With the arrival of this newsletter in your inbox, summer is upon us. It may not yet be official according to the calendar, but June 1 is definitely the unofficial start. You can tell because your school-aged kids are soon to be spending all day at home looking for hourly snacks. In a week they will announce that they’re bored. That’s your cue to tell them that when you were their age, you had to work all summer long…in 100-degree weather…for 12-hour days.

Along with the constant presence of your kids, June also brings Father’s Day. I am very grateful for the fathers of Pathway. By and large I see a group of men who are making a serious effort to grow in their parenting skill and learn how to be better dads. It is a challenging task to be sure, but one with an amazing payoff. To all our dads I encourage you to press on toward being a great father remembering there is grace along the way for times when we fall short.

You may also be interested in a quick update on the progress of the building expansion. Following the strong vote of the congregation, the team went back to work with the architect and construction company to do additional fine tuning on the details of the new children’s wing and remodeled space within the existing structure. It is coming along well. We have also been spending a considerable amount of time in developing a plan for raising the funds necessary to proceed with the project. That too is on track. My thanks goes to our excellent team of leaders who are moving things ahead. PLEASE be in prayer for the process and those engaged in the details.

While there are changes happening at our local church, there are changes taking place on the national level of our denominational association as well. The president of our national association is retiring effective the end of this month. A new president has been nominated and will be voted on at the national meetings of the denomination later in June. I will be at those meetings representing Pathway and participating in that selection. You can be in prayer as a new president of the Evangelical Free Church of America is chosen.

I hope your summer gets off to a great start this month and that you find time to enjoy it with family and friends. As you do so, consider how you can best make an investment in the lives of others and be intentional with your interactions.

Many blessings!

Pastor Jeff