the importance of worship and/or discuss the song and dance and how it relates to a scriptural concept. Again, this will be taught in English and the songs will be a mix of English and Spanish.

Now, let me take a minute and address a few things about the dance ministry. This can be a point of discord so I want to be completely open and honest about what I will be doing. I teach Davidic dance with a ballet influence (can’t help it, it is who I am). However, every dance I choreograph and teach for the means of worship is prayed about and studied thoroughly. The dance is a visual interpretation of the lyrics of the song. So the lyrics are carefully considered and studied as well. A common learning strategy is to set things to music like the ABCs for example. Since the children will hear the song over and over again, I do not want any unkosher things stuck in their heads, and because of the language difference I need to be doubly careful.

In addition, all dance movements are kept appropriate and modest, as is the attire. My hope is to have a co-ed dance class and we will certainly have a co-ed audience so the pastor and elder are my authority and they will check and make sure everything is kosher.

However, it’s not just dance that will be taught. Worship comes in many forms. Flags, tambourines and such will most likely also be used in the dances. The point of the dance class and presentations are to help bring others into a state of worship. For some people it’s a visual thing and an interpretation of the lyrics, through clean and pure dance, may help them.

The dance ministry will present twice a year (that’s the plan right now anyway) and will learn dances based on the church’s theme for the year. For 2017 the theme is “Worship”. This includes “what is worship”, “how do we worship”, etc.

             

            These 3 things are just the start of things to come. I am excited and anxious to see where the Lord takes this. Prayers for us in as we plunge headlong into this would be greatly appreciated.

            Until next time, may Adonai bless and keep you.