Kingswood Church

10/15/2026

A Thursday Prayer For My Pastor

Father God, today I pray over my pastor’s protection, health, and wholeness.

Your Word says, “I hope you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” So strengthen both. Guard their body. Restore what ministry drains. Renew their energy. When they feel weak, be their strength. When they grow tired, lift them higher. As they trust in You, let them soar on wings like eagles. Let them run and not grow weary. Let them walk and not faint. Empower them with Christ’s mighty power working within.

Search the earth, Lord, and strengthen my pastor’s heart so that it is fully committed to You.

Protect their emotional health. When discouragement speaks, let hope speak louder. When their heart feels heavy, help them praise again. Fill them with humility, gentleness, and patience. Teach them to be joyful, prayerful, thankful in every circumstance. Anchor their soul in You.

Guard my pastor from the enemy’s schemes. Make them strong in the Lord and in Your mighty power. Clothe them with the full armor of God. When temptation comes, provide the way out. Remind them that You are faithful. You will never allow more than they can endure.

By Your divine power, You have given them everything needed for a godly life.

Hold them securely, Jesus. The evil one cannot touch what You protect. The Spirit within them is greater than anything against them.

Strengthen their body. Steady their mind. Shield their life.

And through Your protection and power, let them thrive for Your glory. In Jesus’ name
Amen

10/15/2026

Next Saturday, October 24th, is Kingswood’s Annual Fall Festival! We can’t wait to see all the kids dressed up, to pass out lots of hot dogs and candy, and fellowship with the community. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors.

10/15/2026

A Mainline for Today: When the problem is bigger than you, prayer reminds you it isn’t bigger than God.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

10/14/2026

A Wednesday Prayer For My Pastor

Father God, today I lift up my pastor’s leadership.
You told Joshua to be strong and very courageous.

So give my pastor that kind of courage. When the vision feels bigger than the resources, when the opposition feels louder than the support, remind them the battle is not theirs, but Yours. Help them take their position, stand firm, and watch You bring victory. Guard them from fear. Free them from discouragement. Let them lead with bold faith
because You are with them wherever they go.

Guide them clearly. You promised to show the best
pathway for life. When decisions press from the right or the left, let Your voice rise above every other voice. Teach them what is good. Lead them along the paths they should follow. Make them sensitive to Your Spirit and confident in Your direction.

Give them wisdom. When the weight of leadership feels heavy, remind them they can ask. You are generous. Pour out insight for hard choices, clarity for complex situations, and discernment for unseen challenges.

Shape their heart in humility. Protect them from selfish ambition. Let them think of others first. As they humble themselves before You, lift them in honor at the right time. Let their leadership reflect the servant heart of Jesus.

And make them an example. In speech. In conduct. In love. In faith. In purity. May we see the fruit of their life and follow their faith.

Strengthen their courage. Sharpen their vision. Steady their steps. And through their leadership, build Your church for Your glory. In Jesus’ name
Amen

10/14/2026

A Mainline for Today: Because Jesus is near, someone else’s behavior doesn’t have to determine yours.

5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.
Philippians 4:5 ESV

10/13/2026

A message from our Conference Superintendent, Rev. Kari Lewis Howard

With Care AND Skill

As the North Carolina Conference of the Global Methodist Church, our mission is to make the life of discipleship normative through worship, word, and witness, so that we make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.

Psalm 78:70-72 (NLT)
He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. 71 He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants— God’s own people, Israel. 72 He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.

The heart of a faithful shepherd is seen not only in the sermons they preach but in the people they serve. Like David, who was called from tenderly watching the sheep, to mightily defending the people, pastors are called by God to serve with compassion and lead with skill.

Pastors will take a call in the middle of the night to pray during an emergency while their family sleeps.
Pastors rejoice in celebrations while going through personal struggles.
Pastors give financially to the missions even when still in great debt from seminary.
Pastors love the church, even when members turn away and leave.

They baptize new believers, welcome the new members, pray at bedsides, write recommendation letters, lead the church with fresh vision, teach the scriptures, preach the gospel, serve the sacraments, feed the hungry, encourage the downcast and win people to Christ.

The pastors lead in fulfilling the vision to make the life of discipleship normative in their own lives and to encourage every member to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus Christ. They order the life of worship for the church, they offer the application of the word of God and seek the transformation of lives as they share in being witnesses of the salvation of Jesus Christ.

This is how our conference mission becomes more than a statement. Through worship, pastors lead people into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Through the word, they help people understand scripture and apply its truth to everyday life. Through witness, they encourage congregations to share the gospel in their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.

Of course, pastoral ministry also involves sacrifices that others seldom see. There are moments of loneliness, interrupted vacations, financial challenges, difficult conversations, and personal disappointments. Yet pastors continue to answer Gods call because their love for the church begins first with their love for Jesus Christ.

God calls pastors to lead the church with compassion. Like the shepherd David who tended his sheep with great care, the same is true of the pastor. Pastors truly put their hearts into their congregations caring for the details of not just the church body, but the individual members, families and the community in which they live.

God calls pastors to lead the church with skill. Like the king David who fought for the safety of his flock in the field and the people of his God, pastors are called to defend and guide the church spiritually. They lead with the gospel and seek the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in themselves and those around them.

All of this is just a snapshot in the life of a pastor. They can often experience loneliness, cut short or cancel vacations, have insufficient financial resources, and sacrifice in many unseen ways for the church. But they do this because they first love the Lord.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. It’s a good time to say THANK YOU to your pastors for all that they do for the church in ways that are seen and unseen.

I will add my thank you to our pastors across the state who are making a difference in this conference every day as we make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe. Thank God for our pastors! Remember our mission and their leadership as we all live into the vision:

Worship the Lord.
Study the word.
Be a witness of the gospel.

Make Disciples.
Spread scriptural holiness.
This is our calling. This is our mission.

In Christ,
Rev. Kari Howard
NC Conference Superintendent

10/13/2026

A Tuesday Prayer For My Pastor

Father God, today I pray over my pastor’s relationships.

Start with us. Make us the kind of church that lifts our pastor’s arms, not adds to their load. Show us how to motivate one another to love and good works. Keep us faithful in gathering, strong in encouragement, quick to serve. As our pastor watches over our souls and answers to You, give us hearts that respond with trust and joy. Let us give them reason to lead with gladness.

Make this church our pastor’s joy and crown. Let there be deep love between shepherd and flock. Place us in one another’s hearts. May we stand firm in the Lord so that, when Christ returns, this church is a crown of faithfulness. Knit us together with the tender compassion of Jesus.

In the community, raise our pastor up as a person of integrity. Let their life preach with power before their words ever do. Give them favor and goodwill among the people. May others see consistency, humility, and strength. And as Christ is honored through their witness, add to the church those who are being saved.

Among neighbors and friends who need You, let my pastor live wisely and love boldly. Make their
conversations gracious and attractive. When a door opens, give them courage. When a question is asked, give them clarity. Help them explain their hope with gentleness and respect.

Strengthen our support. Deepen our love. Expand their influence.

And through every relationship, let Jesus be seen,
known, and glorified. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen

10/13/2026

A Mainline for Today: Joy can begin before the answer comes because God is good before anything changes.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Philippians 4:4 ESV

10/12/2026

A Monday Prayer For My Pastor

Father God, today I lift up my pastor’s personal walk with You.

Create in them a holy hunger. Like a deer longs for streams of water, let their soul long for You. Not for publicity. Not for praise. But for Your presence. Stir a deep thirst for the living God. Draw them to seek Your face before they ever step into a pulpit. Let private intimacy fuel public ministry.

Lord, make them powerful in prayer. Your Word says the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Teach my pastor to pray in the Spirit at all times. Make prayer their first response, not their last resort. When they petition, move heaven. When they intercede, release breakthrough. Build in them a relentless, alert, persistent prayer life that changes things.

Give them a profound love for Your Word. Help them work diligently so they can present themselves approved by You. Let them delight in Scripture, meditate on it day and night, and explain it correctly and boldly. Plant them like a tree by the riverbank, roots deep, fruit steady, leaves strong. Let Your truth shape their thoughts, guide their steps, and guard their heart.

And Father, make them a true worshiper…the very
kind You are looking for. Let them worship in spirit
and in truth. Fill their quiet times with joy. Let
gratitude fill my pastor’s mind and praise fuel my
pastor’s soul.

Deepen their hunger. Strengthen their prayer. Anchor them in truth. Fill them with worship.
Be their first love. Be their greatest reward. In the
name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen

10/12/2026

Don’t forget to drop off large bags of candy in the Narthex for the Fall Festival. We also need trunks for our Trunk or Treaters, please contact LuAnn Winfrey if you want to decorate your trunk!