I love to learn. In fact, if I could have made a living by staying in college, I think I may have stuck around even longer than the 5 years it took me to complete my undergraduate degree at Georgia Southern. Back when I was in college, Georgia Southern was always encouraging its students to become lifelong learners. In a world where the life and technology are constantly changing, we are required to continue to learn and grow.

Faith also requires that we learn and grow. When we come to faith in Jesus, we are but infants on our journey and need to spend time learning the depth and breadth of God’s love for us. Then we need to learn how to share that love, to share our faith with the world around us. Christians should be lifelong learners too! I always want to position myself as a learner, because I recognize that I’m not perfect, that I have room to grow, and that new environments and contexts require new skills for life, faith, and ministry.

That’s why I’m so excited for our staff. This Thursday and Friday we are taking a trip to Orlando, Florida to the Orange Tour. This is a conference that will equip us to better reach young families, to train and retain volunteers, to share our faith with the next generation, and grow our children up as disciples of Jesus Christ. This will also be a great time for our staff to grow together and bond. I’m thankful for our Staff Parish Relations Committee’s investment in growing and equipping our staff to better minister to our church and our community.

Our staff is also participating together in the RESET Cohort. This is a monthly meeting designed to help equip us to center our ministry on our mission to “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.” Last month we read “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” by Pete Scazzero and this month we are reading “Emotionally Healthy Discipleship.” We are also gathering to discuss and pray for Pittman Park, its ministries, and the future that God is leading us into.

I hope that you’ll join us as we seek continue to learn and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, and that you too will find ways to be empowered and equipped to live out your call to minister to the world. Click the links here or above to learn more about Orange Tour, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and the RESET Cohort. If you’d like particular direction for how you can learn and grow, feel free to reach out any time!

God bless,

Jonathan Smith
For Jesus. For People. For Community. (For Learning ????)