Church at Wieuca

Dr. Kevin Head: Thank you so much, Rick, our musicians, and all who were singing this morning. What a wonderful day today is. What a great day to worship and celebrate together. I'm so thankful for our strategic implementation team. Susan, thank you for leading today and for your leadership with our strategic implementation team. To Mr. Bob Gibson, who has also led this team for a number of years, and to all of the folks who have served.

Many of you know this, but these individuals on our strategic implementation team have spent hours and hours and hours as we discerned God's leadership and guidance for us to see what the future may look like. We're excited and so thankful for those who have served. I'm also so thankful for our partners who are here today. Thank you so much. We are grateful for your presence in worship today.

Even more, we're grateful that you serve with us with patience, with diligence, excellent work, and the spirit of cooperation in everything that we say and do. We are eternally grateful for each one of you. Thank you so much for being here with us today. As you have heard, we as a church still have a long way to go. But today, we pause to give thanks to God for progress that is being made and to reflect on this moment as we look to celebrate our future together.

As we do so, I invite you to hear this word of scripture this morning as we reflect on celebrating our future that is in God's hands. Our text for today is Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 and following. It's a familiar passage of scripture. Listen to this word with fresh ears and insight today.

Scripture says immediately Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, "Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me."

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." May God bless the reading and the hearing of this word this morning.

The title of the message is "Celebrating Our Future." Celebrating our past is much easier. It's easier because the past is familiar. It is certain. It is set in stone. We know for sure what happened and we can celebrate it. Celebrating our future, well, that's more difficult. It's uncertain. Who knows what the future holds? Who knows what the next few years will have in store for us as a church family?

As a church, most of you have been on this long journey with the Wieuca Reimagined project much longer than I have. I have said many times that for me, it's like you as a church have been running a marathon and you get to mile 24, 25 and I kind of jump on board and I'm like, "Hey, let's run to the finish line. Why is everybody so tired? I'm just getting started." But you all have been running for a while.

No matter how long any of us have traveled, today we're thankful. We celebrate what God is doing. Prayerful plans are becoming reality. Contracts are signed, deadlines are now approaching. The finish line, though it is still ahead of us, is starting to become visible. God's work is becoming reality. So what does that mean? What should we say in light of that today?

In our passage for this morning, just before we started reading, Jesus had just fed the five thousand. It was a moment worth celebrating. But immediately after this great moment, Jesus sends the disciples across the lake to the other side while he goes by himself to pray. Later during the night, Jesus comes to them out in the middle of the lake, in the middle of the water. He is walking on the water to them.

Now let's be clear, this was not an illusion. It was not Jesus walking on shallow water and it just looked like he was walking on the water. No, Jesus was walking on the water. Some of you may remember this news story from a few years ago. There was a reporter who was covering a flood and in order to do her report, she got in a canoe. She was in the canoe with the cameras rolling and she said, "I'm such and such and I'm here live reporting in this flood-stricken area. I was forced to get into the canoe to cover this story."

But as the camera was on this reporter who was struggling to keep the canoe afloat, two men come walking by just behind the canoe with water only up to their ankles. The folks back in the studio tried to cover it and they said, "Well, if the water is so deep and you have to be in that canoe, what are those two guys doing? Are they walking on top of the water?" Well, of course not. Nobody can walk on the top of the water. Nobody that is, except Jesus.

Jesus walked on the water. It was a miracle. But then something else happens. Right after this miracle, something else happens. When the disciples realized that this figure was not a ghost but it was Jesus, Peter says to him, "I'm going to walk out there to you, Jesus." And Jesus says, "Come." Now the Bible doesn't tell us what the disciples in the boat were thinking about Peter's plan, but I imagine they were thinking, "Peter, are you crazy? Have you lost your mind? You think you're going to get out of this boat and you're going to walk across the water to Jesus?"

But Peter got out of the boat and he did it. It didn't last long. His faith began to falter a little bit and he began to sink. But he actually did it for a little bit. And sometimes we focus on his sinking and his lack of faith, but think with me about the courage and the faith that it took for him to get out of that boat and to try it. I think Peter has something to teach us, something very important on this day as we celebrate all that is happening.

As we celebrate our progress in the Wieuca Reimagined project, we also recognize today something is required of us. Our renovated and new buildings that are coming, they will be wonderful. They will be, as Hank said, I love the phrase he said, a porch to Buckhead. They will be wonderful. I'm so excited and looking forward to them. But let us all remember our new buildings and our renovated buildings when they come are tools for ministry.

They are tools for ministry. In other words, they are not the end goal. They are facilities with a purpose. Our new facilities, our renovated facilities will be opportunities for us to be even better at engaging this community, at impacting this community. I think Peter has something important to teach us. Number one is this: to make the most of our new and renovated facilities, like Peter, we have to get out of the boat. We have to get out of the boat.

Listen, it's much easier to stay in the boat, isn't it? I mean, the disciples were fishermen. They were comfortable in the boat. They wanted to stay in the boat. But doing what the Lord commanded when Jesus said to Peter, "Come," Peter got out of the boat to follow Jesus. In other words, he didn't stay in his comfort zone. He tried something new. He did something different.

Here's a second point: to get out of the boat, we have to overcome our fear. Trying new things takes a lot of courage. We will fail. We will experience setbacks. But we will also succeed. Someone once said to accomplish extraordinary things, we must attempt extraordinary things. That's the key. In other words, you never accomplish something extraordinary unless you try to do something that is extraordinary, especially for the cause of Christ in this world.

This morning as I think about celebrating our future, I am so excited. I am excited about new facilities. I'm excited about renovated facilities. I am excited about new ministry opportunities for us as a church family to be the porch to Buckhead. I'm so excited about new ministry opportunities that I want to share some things with you this morning. Just briefly, I know we only have a few moments, but I want to share with you some ideas for new ministries that join hand in hand with new facilities and renovated facilities for our future.

In 2026, every minister on our staff has a list of goals that he or she is working on to accomplish during this calendar year. But I want you as a church to know one of those goals for every minister is an outward-facing goal. In other words, every minister on our church staff has a goal that he or she will lead that is new ventures to reach beyond our walls to the needs of this community. These are ways this year we as a ministerial staff are getting out of the boat.

And you'll be invited to join us. You'll be invited this year to join us as we get out of the boat, as we prepare for new and renovated facilities by offering new ministries. Let me just share a few of these new ministries that are coming to us this year as a church family. Number one, we want to launch a job networking ministry. We as a church have a unique opportunity in Buckhead, in this community to start a ministry that helps people who are looking to find employment.

So many of you have incredible business expertise. God has blessed you with experiences that can benefit others. We've already had preparatory meetings to pave the way for this new ministry. Soon you will be invited to join us as we plan to launch this new ministry so that by the latter months of 2026, we have a new ministry to help folks in this community who are looking for employment. One way for us to get out of the boat.

Second, a new ministry is coming for folks dealing with dementia and memory care issues, for them and for their caretakers to be able to come together to support each other, to encourage each other, to sing together as Rick will lead. Songshape is the name. To share life together, music, education, and life enrichment through music for folks who struggle with memory issues and their caretakers.

Three, we have intentional plans for parents and young families. We have opportunities coming even starting the end of this month for workshops and conferences targeted to the needs of parents, topics of interest involving communication in the family, social media, technology, and the use of technology, all these things that families today are struggling with. We want to be a place to address and talk and address these issues for young families.

Also, a community outreach group for family members who have struggles with mental health as well as their caregivers. Family caregivers who care for those with mental health in the family, we want to provide a place for support and encouragement for people who struggle in these areas. Also, an opportunity for us to partner with families who are involved with our Camp Wieuca over the summer as those families and us as a church join forces together to pack backpacks for needy families in our community. A wonderful way for us to join with our Camp Wieuca and our church family to provide a ministry.

We also will see our students in their ministry having times where they intentionally are inviting other students to come and to join them in ministry opportunities throughout the year. On and on the ideas go. These are just a taste of ways we as a church this year are launching new ministries that will then enable us with new facilities to be the porch to Buckhead, to reach this community with the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

These are just some of the ways that we as a church will be getting out of the boat as we prepare for God's future. It's exciting as we prepare to enter new facilities, as we prepare to launch new ministries, as we prepare to embrace and celebrate what God is doing here among us at the corner of Peachtree and Wieuca in the heart of Buckhead. The future, it can feel uncertain. The world is changing. Our community is changing. Our church is changing.

But we are not called to fear the future. We are called to embrace it. We are not called to be afraid of getting out of the boat. We are called to be people of courage that step out in faith to respond with love and grace to the needs of others. We are not called to stay comfortable. We are called to join in what God is doing in this place and to partner with God to reach this community.

Verse 33 of our text says then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." Today we do the same, grateful for the past, excited for the future, and ready to step out of the boat together as we venture into God's exciting future for the church at Wieuca. Let us pray.

Good and gracious God, what a blessing today it is to be a part of this celebration not only of future plans but of you and of what you are doing and how you have called us to partner with you. Lord, give us faith. Give us courage. Give us commitment to be your people who do not fear the future, do not fear it, but embrace and celebrate who you are and what you're doing. So lead us and guide us in these ways for we pray in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Our song of commitment today is a prayer that each one of us can sing and I pray that as you sing these words, these become your prayer of commitment to God. "Great is Thy Faithfulness." Let's stand together as we sing.