Holy Assembly The mini-sabbatical that I started three months ago is coming to an end this week. I undoubtedly took advantage of this opportunity to the full extent. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Someone in my position, leading and giving direction to the people of God, needs to take a break the everyday grind to take an objective look at the things that he/she is doing to remain faithful and steady. In other words, we constantly need to evaluate the state of the organization and in order to that, sometimes we need to step away from what we do and take a good look at the whole picture from a distance. And that is exactly what I did. It was even more significant and meaningful because it happened on the eve of our 20th anniversary. I was able to look at all the things we have done and honestly evaluate. There were many successes, but also some shortcomings. We reached our goals in some areas, but failed in some other areas. We have much strength, but we also have some weaknesses. These will be addressed and dealt with in the months to come. As iron sharpens iron, we will continue to sharpen our ministry. This will take some hard work and much prayer. But I believe it will also be fun and exciting. God has told me that for the near future we will concentrate on doing what we already do well. We will work to increase our effectiveness. Then we will begin to implement some ideas that will cause us to deal with our weak areas. Every step along the way, however, I will give guidelines and offer direction, so you don’t feel lost. This week, we will spend some time getting prepared to commemorate our 20th anniversary. It will begin by declaring a fast for the entire congregation. Often in the Old Testament the Israelites were commanded to declare a fast and pray. It was a sign of their repentance and contrition. It was also a sign of their surrender and utter dependence on God. In other words, it was their way of saying, “We need you, Lord.” In the New Testament, the church followed this concept and often fasted when they sensed the Holy Spirit was moving them to step out in faith. So, that is exactly what I want to encourage you to do. I want all of us, including the children, to join us as we fast and seek God together as a family. We want to express our gratitude towards God for what He has done and pray for His favor upon the next 20 years of our journey. We want to tell Him how we need Him. We want to tell Him how important He is in what we are doing. We want to show Him how desperate we are for Him. In the past 20 years He has shown us His mercy in the wilderness. He has kept His promise and has never left us or forsaken us. He provided manna and water to sustain us. He gave us a pillar of clouds during the day and a pillar of fire at night. He gave us clothes to wear and places to rest. He has indeed been faithful! So, I invite you to fast, beginning with dinner on Saturday (4th) until lunch on Sunday (5th). We will break our fast with lunch before service and communion during Sunday service. I want to challenge you to i...