October 11, 2026, Morning Service
Homecoming 2026
Pastor Greg Isom
I look at our annual Homecoming celebration from two different perspectives. First, it is a celebration of the faithfulness of God to us. He has carried us through another year full of challenges, changes, bad times and good ones! We have cried together, prayed together, trusted together, served together, laughed together, and rejoiced together. The road God is leading us down has not been easy, but He has faithfully walked with us and kept us together and strong. He has blessed us with several new family members to join us in our journey through life. The Spirit has been faithful to speak to us through the Word, investing and challenging us to draw closer to the Lord and be all that He created us to be. I can see spiritual growth here in our church family and the future is looking bright for us as we stay true and faithful to our Lord and Savior. Today is a day to celebrate each other and thank God for crossing our paths to walk this life together. We are better together! I personally want to thank the Lord for calling me to shepherd such a precious flock of sheep. I love you all dearly and am so humbled to be called to be your pastor. Thank you for your prayers and support because without them I would struggle.
Secondly, I feel Homecoming is a great time to both look back to where we have come from and where we are going. Jerry, through the calling of the Holy Spirit, began our fellowship 48 years ago. The Lord called Him to start this Bible teaching fellowship and he said, “Here I am Lord send me.” From that one man saying “yes” to God’s call, each of us have been impacted by his sacrifices to establish the church God called him to. Think of all the many churches we have seen come and go over that time, but thank God and His grace that we are still here and going strong. We have a wonderful foundation built upon the Word of God and though the world is changing we continue to stand firmly not being moved by the many “winds of doctrine” our society is now teaching. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever and our goal is to follow Him wherever He leads us. Our mission statement comes from the Book of Revelations:
Revelations 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
As a fellowship of the Lord’s church our goal continues to be one that calls Bible things by Bible names, allowing the Spirit to guide our understanding and lead us down the path He has chosen for us. We strive to create a church atmosphere that is not one based on judgement or condemnation, but one where “all we do is done with love!” (I Cor. 16:13) I don’t have to preach on that very often, as that is exactly who we are in Christ; loving God and loving one another. That spirit of love invites people to “Come” and see, hear, and experience that God is real and is at work here in our hearts and lives and is calling them to join us.
Again, I thank God for each of you being part of this journey of the Bride of Christ Fellowship in Mitchell. God has called us together with a purpose in mind. “Occupy until I come.” We are doing the best we can to serve one another and this community being motivated by our love for our Lord. We are tools in His hands to build His kingdom here in our little corner of the world. We however cannot get complacent; we must be on guard constantly against the attack of our enemy and have our spiritual armor on and be ready to engage at all times. We know that when we have an effective ministry our enemy will try to resist us, but we need to know that and be prepared for it. That is where we are safer together!
There are also areas we can improve upon. We have a shortage of teachers for our children so please pray to see if God is calling you to share in carrying that load. We have begun both men’s and ladies’ meetings to both draw us closer to God and each other. These are great opportunities to get involved and keep yourself around brothers and sisters who are investing in you as you invest in them. We can grow together!
Are there other areas that we can get better? Absolutely! Know that if God lays an idea on your heart of how we can improve, reach and follow through with it. I know “somebody” needs to do that, but that “somebody” maybe you! Pray for God to open a door for you to put your spiritual gifts to work to build our church family stronger. We are better together, but we can only be our best when each of us do our part to carry the vision the Lord has called our church out to completion. Paul told the Philippian church this:
Phil. 1:3-6 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, (4) always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, (5) for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, (6) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
So there is no place to quit and become complacent. Let’s keep our eyes open to busy about what the Lord has called us to.
Gal 6:9-10 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
To close today, I would like to read the entire 2nd chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church which encouraged them to keep on keeping on. Let this be our challenge in moving forward to be all that God has called us to.
Philippians 2