Advent Lutheran Church - Mentor, OH

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Life is good for a guy named Joe.   It is with great humility and deep thanks for the grace of our God expressed through your love, support and faithful work for the sake of the Gospel of Christ.  Thank you Advent for showing how much you love Jesus through your love of my family and myself.

These are days of challenge and opportunity for all of us as we grow a mission master plan.  I ask you to stand with me, walk with me, and join me, for I cannot do this without God and all of you.  I am in awe of God ’s amazing grace and presence — ok, so it took this experience to slow me down — enough to discover a deeper walk with my Savior.

I have met Jesus through my journey and I know he has my back — I am his all the way.   I know that I will be back stronger and more passionate than ever.  I know that I will be the fastest pastor on two wheels.  I know that God in Christ is far more able than I to make ministry happen.  I know that God loves you all, and so do I.

In Christ,
Pastor Kovitch
(December 2006)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Mutual Ministry, Church Council, and I have just completed the Code of Ethics for our congregation and a review of my job description after six years of service to Advent.   In October I will be reviewed in relation to this description for my performance and opportunities for growth.   The Code of Ethics is posted in the Narthex and will be utilized as a tool in leadership development.

I have also defined my focus for the next 12 months and those two areas are in the area of worship renewal and leadership development.   As Lutheran Christians, we are saved by grace through a growing faith not by mere works rituals.   Regarding worship, I know that God is calling us to a deeper spiritual and expanding celebration of Christ in Word, communion, and song.   As Lutheran Christians we are a priesthood of believers.   Regarding leadership development, I know that God is calling me to empower, inspire, and equip everyone to work and pray in mission.   With the aid of the Holy Spirit, we will build our congregation with living stones of heart, soul, and mind.   I see us continuing to move forward, manage our growth and the quality of our faith while expanding and flowing into the streets of Mentor and beyond.   We are first and foremost a spiritual house built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.   Since I have come here, we have laid the foundation of strong administration and infrastructure that has launched council renewal, a master plan for the future building needs, a strong prayer and care ministry that is second to none, continued the conversation on ways to celebrate and manage our growing church, and expanded staff to support the mission.

My attention will now shift to maximize my time by more effectively leading you into a deeper spiritual commitment, in part through my focus on worship and leadership development.  This has been affirmed by Mutual Ministry, Church Council, and most importantly Advent’s children.

I have been blessed by two of our youth who shared experiences from God about our ministry and my relation to it. I ’m sure you believe as I do that God can communicate to us through others, especially children. One of our youth came to me saying, "Pastor, I need to talk to you about this dream I had and this message in my head that keeps coming to me. I dreamt about Jesus and he wanted me to tell you something. The building is great and all and I am sure we need more space, but Jesus told me that you need to continue to connect more deeply with us, focus on getting God’s word into our hearts and souls." She was an obedient youth with the message to let the church leaders take care of any building needs there may be, but that I need to help build the hearts and souls and minds of God’s people into living stones of faith and love, now. I was inspired by the courage and obedience of this youth. I heard this as God telling me, "You are on the right track, now get moving!"

The second word from one of our children came from an e-mail sent by a parent: "Good Morning Pastor, Hope all is well with you on this great day. I wanted to share with you what Charlie commented last night – while watching the Extreme Makeover Show - it was about a family that had to deal with blindness and deafness - and creating a home that was safe for them to live in. He stated while watching the show that Extreme Makeover reminded him of Church. I asked why and he said 'Well, Pastor K is like Tye...People come into the church and he helps them.' Charlie related to the different families on the show - to our new members that come into the church. Tye is very motivated on the show and shows real emotions when helping people. He has a very can do attitude! I thought this was a great comparison so wanted to share...not sure if you have seen the show but it is a show that shows there is much good in the world out there... Have a great day, Debbie

Let us now, this very moment and the moments ahead, commit ourselves to building each other and this ministry with living stones and call all to repentance and a deeper walk with Christ.

In His Steps,

Pastor Kovitch
(October 2006)

There was no Pastor's Corner article for November 2006 as Pastor Kovitch was recuperating from surgery. Please keep him in your prayers for a speedy recovery.