From Pastor Cliff
Dear Church Family,
I have received so many emails commenting about the Virtual Lord’s Supper Service. Apparently it was very effective and meaningful having it in the homes. Georgianna went to the store that morning and purchased for us matzo and grape juice, but I know one couple said they had saltine crackers and lemonade! I am sure their Lord’s Supper with a cracker and lemonade was just as special to them as ours was with the traditional elements. Special thanks to those who took the effort to let me know of your families experience.
We received great reviews on our Easter broadcast. The music led by Pastor Doug was outstanding and even though it is quite different preaching in an almost empty Worship Center, the message was delivered with passion and the power of the Holy Spirit. We have no way of knowing how many actually viewed the entire service, but we do know Sunday recorded 857 hits between our church website and Facebook. Let me also say, more people always view the services during the week. So, the count is actually higher than the Sunday views. Now, make no mistake we will be grateful when we can all come together to worship again but, we as a church, are worshipping every Sunday. Remember what I keep on saying, “Worship is not about a place, it’s all about a Person.”
I hope each of you will tune into the broadcast this Sunday. If you receive this email, you can very easily have the service in your home. Any device you have will work, whether it be a desktop, tablet, I-pad or Smartphone. We realize a good number of you are not on Facebook so you will need to go to our church website. Simply type in your browser www.mbchouston.org/watch This will put you on the page to start the video. Just scroll down, click on the play arrow and the service will begin. We encourage everyone to participate as though you are in the Worship Center. Sing the songs, pray and quote the verse of the month with us. Please pray for those of us leading the worship and also for our excellent media team composed of Kevin Horn, Jimmy Bradshaw and Josh Mathias. After viewing the service please share it through email, texts, Facebook, etc. That way we will see our views increase exponentially. We pray that Holy Spirit conviction will draw people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and for believers to be revived. I just believe when this plague is behind us, we will see a huge positive change at MBC and hopefully a Great Awakening throughout America.
I want to make sure you are aware that Pastor Scott has put the Acts Study, and a few other messages he has preached, on the internet. You can view these excellent messages and podcast by going to www.youtube.com. In the search bar type in C Scott Powers and it will take you to his page. You will have a pretty good size of lessons to choose from. Scott is a gifted Bible teacher and you will gain much insight as you view these videos. Most people are telling me they have more time to do things they have been wanting to do, well this is an excellent time for all of us to spend more time in the Word. I know in my own heart, God is speaking to me. For the last four weeks I have not had all the distractions I normally have. My stress level is way down and it shows every day when I take my blood pressure, which is the best it has been in at least 30 years! In spite of the Coronavirus Plague we are being blessed in ways we could not have imagined, and I am just excited as I think about the possibilities of the future.
Our staff continues to meet each week using the Zoom app. We are still working on calling our entire church membership. Many of you have received calls and I am hearing reports on these calls at our virtual staff meetings. I should complete my call lists today and I feel the other staff members should be getting close to completing their calls. Naturally, when we call, we do not always get to personally speak to everyone, but we always leave a voicemail, if possible. I have found some phone numbers that have been disconnected. Many people today no longer have a landline, only a cell phone. If this describes you please give any of us a call and we will put your number in our data base. This data base is only available to staff. We do not share your cell numbers without your permission. So, call any of us at these numbers: My cell is (832) 663-1408; Scott Powers’ is (832) 466-3479; Josh Mathias’ is (713) 992-8161; Anita Wood’s is (346) 236-3353; Laura Huff’s is (346) 225-2610 and Carlee Qualls’ is (713) 818-4224.
I want you to know Drive Thru Prayer continues on Monday nights from 6:00-7:30. The number of cars stopping is down, but we have a dedicated team who feels convicted to make themselves available to pray for anyone in need. Even though we had only four cars stop last night, one thing which has greatly increased are cars going by and honking, even a few police cars bump their siren as they pass. The reason for this is as they see us out on the parking lot, they know what we are doing. I just believe this is a wonderful testimony to the community. It is encouraging to know we are now known as “the praying church” instead of the church “whose parking lot always floods!”
The first thing every morning, Georgianna and I spend time praying for our church family. As far as we know, no one in our church family has contracted the virus. We are so grateful for the Lord’s protection over us. We are also grateful for those people behind the scenes who are ministering to our people, especially the elderly. I want to urge anyone who has a need to feel free to contact any of us on staff. We want to know what you need and if there is anyway possible, we will meet those needs. I want you to know I love you and have you always in my prayers. Until the next time remember it is,
All Because of God’s Amazing Grace,
Cliff Mayton, Senior Pastor