Zion Travelers M.B. Church Dr. Daniel Watkins, Pastor 925 West Pearl Street - Jackson, MS 39203 (601) 355-5545 ~    ~    ~    ~    ~       Hallelujah!!!  Hallelujah means to praise God.  Hallelujah is also the highest word of worship one can render to the Lord.  After some extensive research, when we say hallelujah, praise God, we are saying the same thing.  Research reveals that hallelujah’s intent is to praise God you people.  It is used at any time but especially at the beginning and end of worship, praise, poetry, or song.  Amen is used at times at the end of hallelujah.  Amen means verily, truly, so be it, let it be and denotes a strong agreement.  To put it all together it means, "Praise God you people, amen!"  Without a doubt we want to be and remain a people that truly praises God.  God has brought us from a very long way.  One may say from Mobile Street to the Metro Parkway.  But that is minor as opposed to moving to hallelujah.  Along with the growth in praise, we have had a growth in people.  We have had saints in our past that laid a solid foundation for Zion Travelers.  These names are not important, but what is important is the ability to go forward with what they had.  They trusted that God would add to Zion Travelers and that Zion Travelers would always be in God’s will.  It is not the physical growth that is central although it is important.  What is central is the spiritual growth with Jesus always being the focal point and object of our praise.  We through the will of God established the five pillars:           Discipleship - Training Evangelism - Outreach Ministry - Meeting Needs Fellowship - Sharing Worship - Our Best  Today we are vibrant, hallelujah!  So the question is, where do we go from here?  To answer that question, we must start and end with hallelujah, amen!  We must now take our five pillars and ensure that we understand God’s will of being a hearer and a doer of God’s word.  So we now observe and do what we call the "reaches": Down Reach - What God gives us In Reach - What we share with others Out Reach - What we carry beyond the walls Up Reach - What we give to God  To strengthen this process as much as possible, we need people who understand hallelujah and understand being a "doer."  These are four categories that we must focus on.  Before I do this, let us not forget some of our previous focuses.  This had to do with our youth getting involved, encouraging them more to be in Sunday School and Bible class, and giving.  As we go into 2010, we must sustain these focuses as we add the new ones: - A renewal of the choir as worship in practice and growth (members and spirituality) - An abundance of teachers in all training areas - Deacons and mothers (renewed duties) - Church being a vital part of our lives (to be very much a part of what is being offered.)  As always, at the center of any focus is the commitment of "you people."  Praise is in order and alive when works and faith comes together.  If God has blessed us, and I know he has, when Zion Travelers doors are opened we must have an abundance of people looking and willing to help.  Every preacher and evangelist should be available.  Every mother and member, who can, should be available.  This is a very important question, When you plan your week, is church something you find hard to squeeze in? There are saints in the present and future whose names are not important but what is important is the ability to connect works with faith.  Hallelujah, you people, amen!