Pathway Points Reboot

Stepping Up for Jesus

Happy New Year! You did know that it’s the new year already, right? The first Sunday of Advent (12/3/23 this year) is the beginning of the new church year. As with any new year, I thought it would be the perfect time to look back over the last year and set some goals for the next one.

Back in October and November, Rick Donahue, the Lay Leader before me, spoke to the Church Council at our monthly meeting and then to the congregation on a Sunday morning, respectively. He encouraged us to remember who we are as Grace Church and the mission to which God has called us. To aid in that, I offered to reboot the “Pathway Points” articles that I used to write for you.

As a refresher, we have a Discipleship Pathway built around our Vision Statement. This Pathway is written to help inspire all of us to continue to grow in our faith. It offers examples of what faith in action looks like when we Love God (worship), Serve All (care for fellow believers), and Change Lives (care for the community outside our walls). Each area has three levels: Starting Point, Next Steps, and Going Deeper. The logic being that while all believers are on the Pathway, not everyone is at the same place in their journey.

I encourage you to take a moment to read through the Mission, Vision, and Values that we have agreed to as members of the Grace community. Then, look at the Discipleship Pathway. Think back over the last year. How’s your journey going? It’s okay if some places on the Pathway seem to have stalled out, or even gone backwards. Our journeys are never completely linear. However, are you growing somewhere? Take some time to talk to God about where He’s pleased with you and where He’d like to see you focus a bit more. Remember that God loved each and every one of us before we stepped foot on this Pathway, but like every loving parent, He loves us too much to settle for less than His very best for us.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll fill you in on my reboot and conversation with God. I will admit that I’m a touch embarrassed because I did drop the ball. However, we are called Grace for a reason! On that note, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"If you start over often enough, you begin to look consistent." --Dave Barnhart's Dad

Stepping up with you, in His strength!

Monica Lebsack

Lay Leader

At Grace, one of my responsibilities is to publish a weekly article in our e-newsletter, GraceNotes, about discipleship. Specifically, about the various components of our Discipleship Pathway and how a person could journey along it. This is my most recent article.