Dear Church,
Although I am not able to be with you for this time of thanksgiving and testimony, I want you to know how much you mean to me and my family. For many years, Vicki and I have been a part of this fellowship and while she has always had the giving heart of a servant, I can’t say the same for myself.
While I tried to be content for a time with merely showing up, God had no intention of letting me remain as a bench warmer. If there is one thing that I have learned beyond any doubt in this past year, it is that trying to live the Christian life while not being fully and completely surrendered to God will make you miserable. If God has a plan for you (and He does) then He will not give you peace until His will is accomplished in your life.
As I try to love the Lord and to live for Him, I am so thankful that I have a church who loves and supports one another. I am so thankful for the prayers and encouragement given by the body of believers here in my local church.
You are my closest brothers and sisters in Christ and I see your witness for the Lord shining brightly. I see it in your smiles, in your handshakes and hugs, in your willingness to work and most of all, in your knees bent in prayer.
Prayer is powerful and prayer changes things. We are seeing that power and we are seeing things change for the Glory of God here in our church because of prayer. So keep on praying and believe me when I say that I am going to continue to pray with you and for you.
I have never been more excited to see what God has in store for this fellowship of believers than I am right now. I truly believe that if we continue to stay submitted to God and to pray and seek His face in all that we do, then He will pour out His blessings on us in a powerful and visible way. And as He does so, we will be the light to this community that it so desperately needs.
So thank you, church, for all that you do. Thank you for what you have meant to me in the past and thank you for what you mean to me right now. You are my spiritual home here on earth and I look forward to serving with you in the coming days. Bless you all.
Matthew Gaither