Franklin's Future

      Today is a special day for the Franklin Church. In Acts 14:27, Paul and Barnabas, after their first missionary journey returned to Antioch, assembled the congregation and reported on their work. In like manner, as the congregation is assembled today, our elders will present a report about our work. They will explain what we accomplished in 2005 and what we have planned for 2006.

      The report will include issues regarding attendance, evangelism and growth. It will include issues regarding contribution, finances and budget. It will include discussion of the plans for edifying and building up the congregation and its individual members. The elders have asked Mark Jones to report on issues regarding our younger Bible classes and our upcoming VBS. They have asked Edwin to report on issues regarding evangelism, meetings and our 2006 Fall Focus.

      If you are our guest, we sincerely hope you will see our excitement. We truly believe the hand of the Lord is with us and will continue to be with us. We believe the kingdom of God will grow in Middle Tennessee because of our work. We hope you will be excited enough to want to be a part of it. If so, please, speak with one of our elders about how you can be involved.

      Having said all of that, I hope we can all see the ultimate future of everything we do here in the Franklin Church of Christ. According to I Timothy 3:15, the church is to be the pillar and support of the truth. Each local church is to fulfill that role as well. Our job is not to determine  or decide truth, but to discover and display truth. God has revealed His truth in His Word (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21). We are to learn it and hold it up for all the world to see.

      We remember John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Our goal is to free people from the bondage of sin and death by upholding Christ’s revealed truth. By such work, we will not only grow the congregation in Franklin, we will increase the souls in Christ’s kingdom and the souls who may look forward to heaven.

      Remember Matthew 7:21-23. Our goal is not just to get people to say they love Jesus, but to help people obey Him. In that way, they will hear, “Enter in good and faithful servant.”

      Are you interested in being a part of that process? Are you interested in helping people go to heaven? Then please join us this afternoon at 5pm as some of us get together to discuss plans for helping our guests become working members of the congregation. We will discuss roles as simple as prayer to roles as demanding as visiting our guests. If you want to help the lost get to heaven, please attend this meeting. Please, do your part to set the lost free through spread of the truth.

Edwin L. Crozier