I absolutely love the fall in Ohio! It is truly beautiful and I can’t wait to see more of the fascinating colors on the trees that fall brings. I am also excited to see what God does this fall at Hope Church. Our small group starts this month where we will be working through the book of James. This will be a great time of learning and fellowship as we seek to grow together in our knowledge of God. At the end of the month, we will also be having our first Men’s Breakfast, which will be a great time of male bonding. If there is one thing that the world needs today, it is men who are willing to lead their families in a Christ-like way and exemplify Godly character in this ungodly world. The Men’s breakfast will be a great opportunity to talk about such matters. Perhaps the biggest happening at Hope Church this month is missions. I am calling October “Missions Emphasis Month,” as we seek to participate in the mission of God to this world. On October 25th, Brian and Christie Kessler will be speaking at Hope and sharing about their cross-cultural ministry experiences. The following Sunday, I will be preaching a sermon called “Thinking like a Missionary.” This will be in anticipation of our annual mission conference, which takes place November 6-8th, this year. David Holdcraft, a professor from Indiana Wesleyan University will be our featured speaker this year. In years past, we have invited missionaries in to share about their experiences on the mission field and to challenge us to live missional lives as well. This year, we are taking it one step further. In an effort to further encourage us to be the missionaries that God has called every Christian to be, we have invited David Holdcraft in to speak on the theme, Preparing for the Mission Field: Defending the Faith. So often we think of cross-cultural missionaries as the professionals and we are just the amateurs. But that is not what we find in the pages of Scripture. Every Christian is a missionary and our mission field is Crawford County. Let me take this opportunity to remind you of our vision statement. “The vision of Hope Church is to grow and develop followers of Jesus Christ who understand and live their calling as missionaries, spreading God’s love to the world.” As Charles Spurgeon puts it, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” I hope and pray that your will take your missionary calling seriously and seek to bring God glory in all that you do.