The District Council of LCMC Texas is excited to share that two new ministry partners will be joining our staff! Tim Wagner of Kerrville will step into the role of Communication Specialist while Alyssa Moore of McDade will begin serving as our Administrative Specialist. Each is a newly created, quarter-time, remote position starting on September 1.

 

A half-time position called “Program Support Specialist” had originally been posted and eight quality individuals from across Texas applied. Four of these were interviewed and during the interview process it became clear to the interview team that God had blessed us with two uniquely qualified candidates. Both were agreeable to split the half-time position equally with each serving in their areas of expertise.

 

In April of this year, we lost a brother in Christ: Pastor Peter Horn of the Hill Country Bible Church network unexpectedly died. Peter was a friend of our District who joined us to deliver a keynote speech in 2017 when we gathered in Taylor around the theme “Multiply.” He said something in his speech that I will never forget. His words were not eloquent but pierced my heart by asking and answering a simple question. He prefaced his question by referencing some basic statistics: Approximately 2.1 million people live in and around Austin and approximately one third profess Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior, leaving about 1.4 million people who profess other faiths or have no faith at all.

 

Then Peter asked, “How long will it take to reach every single one of these 1.4 million people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?” I remember thinking to myself: “a really long time!” But then he answered his own question: “About 30 minutes if the 700,000 Jesus followers each took 15 minutes with two unbelievers to share the Gospel!”

It has been a long time since we have gathered in person as a District and I am very excited about our upcoming LCMC Texas District and Youth Gatherings to be held July 30-31 at Our Saviour’s in Victoria, Texas! If you have never been to a Gathering before, then I personally invite you to come this summer for a time of worship, encouragement, inspiration, education, and fellowship. It is not just an event for pastors or church leaders. Our Gathering is intended to equip and encourage every follower of Jesus to live on mission and multiply disciples and churches!

 

Our theme this year is SHINE, based on Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We have a great lineup of keynote speakers including David Drum of J17 Ministries from Tucson, Arizona; Rick and Robyn Bezanson of Amazing Grace Christian Church in Glendale, Arizona; and Ted Doering of Narrative Church in Round Rock, Texas. Enrique Estrada from Monterrey, Mexico and I will be preaching at our two worship services. Each participant can choose to attend three different breakouts from 15 different presenters. And come early if you choose to attend either the Women’s or Leadership Pre-Gathering Seminars.