February 19. 2026
Our Missions Festival begins this Sunday! From childhood, I have been richly blessed to be in churches that emphasized the importance of missions and evangelism, went on mission trips at home and abroad, and frequently brought in missionaries to challenge and encourage us. I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had to participate in local and global missions. I'm thankful to be a part of POPC now, a congregation that loves to support and pray for missionaries, and to go do the work of missions, and desires to see missionaries called from our own membership.
The triune God is the source of missions. Together the three persons of the trinity devised the plan of salvation. The Father is the one who seeks worshippers (John 4:24). He sent His Son Jesus into the world to seek and to save the lost from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Luke 19:10; see Revelation 7:9; Luke 14:23; Matthew 22:9). Together the Father and the Son have sent the Spirit to regenerate and renew the dead, corrupt spiritual corpses of the elect so that we might be able to worship God in spirit and in truth.
I encourage you to be present at as many of the missions festival events as you're able to make, especially morning and evening services on both Sundays, Sunday School, Wednesday evening meal and presentation, ladies' luncheon, and the men's breakfast.
We are finite, we only have so much time in a week, and we all have various commitments to which we have been called. But it is always the case that we do what we want to do - the choices we make regarding how we spend our time reveal what is most important to us, what we value above all. Certainly this is true, most important, and most telling, in terms of how we spend the Lord's Day. But in all circumstances the Lord would have us redeem the time and make the most of the fleeting days He has given us. We always need to be praying that our love for Him, for His people, and for the lost would "abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so that we might approve the things that are best" (Philippians 1:9).
Visit our website to view the schedule, register for the events that need it, and fill out a missions commitment card.
Registration is needed for the Wednesday night meal and nursery, Thursday night dinner with the Bonhams, the ladies' luncheon, and the men's breakfast.
We encourage each of our members to make a commitment to support our missions partners financially (in addition to your giving to the church), and/or to pray for our missions partners. The commitment cards, which are available in the Sanctuary or online, enable you to communicate your commitment so that we might know that our direct member contribution number will be reached, and even exceeded!
And don't forget to grab a 2026 missions passport for your family to use to learn about and pray for our missionaries!
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I want to highlight and congratulate several recent accomplishments by CCS students. Even though our high school is only a few years old, yet by the will and kindness of God we have been able to accomplish some encouraging goals. Several of our POPC students contributed to these accolades!
The CCS boys' basketball team won the 3A South Regional Championship, placed 3rd place in the 3A Regional tournament, and is playing today in the MAIS Overall tournament.
The CCS boys' soccer team won the Division IV Championship.
The CCS Theater Department had four entries selected to perform at the MS Thespian Conference later this month: duet musical, group musical, dance solo, and dance duet.
Keep CCS in your prayers, that the Lord would continue to enable us to equip children to love the Lord, to think biblically, and to glorify God in every area of life. We'll get to hear a report during our Missions Festival from Dr. Ben Rogers, Upper School Bible and Latin teacher at CCS!