Our students are back in school, our sanctuary renovation is nearly complete, and summer is fast drawing to a close. As we prepare to enter the final quarter of the year, we are reminded that this season has traditionally been one of the busiest for ministry initiatives, financial stewardship, and year-end celebrations at Willowdale.
In this spirit, I would like to focus on the most important aspects of our mission: evangelism.
Did you know that in February 2025 our church elders received sermon outlines for the upcoming “New Beginnings” evangelistic series, scheduled for October 11 – November 1, 2025? During this three-week series, our elders will preach the good news of salvation every Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sabbath evening. They have been praying, studying, and preparing diligently for this responsibility, and I invite our entire congregation to join them in prayer as we anticipate God’s blessing on these efforts.
In the weeks leading up to the series, both our pulpit messages and our midweek prayer meetings will focus on training disciples for personal evangelism. At our first training session, we closed with the moving song “Each One, Reach One” by Babbie Mason—a song I encourage everyone to listen to on YouTube. This Sabbath, we will continue with session two, entitled “The Divine Commission.” Evangelism will also take center stage at our upcoming church board meeting, as we shift our focus from the building project back to the central mission of the church: proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ.
As we prepare for this season of outreach, I encourage you to:
- Befriend your community—because that is the way of Jesus.
- Be a difference-maker—through a helping hand, a kind smile, and words of encouragement.
- Extend personal invitations—because no printed card is more powerful than a heartfelt invitation from a disciple of Christ.
Brothers and sisters, we have work to do. Let us catch the fire of evangelistic passion! May our united prayer be: Breathe on us, breath of God, until we reflect Your glory and demonstrate Your character to a lost and broken world until the day of Jesus glorious return.
Maranatha!
Pastor Glenn DeSilva