A year ago, I was learning a new ministry all over again. My inbox filled faster than I could empty it. I was getting used to how things worked, figuring out who to call for what, and getting to know our staff. And then there was the moment I came to know well: walking into one of our congregations for the first time, shaking a hand at the door, and saying, “Hello, I’m Adam, your new Regional Minister,” while quietly hoping I remembered to let them know I was coming.
But alongside every awkward first, there were God moments. People went out of their way to welcome me. Cards showed up in the mail. A staff member took time for lunch with me. And an Executive Committee met my learning curve with grace and patience.
Since then, I have spent most of my Sundays in your sanctuaries and fellowship halls. Now, with that first year behind me, I want to use this space to say thank you, and to tell you what I have seen.
I have learned three things this year, mostly by watching you.
The first is that there is no single way to be a congregation in the Christian Church in Georgia. We do not all read scripture alike, and we have never needed to agree on everything to come to the same Table. This year I saw why that matters. I also watched people of different races worship together and roll up their sleeves to serve alongside one another. In a state and a country where race has so often divided the church, that is more than a difference we make room for. It is a sign of the repair God is still working in us.
I saw it most clearly at our 172nd Regional Assembly in April. I sat in worship, met clergy from across the state, and listened as people talked honestly with one another in small groups. I spoke to the whole Region for the first time during the business session. We celebrated new churches together, and I was installed as your Regional Minister.
The second is that faithfulness usually looks small up close. I have seen it in care packages handed to someone in need on a Sunday morning, in gardens that put fresh food on a neighbor’s table, in a whole community sitting down together at one long table, and in young people leading worship for one another at the Regional Youth Assembly. Put all of it side by side across a Region, and you begin to see something much bigger than any one piece of it. Every congregation and community I have visited has a story like this.
The third is that what we look at shapes what we see. I will not pretend this has been an easy year. Some of you have carried hard decisions, tight budgets, and grief over things that used to be, and our Region has had its share of those too. Those things are real, and I do not want to wave them away. But I have noticed that the congregations who keep their eyes on what God is doing, and not only on what is going wrong, tend to thrive, and I do not only mean in numbers. They seem to notice God more often, and in more places.
Paul ends a prayer for the church at Ephesus with these words: “Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, NRSVue). I have always read that verse as a promise about what God might do someday. This year I have started paying attention to four words in the middle of it: at work within us. The power is at work within us, in congregations and communities across Georgia, right now, in care packages and gardens and long tables set for the neighborhood.
Much of that power shows up in all of you who give your time, energy, and experience to this Region without being paid for it: you who serve on our boards, commissions, and task forces, who plan our Assembly, who serve alongside our youth, and who volunteer at Camp Christian so that others can surrender their cellphones for a week and simply be in the presence of God. Some of you carry a whole ministry without any title at all. Without each of you, we could not be the Region we are. Thank you. You are a blessing.
So as Thanksgiving comes, here is my invitation. Sometime this month, take a moment with your congregation or community, or around your own table, and name one place this year where God did more than you asked. Then, if you are willing, send it to me at adam@gadisciples.org. I would love to hear it, and I would love to share a few with the Region.
Thank you for a year I will not forget. It has been a gift to be your partner in ministry.
Blessings,
Rev. Adam
Rev. Dr. Adam Harmon
Regional Minister, Christian Church in Georgia
2306 Vineville Avenue, Suite B
Macon, Georgia 31201
adam@gadisciples.org
Where is Pastor Adam in November?
11/1: Preach at FCC Lawrenceville
11/2: Commission on Ministry Meeting
11/3: Regional Finance Team
11/4: Atlanta office hours at Peachtree CC
11/5: Chestnut Ridge CC Transition Team
11/7: Camp Christian Task Force at CCCC
11/8: Worship at First Atlanta Chinese Christian Church
11/10 New Church Commission Meeting
11/14: Regional Board Meeting at Cherry Log CC
11/15: FCC Macon 140th Anniversary
11/16: ARPR Meeting
11/18: Atlanta office hours at Peachtree CC
11/19: Executive Committee Meeting
11/20-21: Ray of Hope Men's Retreat
11/22: Worship at Bethesda Christian Church
11-25-29: Family Vacation
This message appeared in the November 6, 2026 Regional Newsletter. If you missed it, read more in the Regional Newsletter Archives here. Or sign up to receive the monthly newsletter here.
