A Year of Wonders: Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025
As we wrap up 2024 and look forward to the new year, it's a good time to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared as a church community. This past year has been a whirlwind, filled with both challenges and blessings.
A Look Back at a Wild Year (Seriously, Wild!)
Remember those cocaine-fueled sharks off the coast of Rio? Or that poor pigeon detained as a suspected Chinese spy? Yeah, 2024 was that kind of year. From a tumultuous political landscape (with a surprise ending to that never-ending election cycle!) to the rise of AI, we've seen it all. We even witnessed the world's first AI beauty pageant, with Kenza Layli, the AI-generated Moroccan influencer, taking the crown. And who could forget the Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience fiasco in Scotland? Between the misspelled AI-generated ads and the terrifying Oompa Loompas, it was a disaster that provided plenty of laughs (and some seriously cringeworthy moments).
Celebrating Our Growth Amidst the Chaos
But amidst all the chaos of the world, our church has been a beacon of hope and a place of growth. More new families visited our church and many have chosen to make Cascade CRC home.
A while ago we started a youth group, but this year we expanded that to include a weekly Youth Bible study. The teens worked through the book of Genesis and are starting the book of James.
We re-launched Cascade CRC’s Women’s Ministry. While this group has been faithfully helping families in the church, especially during funerals, bridal & baby showers, a new group of women are stepping in to help. They’ve already opened a food pantry in the church kitchen and are planning more small-group activities.
Our Men’s Breakfast worked through Francis Schaeffer’s “How Should We Then Live.” This series, originally written in the late-60’s and early-70’s, is shockingly insightful for today’s issues. While including a few new men around the table, we’ve also been blessed as Gared and the Titteringtons have started providing a hot breakfast.
The Fellowship Ministry Team introduced Senior Luncheons. These were Pat Sytsma’s idea, and have been so much fun. Both times the lobby was packed with people talking, laughing, and enjoying great food. The Youth Group dressed up and served them, making sure coffee and juice were topped off.
In our worship services, we spent most of the year working through the book of Hebrews. What I love about Hebrews is that it helps us see how the Old Testament consistently and confidently points forward to Jesus. In the Fall we worked through the Fruit of the Spirit, looking at practical ways we can grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.
This is an encouraging season!
The general tone of conversation around our church is positive. One long-time member of the church told me that, for the first time in a long time, he looks forward to coming to church. New people who arrive feel welcomed and can see themselves fitting in. We see babies in the nursery, young ones running around and teenagers taking over the Youth Room.
A Prayer for 2025
As we move forward, it's important to remember that spiritual growth often attracts opposition. The enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to see us stumble. He might try to sow division among us, tempt our leaders toward pride, or simply whisper discouragement into our hearts.
That's why we need to be proactive in prayer. Let's commit to covering our church in prayer, asking God to protect what He is building here. We may not have aspirations to be a mega-church, but we can have a mega-impact – and we already are!
To keep this momentum going, we need to be a community marked by honesty and openness. Let's commit to speaking the truth in love, listening to each other's concerns, and working through disagreements with grace and humility. These small acts of faithfulness can prevent those "little things" from becoming major obstacles to our growth.
My main prayer for 2025 is that we all experience what the Apostle Paul prayed almost two thousand years ago.
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”- Ephesians 3:14–21
With You;
Pastor Tim
