Last Sunday afternoon our first Teacher’s Meeting was held since I’ve moved to Ft. Smith, and I was greatly encouraged for several reasons. First of all, I’m thankful that more than 55 individuals were willing to come out and spend a portion of their Sunday afternoon to participate in a Teacher’s Meeting. I realize that there are others who desired to be there but had other commitments. Secondly, this congregation is blessed with a plethora of teachers who are not only gifted but are also willing to use their time and talents to glorify the Lord. Thirdly, I am encouraged because our time together was productive as we allowed the Spirit of Christ to guide and direct our thoughts. As we discussed our needs in the Education Ministry and the future possibilities of what we’d like to see happen, there was a healthy exchange of ideas as we dialoged with one another.

One of the major items of discussion among the teachers was centered around creating a vision statement for the Education Ministry. The vision statement will help define the reason that the Education Ministry exists and also give us a grid to filter our future plans for the Education Ministry here at West-Ark. At the conclusion of our discussion we came up with this vision statement for the Education Ministry, "To bring all people closer to God and one another."

In the not too distant future, we’ll be sharing more about how this vision will have a positive impact on our congregation as well as the community around us.