Dear Church Family,

It’s heating up! But don’t let the heat drain you of your enthusiasm for outreach. Do you know the history of the word enthusiasm? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says, “It may come as a surprise to many people, when they first look up the word enthusiasm, to see that its original meaning has to do with passion for religion, rather than passionate or eager interest in general. A brief explanation of the word’s etymology should clear this up. Enthusiasm entered the English language around the beginning of the 17th century. It was borrowed from the Greek enthousiasmos, meaning ‘inspiration or possession by a god.’ For the first two hundred or so years that it was used in English, enthusiasm was primarily employed to refer to beliefs or passions that related to religion.” That’s the meaning of enthusiasm that I want us to continue to embrace. Let’s continue to be passionate and eager to reach out to those in our community and invite them into a relationship with God. We need everyone to sow the seeds of invitation broadly throughout our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. Let’s continually ask the Lord to keep us enthusiastic about outreach!

In Christ,

Pastor Ron Jones