08/27/07 UPDATE

It's hard to believe that we are less than 3 weeks from our public launch service! Last week, we asked everyone on our prayer team to commit to praying for us daily and sent them a guide to help in the process. On one day, we asked for God's provision of all that we will need for the launch of the church. On another, we asked for Him to draw lost people. We saw specific answers to both of those requests last week.

We've been asking for provision (specifically, for financial resources) for several weeks now - both for us personally and for the church. God has really been moving to provide those in the last week or two. A few weeks ago, I had a local church give us several pieces for a sound system. Then I found out that a Sunday School class in Alabama was working to give us a trailer. Last week, things really took off.

On Monday a pastor returned my call from the week before. He said, "You won't believe me, but God woke me up in the middle of the night to remind me to return your call." We talked and they committed to partner with us financially.

On Wednesday, I got a check in the mail from another local church. They had told me that they would be partnering with us from August through the end of the year, and possibly longer. When I opened the envelope, it was four time the amount I was expecting. When I called to thank the pastor, he said that we would be receiving that each month through the end of the year! At that point, we'll reevaluate and see where things stand.

Finally, I received word that one of our parnters will be re-commiting to provide us with health insurance and some personal support for six more months.

All of this is really exciting because we were really up against a wall. It would be nice to think that you can start a church with no money or resources, but it just isn't possible today. It is really encouraging to see God work through His people to bring things about. These gifts will allow us to purchase some desperately needed equipment, contact 10,000 homes twice about our launch, and relieve some stress around here!

My prayers are really focused on reaching people now. It's been great to see new faces each week. Now, I'm praying for a large turnout of people on September 16th. I've been praying for 60 families that we have contacted this summer and who have expressed an interest in the church. Last night we had one of them come to our cookout! I'm praying that we will see many more and that they will meet Jesus and become part of the church.

As you think of us this week, pray for God to open opportunities to meet people. Pray for Him to continue drawing those that we've already met. Finally, pray that all of our publicity that is going out in the next few weeks will also draw people.