Bethlen Almanac 1998 (Ligonier)

Tóparti Egyházmegye - Lakeside Classis

For these and other reasons we need to consider who God is calling us to be, and how we might move into the future with a passionate, Christcentered vision of what it means to be the First Church in our American Hungarian community. I say this knowing full well that such a vision will probably mean some significant changes in how I understand myself as a pastor and how that ministry gets played out from day to day. I say that, knowing full well that as years pass, we will probably have to adapt and change as a congregation as well. Such are the prerequisites of keeping the gospel relevant and transformative in the lives of the people of our Church Family.

Now, how do we do that? How do we stay true to who we already are? We do this by immersing our personal and congregational life with prayer. We do this by delving back into the rich resources of the Scriptures. We do this by energetic, dynamic, and inspired worship. And we do it by taking all that God has blessed us with and make sure we use it to become a blessing to others. I think we do these things by taking the time we need to talk, to dream, to debate, and to put concrete plans on the table.

My prayer for 1999 is a simple one. I pray that our Church will emerge into the new century, the new millennium, with a compelling understanding to rely not on our ability to see and to act, but to trust that God will first show us the way, and then give us all we need to get there. Now if we had a watch that could count down to that—I’d say, ‘Count me in!’ With these thoughts, let me extend a personal invitation to you all who read these lines to come and experience the joy of faith at our beloved Church. Grace and Peace be yours!

Rev. Steven Géczy, Pastor, and his family

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