Pastor Emerita and Archbishop Copeland are eternally grateful for all God has allowed New Creation to accomplish this year. Every worship encounter, baptism, seminar, community outreach event, and more have served as meaningful reminders that the Lord’s hand is present amongst us. While reflecting on the past, they cannot help but be even more hopeful for the future. Our leaders believe God will continue to perform the unimaginable within our church family.
Pastor Emerita’s leading prayer for our congregation is that we will fully adhere to the Lord’s call on our lives. She recognizes the God-given gifts present amongst us and desires that we no longer squander them for the sake of comfort and complacency.
“Here’s a bold challenge, issued to every member and every partner: that they will step out into bigger God possibilities,” Pastor Emerita said. “The pandemic brought a lot of people to consciousness about their own personal desires, but I’m hoping others will come to consciousness about their place in God and their assignments in the Body of Christ.”
Approaching 2023 alongside this mentality will advance us as both individuals and a collective entity. There is great power in making ourselves available to God’s use, no matter the sacrifice required. Pastor Emerita admonishes everyone to realize there is no better time than now to live boldly for God’s glory alone.
“I hope for everyone to stop being timid and apologetic about their gifts and their contributions and to stop being intimidated about what people have to say about them,” she said. “…that there would be a bold push in the lives of our people at New Creation, that they would walk where they’ve never walked before, serve like they’ve never served before, and produce and create like they’ve never produced and created before, starting now.”
While Archbishop shares these sentiments, he specifically anticipates continued engagement from young people in the coming year. The cognizant leadership and fervent passion of New Creation’s millennial staff members builds his hope for the future. In 2022, they caused an increase in youth participation and spearheaded multiple successful events.
“I’m excited about the young people stepping up and being more involved, participating more. They have good thoughts and ideas. They will not only participate but show their leadership and help New Creation to prepare for the next generation of church.”
There is truly no limit for what God can do through our church. With Heaven’s help and a congregation-wide surrender to God’s will, 2023 will be even more of a year to remember!