Ron Graham’s Report
— for Jan-Feb-Mar 2014
This page reports my voluntary ministry activities for the information of those who take a special interest in my work.
Dear Brethren... This report covers the first quarter of 2014.
Preaching at Bundaberg
During January, February, and March, 2014, I presented 24 Sunday lessons in Bundaberg. These included 14 sermons, and 10 Bible class studies.
It is now seven years since I began preaching for the Bundaberg church. I delivered my 775th lesson there in March 2014. I appreciate the encouragement and help given, including that of my dear wife Susanne who, among other things, drives me to Bunaberg each Sunday. Of course the Lord is also my helper in the pulpit ministry at Bundaberg.
Of course the devil makes sure there is also hindrance and discouragement, but “none of these things move me”. The church is struggling in various ways without any solutions apparent —except to keep on doing God’s work and trusting he will bless.
Bible Questions
In the quarter, the theme for the sermons and some of the class lessons was "Important Bible Questions". The questions covered a range of topics, and included a couple of questions submitted by the congregation.
Whatever the topic, the question had to be "important" because there are a lot of Bible questions that are of minor importance, and we'd rather spend valuable group teaching time on matters of highest value. To give you a couple of examples, one sermon was entitled, "Why Do Young People Leave?" Another was, "Which Was First, Mind or the Universe?" And another, "Why Worship Together on Sunday?"
Studies in Galatians
In March, the Sunday Bible classes commenced a study in Galatians. This short series starts with introductory material in the letter. This comprises the main theme "You are not under law" and the five appeals Paul makes throughout the letter. Then we began to study the four main sections of the letter verse by verse.
Website simplybible.com
In the quarter, I added five new lessons to the simplybible.com website. These were produced not only as normal web pages, but also as slide presentations.
Behind the scenes, I upgraded more than 200 pages. The improvements mainly concern the appearance of titles and headings —not only to make them more helpful to users, but also to make them advantageous for search engines. I also joined 150 lessons that were split into parts. It used to be beneficial to present longer lessons in two or three parts on separate pages. But that has all changed.
While upgrading lessons, and joining the split lessons, I included some editing where it was obvious that something needed to be clearer and more presentable.
Video Operating Successfully on Website.
I did not do very much on the video side of things, but have kept an eye on YouTube. One video has had 125 viewings, and another 221. The others are getting occasional viewings as well.
Website Usage
The figures for page views over the quarter were pleasing. For January, February, and March respectively, the numbers of pages viewed were: 25,292; 25,059; 29,344 (source Awstats). The number of different visitors to the site exceeded 10,000 per month.
Social Media Involvement
As mentioned in last report, the website now has several associated social media pages: facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and a WordPress blog. These social media provide a mode of outreach that I think could be used to greater advantage. On the other hand, the items that I wrote and “posted” on these social sites are seed well sown.
Thank You Again
Again may I say how much I appreciate those who keep on helping me in the Lord’s work. “Without you, I could not do it.”
Love and best wishes in Jesus.