Dear Pathway Church Family,
As we step into the month of May, I’m always reminded what a beautiful season this is. Spring has a way of helping us see new life all around us, and I think that’s especially meaningful as we look at what God is doing in and through our church family. And with Mother’s Day coming up, I also want to take a moment to honor and celebrate the incredible women in our Pathway Family: moms, grandmothers, spiritual mothers, mentors, and women who faithfully love, lead, encourage, and pour into the lives of others. We are so grateful for you and the way God uses your lives to reflect His love and care.
And church, I just have to tell you, my heart is full as I think back over what God did during the Easter season. Over Easter weekend, we saw 89 people take the step of baptism and publicly declare their faith in Jesus. That is something we should never take for granted. Every baptism represents a real person, a real story, and a life being made new by Jesus.
And since Easter, God has continued to move. Over this last month, 17 more people have taken that same step of faith and new life in Christ. These are people God is drawing to Himself, people taking next steps, people beginning or continuing their journey as followers of Jesus. It’s such a clear reminder that God is at work in our church, in our families, in our MicroCampuses, and in places where people may have wondered if anyone still sees them. God sees them. God loves them. And He is still changing lives one person at a time.
This month, we’re also beginning a brand-new message series called Guardrails, and I really believe this series is going to be helpful for every single one of us. We’re going to be walking through the book of Proverbs and talking about some of the everyday areas of life where we all need God’s wisdom; our money, our relationships, our words, our choices, and the direction of our lives.
What I love about Proverbs is how practical it is. God doesn’t just care about what we believe on the weekend. He cares about how we live on Monday, how we speak to the people closest to us, how we make decisions, how we handle stress, and how we walk with wisdom in a world that can feel confusing and overwhelming.
So I want to encourage you to be here for this series, but I also want to encourage you to pay attention to the people around you. When a friend says, “I’ve just been so stressed lately,” or “things in my relationship have been really hard,” or “I don’t know what decision to make,” that may be a moment God is giving you. Not a moment to fix everything, but a moment to care. A moment to listen. A moment to simply say, “I’ve been walking through some of that too. Would you want to come sit with me at Pathway this weekend?” You don’t have to have the perfect words. You don’t have to have all the answers. Just be willing to notice people, love them, and walk alongside them. That’s how God works through His people. That’s how we seek, serve, and share Jesus with the Ones He has placed in our lives.
At Pathway, we believe no one is too far from God. He truly is One Step Away. And every weekend, every baptism, every invitation, every conversation, and every story of life change reminds us that Jesus is still meeting people right where they are and inviting them into new life.
Thank you, Pathway Family, for the way you continue to pray, invite, serve, give, and love people so well. It is one of the great honors of my life to be your pastor, and I’m so grateful to be on this journey with you.
Grateful for each of you,
Pastor Todd Carter