01/28/08 UPDATE
This has been a crazy week. Juanita, Jacqueline, and Leighton left suddenly on Friday to go to TN. Juanita's brother-in-law (Verlin Wheeler) passed away, so they went down for the funeral. Please pray for them. Jacqueline and Leighton will be flying back in on Friday.
I stayed here with the boys and had a crazy weekend trying to juggle everything. The really cool thing was seeing all the people who were willing to help and just do the stuff that was needed. Several people at church just jumped in without even being asked and started getting it all done. At the Bible study, they just grabbed everything that was needed to serve the food, etc. In addition, several people helped me out personally. My neighbors watched Jackson while I took Andrew to a birthday party. Jeff and Kelly took both boys to the zoo on Sunday afternoon while I cleaned up and got ready for the Bible study. It was really amazing to see them all pulling together.
Yesterday went really well. We had 32 (25/7). Of those 25 adults, 4 were first time visitors. I spent a lot of time praying this week that we would have people come from a variety of means - personal invitation, an advertisement we have on the back of a local grocery store receipt, and the signs we put out every Sunday morning. Of those 4 visitors, 1 came from the receipt and 3 from personal invitations.
The Bible study also went well. We had 16. Several people spoke up to share things that God was doing in their lives.
In addition, there are several things that are really coming together for us right now. They all require a great deal of time and planning on my part, so I could really use your prayers in the next few weeks.
- We have a new sermon series starting on Feb. 17th. I'm working to develop advertising, etc. to go with it. I think it will be a big time to draw some new people in. The series will be "Snapshots: Maybe you need to take a second look at Jesus." We are really going to focus on people misconceptions about church and look at Jesus' views on those subjects.
- We are working to put together the strategy for our small group ministry. With the way the Experiencing God group has taken off, several "confirmations" i've received lately, demographic feedback from our area, and my own personal makeup, i think this is going to be a huge part of our ministry. Jeff and I are going to begin working on that this week.
- I also have several guys interested in in-depth training and mentoring. I've got to figure out what to do, how to do it, and where to go with it. I'm really excited about the prospects.
- There are several not fun projects that have to be done, such as drafting by-laws and the constitution.
Thanks for praying.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
01/21/08 UPDATE
Another great week. We had 31 (25/6) at church yesterday. That's our highest since November 4th! We had 4 first time guests, 3 of which I expect to be back (the other is a friend of the worship leader's and came to hear him). It was brutally cold and snowing. i know the morning started at -8 and was up to single (positive) digits by church time:) It was exciting to see that people still came out.
Experiencing God also went well again. We had 18. I think most everyone is keeping up and doing well with it. I know people start falling out about halfway through, but i can't help but get excited when i think of 18 people living out that message. Keep praying for the Spirit to give them insight and perseverance.
I met with an advertising agency last week about some mailers for 2008. I think it will give us the ability to do some really intriguing, catchy advertisting. We'll have to see how the "bid" comes back.
Another great week. We had 31 (25/6) at church yesterday. That's our highest since November 4th! We had 4 first time guests, 3 of which I expect to be back (the other is a friend of the worship leader's and came to hear him). It was brutally cold and snowing. i know the morning started at -8 and was up to single (positive) digits by church time:) It was exciting to see that people still came out.
Experiencing God also went well again. We had 18. I think most everyone is keeping up and doing well with it. I know people start falling out about halfway through, but i can't help but get excited when i think of 18 people living out that message. Keep praying for the Spirit to give them insight and perseverance.
I met with an advertising agency last week about some mailers for 2008. I think it will give us the ability to do some really intriguing, catchy advertisting. We'll have to see how the "bid" comes back.
Monday, January 14, 2008
01/14/08 UPDATE
We had another really great week! Momentum seems to be building again after the holidays.
We had two guy's get-togethers. They gave us some time to hang out and get to know each other better.
The service yesterday went well too. We had 25 (21/4), which is about average lately. The cool thing is that this 25 was very different than the 25 last week. There were also several who are normally there that weren't present either time. The reason I'm excited about that is that it shows we are reaching an ever-growing group of people. Although I would selfishly like them to all show up on the same Sunday so that we can have a bigger group, it's reassuring to know that God is spreading His influence through us to a larger number of people.
One prayer request regarding this is that we have many people who were not regularly attending church that are now beginning to come. We have a group of "churched" people that are there almost every week, but the other group is still making that commitment. Pray for God to continue to mature them and also help us know how to better connect them.
I think the most exciting thing of the day was the Bible study last night. We had 18 adults present. They were packed in our living room like sardines. The scary thing was that it still didn't include everyone. There are at least 4 others that I expect who didn't show up last night due to being out of town, sick, or work. It was encouraging to me but also to those present. I think it helped several people see that things are bigger than they thought. One person who hasn't been at church in several weeks came and asked, "Where did all these people come from?" The study also went well and I think people are learning a lot from it.
One lady shared that she had never been in a Bible study or anything like that before. She said it had been at least 10 years since she even went to church. She lost her husband recently and had committed to start going to church. A friend invited her to come, so she did. She's planning to come to church Sunday as well. It's really incredible to hear all the stories of how God is moving and working in people's lives - particularly ones who didn't think much about God before.
Prayer request from all of this:
- I have a major decision to make regarding how to make this work. We have too many people for our house. I have to decide if it would be better to find another location or split into two groups. Even though the group is too large, I'd like to keep everyone together so that they can keep getting to know each other.
- We have several people who are going through a Bible study for the first time. I think many of them have just made a decision to follow Jesus in the recent past. Pray for God to work in them through the Spirit.
-Pray for endurance as everyone perseveres through the study.
-Pray that we will see where God is at work and how we can join Him.
We had another really great week! Momentum seems to be building again after the holidays.
We had two guy's get-togethers. They gave us some time to hang out and get to know each other better.
The service yesterday went well too. We had 25 (21/4), which is about average lately. The cool thing is that this 25 was very different than the 25 last week. There were also several who are normally there that weren't present either time. The reason I'm excited about that is that it shows we are reaching an ever-growing group of people. Although I would selfishly like them to all show up on the same Sunday so that we can have a bigger group, it's reassuring to know that God is spreading His influence through us to a larger number of people.
One prayer request regarding this is that we have many people who were not regularly attending church that are now beginning to come. We have a group of "churched" people that are there almost every week, but the other group is still making that commitment. Pray for God to continue to mature them and also help us know how to better connect them.
I think the most exciting thing of the day was the Bible study last night. We had 18 adults present. They were packed in our living room like sardines. The scary thing was that it still didn't include everyone. There are at least 4 others that I expect who didn't show up last night due to being out of town, sick, or work. It was encouraging to me but also to those present. I think it helped several people see that things are bigger than they thought. One person who hasn't been at church in several weeks came and asked, "Where did all these people come from?" The study also went well and I think people are learning a lot from it.
One lady shared that she had never been in a Bible study or anything like that before. She said it had been at least 10 years since she even went to church. She lost her husband recently and had committed to start going to church. A friend invited her to come, so she did. She's planning to come to church Sunday as well. It's really incredible to hear all the stories of how God is moving and working in people's lives - particularly ones who didn't think much about God before.
Prayer request from all of this:
- I have a major decision to make regarding how to make this work. We have too many people for our house. I have to decide if it would be better to find another location or split into two groups. Even though the group is too large, I'd like to keep everyone together so that they can keep getting to know each other.
- We have several people who are going through a Bible study for the first time. I think many of them have just made a decision to follow Jesus in the recent past. Pray for God to work in them through the Spirit.
-Pray for endurance as everyone perseveres through the study.
-Pray that we will see where God is at work and how we can join Him.
Monday, January 07, 2008
001/07/08 UPDATE
Happy 2008!
After several weeks of limping along and trying to find the positive each week, we had a really good week. We had the best crowd we've had in several weeks - 25 (20/5). We had 2 first time guests and many of our regulars were not there, so it was an encouraging group. I had a guy lined up to lead worship and he called Saturday afternoon and couldn't talk. He wasn't hoarse . . . he could barely talk. However, I called a college student who has helped before. He had gotten back in town on Friday and was able to help us out. He did a great job. I've been amazed that we've only had one week where we did not have live music.
On that note, I hope to get Ryan and Nate (the two guys mentioned above) to lead worship from here on out. I'm trying to schedule them 2-3 times a month. That will give us some consistency and keep me from having to scramble to figure it out week to week. I know you've been faithfully praying for a worship leader and I'm hoping this can get us through until the summer.
Probably the most exciting event yesterday was our first Experiencing God meeting. We hosted 12 people at our house last night. I know of at least 6 others who are committed to it as well, but were either sick or out of town. I'm really pleased about the turnout. I think it will be an amazing time for our church and each of these people. Please pray that they will have the time and energy to complete the study. Pray too that God will do an incredible work in each of their lives. For many of them, this is the first Bible study they have ever participated in!
We spent the first hour introducing ourselves and getting an overview of the study. The second hour, Jacqueline "wowed them" with her baking skills (we had carrot cake). It was a lively time with everyone talking and getting to know one another. It was cool to see the relationships building and deepening.
Happy 2008!
After several weeks of limping along and trying to find the positive each week, we had a really good week. We had the best crowd we've had in several weeks - 25 (20/5). We had 2 first time guests and many of our regulars were not there, so it was an encouraging group. I had a guy lined up to lead worship and he called Saturday afternoon and couldn't talk. He wasn't hoarse . . . he could barely talk. However, I called a college student who has helped before. He had gotten back in town on Friday and was able to help us out. He did a great job. I've been amazed that we've only had one week where we did not have live music.
On that note, I hope to get Ryan and Nate (the two guys mentioned above) to lead worship from here on out. I'm trying to schedule them 2-3 times a month. That will give us some consistency and keep me from having to scramble to figure it out week to week. I know you've been faithfully praying for a worship leader and I'm hoping this can get us through until the summer.
Probably the most exciting event yesterday was our first Experiencing God meeting. We hosted 12 people at our house last night. I know of at least 6 others who are committed to it as well, but were either sick or out of town. I'm really pleased about the turnout. I think it will be an amazing time for our church and each of these people. Please pray that they will have the time and energy to complete the study. Pray too that God will do an incredible work in each of their lives. For many of them, this is the first Bible study they have ever participated in!
We spent the first hour introducing ourselves and getting an overview of the study. The second hour, Jacqueline "wowed them" with her baking skills (we had carrot cake). It was a lively time with everyone talking and getting to know one another. It was cool to see the relationships building and deepening.
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