06/25/07 UPDATE

This week's update is all over the place, so I'll try to keep it brief.

I'm an addict. I admit it. We were given tickets to two games of the College World Series. Awesome! I'm hooked.

Our trusty van gave up the ghost this week. The engine is shot, so I have a really big paperweight in the front driveway. Please pray for us as we consider the next steps in that area.

Our basement apartment it coming along really well. It should be finished on Saturday, except for floor coverings.

Last night we had a cookout to hang out with some of the people who are helping with/interested in the church (see picture). We had 12 adults (2 more had to cancel at the last minute). It was a great time. It seems like people are beginning to "gel" with one another and become more interested in the church. I think any and all of them would be a big help, so we're praying for God's leadership. This week, we're also arranging several "get togethers" with others who couldn't make the cookout. In addition, I meet someone nearly every day who's interested in the church. A lot of them are tickling in from contacts the mission team did a week or so ago. In short, everything seems to be going really well.

Thanks for your prayers, I really feel there impact. When we're hit with what would ordinarily be a very discouraging situation, I've been able to just shrug it off and trust God to handle it. That's totally a grace-of-God thing, so I'm appreciative. Keep it up . . . please!

06/18/07 UPDATE

I had my third church planter coaching meeting last week. I'm really thankful that we got involved there - I think things would have turned out far different if we hadn't. It's probably been the best thing I've been involved with as far as training and leadership.

That kept me out of the loop most of the week. One real encouragement was that I talked to 6 people on Monday who all volunteered that they really wanted to make the service and just couldn't. They are planning to make the July service. I've also secured the worship leader for that service.

The two biggest notes of praise are that it appears we have a location to meet for the coming year. A middle school in the area has approved our application and are sending it to the district. That is great news - I've really been sweating it.

The other thing was a family issue - I've asked you to pray about our schooling options. Homeschooling just wasn't working out and we can't afford Christian schools here. J'line had some concerns about public schooling, but did find one public school program that we all really liked (they have a different educational format). She applied, but the boys were way down on the waiting list and they didn't see any real chance that they would get in. However, we got the call on Monday and they made it. They went and saw it and are pretty excited. We've talked with a lot of people here that say it is basically an underground Christian school.

Anyway, things here are really good. Please pray this week for:

Our "comeback event" Sunday night. We are inviting people who have expressed an interest in the church to a cookout here. It is meant to be a relationship-building time. Pray for the right people to turn out.

Two, continue to pray for our planning and preparations for the mission teams next month and our second monthly service.

06/11/07 UPDATE



Well, I guess the question on everyone's mind is "How did Sunday go?" We had 29 people, kids and all. There were 7 from a mission team, so there were 22 "official prospects." There were several people that I was fairly confident would be there who weren't. We also were so busy that we didn't get to invite all the people that we wanted to. Basically, that is encouraging because there are a ton of prospects to continue developing throughout the summer. This was step #1 in the process, not really the "start." That will come September 16.

I was asked how I felt about the process and I told them "really good." We put that together with basically one week of publicity. Before the next service, we will host 4 more block parties and have time to cultivate many of the contacts we've already made. There's also August to continue that and then an intense time of publicity (including 2 mass mailers) before the public launch on September 16. I think things are going well.

Also, everything seemed to go without any problems, so I think we are prepared for a lot more people. Since there was a small turnout, I have the opportunity to prepare for our follow up, etc. for the next meeting.

To finalize the updates from last week, we had a block party on Friday and had a great turnout. There were 80 people registered and probably more present. We had several really good contacts. The mission team was a tremendous help. They contacted about 1700 homes over the week, did three block parties, and worked without complaint. They were awesome!

I left yesterday and unloaded all of our supplies in the garage. I had a ton left to do, but i turned off the cell phone, unplugged the phone, and took a nap! We have had an exhausting couple of weeks and more on the horizon.

The picture above is of our meeting space. For clarification, the bottles on the lower right are flavored syrups for coffee:)

Thursday update

We re-distributed fliers in the neighborhood announcing the rescheduled neighborhood party. We got a great reception and had the party last night. There were more people, although not a ton more. We gave away a kid's bicycle and they were all really excited about that.

We do have several really solid prospects - as in, I expect them to be there on Sunday. There are also several others that are a real possibility for attending.

we're really excited about it. Please pray for Friday night's party.

06/06/07 UPDATE

Just got home from the block party. The wind was gusting over 50 miles an hour. We pulled up and a small tree (6 or 7 feet) was blown over. We set up the bounce house and started filling it up until the "D ring" we used to tie it down with straightened out in the wind. We used my gas grill to cook and had to put it inside the trailer so it would stay lit. We decided it was ridiculous and unsafe to continue, so we cancelled the games and served the food. We told everyone to help themselves to the food and we'd try again tomorrow night.

In spite of the awful weather, we had 50-75 people show up. Of those, we had several good contacts. At least two of them plan to attend Sunday. They actually sought me out to meet me, so i feel like they will actually come. We also made several other good contacts that are a step towards developing a relationship.

Overall, it turned out to be a success. We plan to let everyone know that we're trying again tomorrow night.

UPDATE

I figured I would update more often this week since things are going pretty quickly.

The team from Arkansas is here. We spent yesterday touring the area, doing orientation - boring stuff. Today, they passed out fliers for the block parties and invite cards for the church. We had a pretty good response for the parties. In fact, it was funny to see kids riding around on their bikes with the announcements to tell their friends. At one area, the teams had kids on bikes coming up and asking for a flier.

We had three prospects surface through the contacts. Pray for me as we follow up with them. Pray for others to respond to the invitations. They contacted just under 1200 homes today. Most of the people were gone, but a few were at home.

Jackson went out with the teams today. He said he wanted "to help." He's also volunteered to help Jacqueline teach the "children's class" on Sunday. It's cool to see them pitching in and helping.

We were supposed to have severe weather tomorrow night, please pray that it will be clear.

Thanks for praying.

06/04/07 UPDATE

We are at a critical time for the work. A mission team is arriving Sunday night to canvas neighborhoods with our fliers and host two block parties. Then, Sunday is our first monthly service. This is really nerve-wracking because we may have nobody show up or we may have too many. I've been praying for 75 and asking you to pray for 75, so we're planning that way.

Last week was a whirlwind of trying to get all the details finalized. We got a lot done, but there's still a lot left. The biggest thing is all the uncertainty. We're trying to get prepared, but there is so much that is unknown. It's pretty exiciting, but also scary at the same time.

I cannot overstate how crucial this time is, so I'd like to ask you to step up your prayers. Please try to do something that will remind you to pray for us each day.

When you do, pray that God will:
1. Create opportunities for us to connect with those He is drawing to Himself.
2. Save those who don't know Him.
3. Draw believers who are not a part of a church.
4. Allow the block parties to come together.
5. Help us prepare for the service on Sunday.
Pray for all the details to be covered.
Pray for the worship to glorify Him.
Pray for me as I preach.
PRAY FOR PEOPLE TO SHOW UP!!!:)

Thanks for all that you are doing for us. You are truly a part of all that is taking place as you pray.