We are still basking in the afterglow of what is arguably the most successful Youth Convention (ISYA) on record in this Council due in no small measure to the unflappable and tenacious leadership of outgoing Chairlady Evangelist Jamie Moore and her staff. I must admit that there were points along the way wherein she gave me pause for concern. I am sure there were others who felt the pinch as well, but she knew what she wanted, and she was willing to push the envelop until she got her way. This is invariably what good leaders do.

The results were glorious. Souls were saved each night, the atmosphere was charged with the presence of the Lord, the preaching was, well, ‘off the chain’, to use a young people’s vernacular. In addition to all of these blessings, the incoming ISYA staff will begin their term of office in a financially solvent condition.

I am a great believer in process. I believe in letting the system work. As an organization, we have a system in place, but it does not always work as efficiently as it could. Taking this Fiftieth Anniversary ISYA Convention as a case study, I would have to say that our system worked, but not as well as it should have. It makes me wonder what more the Lord might have been able to do had we been just a little more unified in our effort, had we given our leader just a little bit more support and encouragement, and not made the process such a fight for her, and it was.

It shall be my number one priority as Council Chairman to strengthen the understanding of how our system is supposed to work. If I can successfully accomplish that goal I believe it will greatly reduce the conflicts that arise from having to make it up as we go along. This will save our leaders in every department of this Council a lot of time and money that is wasted due to having to figure out what we can and cannot do.

Illinois is the greatest Council in the PCAF. This not something to be bragged about, but it is a responsibility to be upheld. Fifty years has God kept us and we are ‘yet holding on’. We are building on the foundation of leaders who have paved the way for us. Who have prayed and fasted and have weathered the storms and stood the tests. Who have fought battles in the spirit, against opposition from within and from without, but who through it all have forged this great fellowship that we are enjoying today. We must not give in nor let down on any point, for we are going to need this fellowship more than ever as the world grows increasingly more hostile to the truth of God’s Word.

Honoring the Past, Focusing on the Future, it sounds like a two edged sword to me! We will “Honor the Past” by continuing in the apostles doctrine and living up to the standard of holiness. We will “Focus on the Future” by seeking our highest potential for spiritual accomplishment which in God is literally unlimited.

Welcome to the Future!!!