Thank you for the way you have welcomed us to the Big Spring District! The more we learn about the district, the more we like being here. The people are wonderful. We have strong leadership in the churches. There is excitement about ministry, and especially about the “Big Event” taking place in Lamesa on August 28. We are learning more about what it means to DEPLOY, INVITE, NURTURE, AND EQUIP disciples for ministry (the DINE model). I look forward to getting into as many churches in the Big Spring District as possible in the coming months.

 

My wife of 32 years is Sandy. We have a son, Douglas, and his wife, Kelly, who just married in June. They live in Abilene, and Douglas teaches and coaches at Jim Ned High School. Our second son is David, and he lives and works in Abilene. Our daughter is Kimberly, who is married to Pedro Encarnacion. They have just moved back to Abilene from Gainesville, where he will teach at Cooper High School. Kim and Pedro are expecting a child to be born in January.

 

I grew up in Munday, as well as in Seymour, Texas. I graduated from McMurry University in 1977, and from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1980. I was a pastor at Faith United Methodist Church in Vernon; Idalou United Methodist Church; First UMC in Littlefield; First UMC in Vernon; and Aldersgate UMC in Abilene, Texas, before moving to Big Spring.

 

Sandy and I love music, and we enjoy traveling. We also have a passion for missions, and I plan on making a fifth VIM trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011. Maybe you’d like to join us! I believe every Christian disciple is called into ministry, and that the church functions best when all the members of Christ’s Body exercise their ministries for building up God’s kingdom.

 

I look forward to hearing how God is working in your life as I travel around the district and get to meet many of you. Many of our churches have creative and life-changing ministries taking place. My goal is to hear about those ministries and to encourage you to take risks as you share the love of Christ with others. Where are you taking risks to DEPLOY others in ministry? How do you and your congregation INVITE others into a love affair with Christ? What are the ways you NURTURE discipleship among those in your congregation’s care? How do you EQUIP disciples to be the hands and feet of Christ? Answering these questions will tell us a lot about what kinds of churches we are in the Big Spring District. It will also help us know what kind of disciples of Jesus Christ we are.

 

In Christ,

Derrell Patterson