10/30/06 UPDATE

I included a picture of our house - so you could see where we live, but also so you could get a taste of fall up here. It's been beautiful. We live in a community called Maple Village and the maples have been gorgeous. It should be much less tonight though. There's a front moving through with 30 mile an hour winds - it got up to 70 today, but dropped considerably at 2 and will be 28 tonight. yeeha!

Last week was largely one of paperwork and praying. I've been working on a proposal for the church plant and have spent a lot of time on it and trying to hear from God about it. I made a few other contacts too. One was a leader in a local church who has some interest in helping us out. They started in uh, well, um - well they split from a large church here. They are focusing on moving into the same area we are targeting in the future. It will be several years before they do, but they have a good lead on land, etc. Anyway, we're just exploring things and seeing if there's some way we can work together. The pastor actually called this afternoon to ask if I could preach for him on Nov. 12th, so you can pray for that.

The biggest item that J and I have discussed is our need to meet people - particularly lost people. We've been meeting a lot of church people, but it's harder building relationships with lost people (particularly when we don't live in the area). I've been working on getting a Bible study started at one of the coffee shops where I hang out. The big problem is figuring out how to "fill" it. I mentioned it to one of the ladies who works there and last week she asked if I had decided when I was going to do it. I'm not sure if she was interested or not, but it helped spur me to try to get something going. I think I will at least post a sign in the store and see if anybody shows. Pray for God to pull on people to show up, even if they aren't sure why.

Another thing we're trying is joining a fitness club. We want to do it for the fitness benefits, but it is also productive for meeting people (i hope). When I stopped today to give them my sign up stuff, the lot was packed - its a huge place. Pray for my time there, that God will provide fruitful contacts.

Also pray for wisdom as I seek ways to meet people and penetrate the community. One big item is that we can find a place to live in the community. So far, J'line's house searching is not really panning out. Pray that we'll find the right place - smack dab in the middle of a bunch of lost people that God's working on:)

This week I have a ton of paperwork stuff - go figure, i don't even have a church and I have paperwork! I'm finalizing the proposal, pulling together plans for a prayerwalking team due here on Nov. 17, getting a newsletter finalized, and lining up someone to help with logo design and a website. Whew! I'm thinking it won't all get done.

Thanks for praying. It moves heaven and earth!

10/23/06 UPDATE

Well, at least I'm discovering a rhythm now. It goes like this. . . catch your breath on Monday and Tuesday and then begin a mad downhill dash from Wednesday to Sunday. Weekends are especially busy. One of the "nuggets" I got a few weeks ago was to fill every breakfast, lunch, etc. with an appointment to build relationships with people. Well, we're finding that many of those contacts are taking place on the weekends when other people have time, so our weekends are really busy.

Friday, I went with the boys on a field trip to the Strategic Air Command museum. They were doing a special presentation on space travel. There was a really interesting video on the Columbia and then the boys got to build paper rockets and fire them off in a hangar. I was able to hang out with a couple we've been getting to know (Brent and Michelle Myers - they have three boys the same age as ours). On the way there, J and I talked about another lady involved in the home school network whose husband is "not in the same place she is spiritually." We wanted to get an opportunity to know her and her husband. When the groups split up, J wasn't able to get in her group, but at lunch, the lady came over and asked her to get together next week. It's really weird how God works things.

Saturday, we went to dinner with another couple (Jeff, Kelly, and Jocelyn Cunningham) that have expressed an interest in helping start the church. He is an officer in the Air Force and they are a really cool young couple (they're like 25 or 26). We had a great time and they said they'd be interested in participating in a Bible study and praying about helping us out. I really wish people would start "signing the dotted line" and committing, but this was an encouragement. It's the most concrete committment we've had yet.

Sunday, we went to Heartland (the movie theater church). Afterwards, we had dinner and hung out with another couple with kids (Art and Valerie Calderon). The boys have really hit it off with their kids. We all had a blast, but didn't get home until about 8:00 because we left their house at 6 and had to stop to buy winter coats, gloves, etc. for the boys. We saw our first snow on Saturday - nothing stuck and it wasn't serious, but it sure is early for snow! Our poor kids can't even figure out how to put on a pair of gloves!

This week I'll be working on our "proposal" to present to several churches - that's my major task. Pray that I will have some productive "thinking time" and put together a good, God-driven, coherent, visionary, and exciting proposal. Continue to pray for a partnership to develop with Westside, as well as others. We'll talk with them more once I get the proposal together. They've been very interested though, so I'm encouraged.

Also, as usual, I've got several decisions to make. One is that the small group I've been leading wants to continue to meet (and have me lead). I'm not sure what to do because I have limited time and need to invest all of my energy toward the church. The Cunningham's are a part of the group and one other family mentioned they would like to help in theory, but that the proposed site is too far away. That's the only interest from the group, but I'm not sure if more might be cultivated if we continued. It's just another dicey decision to make.

WOOHOO!

Well, I had my meeting today with the pastor of Westside. He was very encouraging and said that they want to help us out. He's thinking through some different ideas on how that can take place. I also have homework - I've got to put together a prospectus for the church (think business proposal). That will help them decide if they want to help and how they do. It's also one of those things I really HATE doing. It's so much easier to keep it in the lala land between my ears.

That was a big praise - you guys are doing a great job. Now I just need for you to pray that I can get a big, black SUV (JUST KIDDING!!! - well, about the SUV part). You are really helping. Your prayers are making a difference. Please keep it up.

10/16/06 UPDATE (ON 10/17!)

Trusting God is hard work! I would say church planting is hard work (which it is) but you can probably relate better in other ways. As I mentioned last week, we are faced with the harsh reality that we can make this work on our own, it has to be God's work. We can be trite and say that's always the case, but in reality, we can usually do something on our own. When things get tough, we just do what seems best to us and we have some way to alleviate the tension of the moment. Well, last week I found myself about to blow a gasket from stress (and I'm generally not a worrier). However, I emailed Curt (the pastor at Westside) on Monday about meeting and prayed every morning for God to bring about productive contacts. Each day passed and neither of those things took place. I found myself ready to run down the street screaming because there was nothing I could do.

Jacqueline took the boys to a gym time that they've arranged for the home schooling moms up here on Friday. When she came back, she said, "I've got news for you!" A lady had approached her at the gym time to find out what we were doing with church planting. She and her husband have started meeting in a "house church" that some missionaries to Afghanistan had started. They were uncomfortable not having the corporate part of worship, so they were still attending a mega-church in town. She had accepted Christ and been baptized at Westside when she was young, but was attending Trinity now (an inter-denominational mega-church in town). Anyway, the missionary couple started the group, but don't really plan to lead it and they aren't really sure they want to just have a house church. We're supposed to talk with them more about what they're doing and what we're doing. There may be some way to do both together . . . we'll see. Just pray for God's leading. J will be meeting with this group of ladies tonight (10/17)

Friday night, we went to see a couple (Brent and Michelle) who are in J's homeschooling network. They have three boys the same ages as ours - weird. We had a great time hanging out with them. They are a great couple and the boys got along great together. That was a blessing because J had been lamenting his lack of friends that morning.

While we were at their house, I got a call from Curt's (Westside pastor) secretary who apologized for not calling me back, she had misplaced the message. She set up lunch for us on Wednesday (10/18), so you can pray for that meeting tomorrow.

We were supposed to have dinner on Saturday with a couple who has expressed interest in helping (possibly). They are in the small group I'm leading on Thursday nights. However, L and A were ummmm, unable to keep anything down on Saturday, so we had to postpone it (maybe this saturday).

On the church attendance front, I got my time in this weekend. I went with Brent and Michelle to their church's Saturday night service. it was really good (and challenging). It seems like everywhere I go, the pastor preaches something that really whacks me in the nose. On Sunday, we went to Heartland Community Church (the movie theater church).

Sorry the post is late this week, I was out playing golf yesterday with a local pastor. I really needed the stress relief, so it was good. This morning, I went hiking/praying at a state park. People keep asking me what my strategy is for pulling together a core group. Most have planted a church before and say, "I had a few people to go with me, I can't imagine going somewhere that I don't know anyone." It's funny how it wasn't really a big deal for me (at the time). I tell them, I have no clue! Today, however, I decided on my strategy. I'm going to pray them out of the ground! (Actually WE are going to pray them out of the ground). I figure if God can send Peter to Cornelius, Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch, knit dry bones together, etc., this should not be a big deal. Besides, He's the one building His church.

PRAISES:
My brain didn't ooze out of my ear last week! - seriously, God sustained me.
The contacts that were made.
We had a great time with Brent and Michelle and family.
The sickness didn't last long.

PRAYER:
My meeting with Curt tomorrow. Pray that he'll feel led to help us out.
Wisdom for our meeting with people who have expressed an interest.
Opportunities to share the gospel with lost people.
The house search.
Wisdom. Lots and lots of wisdom.

UPDATE 10/09/2006
(FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE GORY DETAILS, READ AWAY. FOR THOSE WHO JUST WANT THE BOTTOM LINE, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR PRAYER REQUESTS.)

I've received several good nuggets of advice since I arrived in NE. It's kind of difficult to figure out what a church planter does and should do - there's really no outward forces exerted on you to make you do certain things. In many respects, it's a very fluid thing. Mainly, I find myself just trying to meet people and build relationships with them on various levels - some are "prospects", some pastors, etc. (As a sidenote, this is rather draining for an introvert like myself. By Friday last week, I wanted to crawl into a cave for a few days.) Oh yeah, I was talking about advice. . . well one nugget was that "church planting is often about following every lead that comes up. The secret is to praise God when they work out and not get too down when they don't." I've had several ups and downs and these may or may not have come through in the blog entries. It's weird that these things come and go rapidly, so I find my life is much like riding a serious roller coaster (without the bar to hold you in:)) Another nugget was "Your biggest challenge is keeping your sanity and taking care of your wife and kids." Wonderfully encouraging words about your new job, huh?

That being said, I have a really interesting lead to pursue. It could be very crucial to what is taking place here. Westside Church is the "mother ship" here in Omaha. It is the SBC mega-church. You may be familiar with their ministry through the works of Calvin Miller - he was once pastor there (in fact he may have been the founding pastor - not sure). Anyway, I had been told that they were not really interested in helping with church planting. Since I've been here, I've been praying that God would give a vision for church planting to the pastors who could help with the work here. Last week, we had a pastor's meeting and I met two of their staff members. Both of them were very interested in the work we're doing. One of them (John) worked to take me to lunch on Friday and give me some advice. It was a really helpful meeting for me because he has planted two churches and served as a church planting strategist. He suggested that we join them for church Sunday (which we did). After church I met their pastor (Curt), who told me to contact him because he would like to take me to lunch. This is all to mention a BIG prayer request for this week. Please pray that God will work this out - that we will be able to make contact, that he will catch a vision for church planting and feel a desire to help a poor church planter out. In particular, I am praying that they will send some people our way to help with the start. All of these guys have planted before and know what it's like, but sometimes you forget. I told J'line that I had to polish my sales pitch, but then I said, "No, I've got to pray harder, because this will be a God thing." I truly believe that, so I'm asking you to join me. God will work this out either way, but their support could be a critical thing.

A second prayer request is for people. The number one hurdle to this whole deal is pulling together a core group. I'm trying to get a Bible study started - in fact, I just asked the owner of the coffee shop if we could meet here and he said we could. Now I just need to find the people to fill it. Pray that God will lead us to lost peole that will be receptive to doing this. Also, you can pray that pastors will be willing to share some of their people resources with us and that God will lead some of their people to catch the vision of being a missionary/pioneer. (Another nugget was that "there are a lot of settlers, but few pioneers.") Most people would rather sit back and see if things are going to work before they commit, but at this point every single person who commits to help makes a HUGE impact. Another thing related to this arena is that God will bless our home and hospitality. John said the best thing I can do is fill up every breakfast and lunch making contacts and have a ton of people over to our house. We've been talking about that very thing and plan to do it. In fact, as we were raking the yard last night, I noticed J standing there doing nothing and got a little perturbed. As I peeked around the van, she was talking with our neighbor from next door and the one across the street. We're planning to have them over soon. I'm also looking for ways to meet people in our target area, which is tricky since we don't live here. Another piece of advice from John was to move in this area ASAP (which you can pray for too). Pray for wisdom in finding the most profitable places to meet people and build relationships.

PRAISES:
We had a great time at church yesterday.
We have made some good contacts with church leaders who can help.
We are building some good relationships with neighbors and others.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
Meeting with Westside's staff members. Pray that they would be receptive to partnering with us.
We need core members.
Profitable contacts with potential members.
Wisdom for the places to invest myself in meeting people/building relationships.
Aaron, Nicki, Brad, Mandy, Kimberly, Jeff, Kelly, Todd, Christine, Art, Valerie (these are all "prospects" in one sense or another).

We sang this song at church yesterday. It was a new one to me. It was written in 1871 by a pastor from the East Coast (Mass. I think) to communicate with the community of sailors where he lived. It was "redone" for guitars, etc., but I really enjoyed it.

Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me
By Edward Hopper, 1871

Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life’s tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.
Chart and compass come from Thee;
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

While th’Apostles’ fragile bark
Struggled with the billows dark,
On the stormy Galilee,
Thou didst walk upon the sea;
And when they beheld Thy form,
Safe they glided through the storm.

Though the sea be smooth and bright,
Sparkling with the stars of night,
And my ship’s path be ablaze
With the light of halcyon days,
Still I know my need of Thee;
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When the darkling heavens frown,
And the wrathful winds come down,
And the fierce waves, tossed on high,
Lash themselves against the sky,
Jesus, Savior, pilot me,
Over life’s tempestuous sea.

As a mother stills her child,
Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
Boisterous waves obey Thy will,
When Thou sayest to them, “Be still!”
Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When at last I near the shore,
And the fearful breakers roar
’Twixt me and the peaceful rest,
Then, while leaning on Thy breast,
May I hear Thee say to me,
“Fear not, I will pilot thee.”

OOPS . . . I FORGOT

I started another website for family pictures, etc. I'll try to keep this focused on the ministry, how things are progressing, prayer requests, etc. The other will be more personal stuff. J may even put in an entry or two. We mainly wanted to do it for family, but some of you may be interested as well. Here's the link:

http://web.mac.com/ljcordell/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

10/02/06 UPDATE

I went to another church Sunday, CORE Community in Omaha. They are part of a church planting group that I am interested in called Acts 29. It was a really cool service and I saw a several elements that were interesting. For one, the welcome time was about 5 minutes - almost uncomfortably long. However, it allowed people in the congregation to actually engage one another in a meaningful dialogue - not just "how's it goin'", handshake, see ya. Two, when the band started to come down and the preacher got up from behind the drums (yeah, he played the drums) the entire congregation remained standing. They did the good old "Stand for the reading of God's Word" but it made a real impact that this is important, it is why we are here, you should pay attention to what it says. Third, they did communion (side note - it should be a sin to do communion with wafers instead of the real thing). That was interesting since communion was THE centerpiece of worship in the early church. Anyway, just random musings. For those of you who wonder about "these young guys" leading churches, you should be encouraged - many of them have a strong desire to know and proclaim Jesus and many of them are deeper than you average church (even if the music is really loud).

The most significant event of last week was that I talked to the Director of Missions about my plans, target, etc. There is a large church in town (SBC) that is focusing on the area we "targeted." We are supposed to meet more this week to see what their plans are for the future. One funny thing is that if they are focused on moving out there, we may focus where they are right now - which is right beside where we live. J has made a lot of contacts in the area. I told Mark (the DOM that I'd be happy to change places with them). Who knows, I'm glad God's driving this thing because I'm clueless. Other than that, he affirmed the direction I'm taking and the planning going on. I'm assuming that we will continue to target the area I mentioned before but that may change. Blessed are the flexible for they will not be bent out of shape.

This week, I'll be trying to lay the groundwork (name, core values, etc.) so that we can pull a website together, get some info printed, etc. to use in the future. One problem is that in a metro area, if it doesn't have some "feel" for being established, people ignore it, so that's why all the work in this area. I'll also be working on laying out some ideas and times for mission teams to come up and work next summer.

In the next 2-3 months, we hope to pull together a core group. As I've said, there are prospects that I'd like you to pray for that we've already met. There's a lot more we don't even know about. Continue to pray that God will raise them up. There may even be some in existing churches and we'll be working on that. You can pray that God will lay a burden on the hearts of area pastors to give support and allow their people to become involved. Once we get them pulled together, we'll begin training, praying, etc. for a big launch (most likely in the Fall of 2007).

In November we have a prayer walking team coming up to lay some spiritual groundwork for the upcoming work. There will be more in the summer, along with a variety of ministry teams (block parties, backyard Bible clubs, sports camps, etc.) to help get us out there and involved in the community. Following all of this, we hope to build momentum for a public launch of the church in the Fall. That should help you understand the timeline and hopefully inform how you are praying.

PRAISES
J has made several significant contacts with a homeschooling network - both on a practical (homeschooling) level and on a personal/relational level
Things seem to be progressing as expected

PRAYER
Wisdom as I make plans this week.
People to form a core group - participants and leaders to allow their people to be involved.
Relationships and contacts that we are making to continue to develop.

9/25/06 UPDATE

As you may have noticed, I've added a few links to the right. These are all churches and organizations that are sponsoring us in some way. For those of you who don't understand the Southern Baptist lingo, the Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association is an affiliation of SBC churches in the eastern portion of Nebraska (think of it as a county - churches in a "smaller" region affiliate together for resourcing, etc.). They are our immediate sponsoring group - they were the driving force behind all of the events leading up to our coming here. The Kansas/Nebraska Convention is a larger group of SBC associations (think of this as a state, composed of many counties, composed of many cities/churches). I just realized I'll have to add one more - the North American Mission Board. They are the national organization for the SBC's work in North America. West Bellevue is our sponsor in this immediate area. They are providing immediate oversight and partnership with our soon to be "mission church." Long Avenue is the church where I have most recently served and have been sent as a church planter. They are providing monetary and prayer support for our work. Southview is the "newcomer" to the party. I met Pastor Aaron Householder has a vision for church planting and is sponsoring a work in Lincoln. In the meantime, he heard about what was going on in Omaha and wanted to help there. They recently blessed us with the funds to get my van repaired and to purchase a new notebook! Both were greatly needed!

I say all of this just to say thanks to all of these groups. If I were to go into listing each individual who has helped in addition to them, it would take a seperate blog. Still, I want to let each of you know how much you have been a blessing in your support for us, whether it it money, prayer, a phone call or email, whatever. I have been overwhelmed and humbled by all of the support that has been given. To each of you, I again say thanks.

I'm learning to recalibrate my measuring a "successful" week. In church planting, things aren't really judged by the number of items checked off the list. I'm learning that things are often much slower and much of the things to be done are of a foundational nature, so they take longer but pay off in the long run. That being said, I think I accomplished two big things this last week. One, I think we FINALLY narrowed down an area to focus on. It will be in southwest Omaha in a really growing area. It's on the outskirts of the growth, so we can kind of grow with the city in some respects. This allows us to reach many people who are transitioning to a new home, city, etc. As you may know, these times often represent a significant opportunities to reach people. It will also allow us to possibly find some land in the future, when the time comes. Anybody want to invest in some Omaha real estate? The "boundaries" for the area will be Q Street to the north, Giles on the south, 144 to the east and 192 to the west. This forms a rectangle 2 miles by 4 miles. It's hard to express the number of lives represented in that rectangle. I don't know everything that is located there, but I do know of 1 very large high school, 4 elementary schools and 3 middle schools, if that tells you anything. I want to stay toward the western end of this area where there are five or six large subdivisions, most of which are at the stage of only having the model homes completed.

Two, I found a coffee shop from which to base my operations. I know that seems like a small issue, but it really isn't. My task now is to find a way to make contacts and penetrate the culture. One way I've found is to just "get out there" and be available. Coffee shops and the like allow me to be accessible to a wide array of people and provide the place to get some work done. The one I've found is owned by a very interesting guy who's very involved in the Eastern Orthodox Church. We seem to have hit it off and have had some significant conversations. Pray for my time working there - that it will be productive, both in terms of working (reading, writing, thinking) but even more in terms of contacts with people. Pray for providential meetings, conversation starters, etc. Pray too for wisdom as I seek ways to penetrate the culture and get to know people.

So where do we go from here?

Well, this week, I'm going to be exploring a few possibilities for meeting places (schools and the like). We probably won't be meeting anywhere in the immediate future, but we've go to find a place. That's huge.

Also, there are several people that we've met who came to Omaha to start churches. Most of them just moved up here and found jobs to help by being part of a core group for a church start. Those starts have sputtered out for a variety of reasons. I've had several conversations with different individuals who are part of these groups. There seems to be a collective question of "What's God doing here when there are several people who have a heart for church planting and a church planter?" We're going to try to start meeting to just see if we "click" relationally and also explore if there is a fit philosophically too. If so, do we all want to be part of trying something new? One concern is that most of these individuals have been involved in trying to start a church for 2 years or so and the process was very difficult. Coming out of a time like that, it takes some time to recuperate (we know because we were there after "the New Hampshire Project"). Right now it's probably a bit early for many of them to really want to dive back in. Pray for God's leadership.

This week for J and the boys went pretty well. J has really made a ton of contacts. She got connected with a home schooling network and has been in contact with several ladies. One lives just a block or so from us and has three boys - 7,5,3 - how weird is that. They went on a field trip to the Arbor Day Tree Farm. They all had fun - we now have three blue spruce trees in jugs in the back yard, a bag of freshly picked apples, a 1/2 gallon of apple cider and a 1/2 gallon of cherry cider (never had it before, but it's AWESOME). They've also been involved in Awana and took a "hike" on Saturday to collect things God made. They also took a trip to the zoo last week to see the sharks fed.

Well, that's probably more than most of you wanted to read:) Here's a summary.

PRAISES:
Good week of homeschooling
Selected a "target area"
Contacts at the coffee shop

PRAYERS:
Meeting place
Leadership - meetings with prospectives leaders, core, etc.
Contacts with prospects in SW O!
Wisdom for ways to connect with people

HERE'S THE DEAL

Some of you are probably wondering what's going on (I am too, so don't feel left out:)) Last week I had several really good meetings with pastors. The frustrating thing is wanting to start seeing people saved, the church growing (or even started for that matter). The reality is that I've got a huge learning curve. I'm trying to rely on the insights of others who have been here longer to help me understand the city, people, some of the openings and opportunities they see, and the like. There have been several great contacts with other leaders, etc. who have a similar mindset and approach to ministry as I do. I'm trying to stay patient as I try and prepare the foundation for the church God is building. It's tedious and slow, but necessary as well.

I have started to find one good place of contacts with others - a local coffee shop here. It's becoming my new "office." Once I'm able to get a new laptop with wireless access, I'll be ready to roll! I'll be working to develop more points of contact in the coming weeks.

As for the location, I'm thinking a little differently about it than everyone else (i know nobody's surprised by that). There have been some contacts in various different places. I'm really thinking of trying to have several Bible studies in various locations where these leads are coming up. I'm hoping to develop leadership among these, progressing up to a public launch. Once that's in place, we can draw all of them together and develop the church in a central location. That would be phase one. After things settle down a bit, we can go back to those areas with the hopes of starting a church at each one - that would be phase two.

We had a really good meeting with a couple last night. They share some of the same ideas as J and I. They also have 4 kids (9, 7, 3, 1), so when we pulled into the driveway, Andrew said "Wow, there's kids here!" Most of our excursions have been with adults and I guess they've gotten a little tired of that. They had a blast playing while we ate and talked.

Praises:
We found out that we've been approved for insurance (they wanted to deny J).
Home schooling has been going pretty well.

Prayer Needs:
Wisdom as I do all the foundational stuff for the church.
Persons of peace to begin Bible studies, etc.
God to raise up leadership for the work.
The Spirit to move in the Bible study I'm leading beginning Thursday night.

HMMMMMM. . .

When people ask why your church is growing, the answer should be Jesus - not the name of the pastor.

SUNDAY FUNNIES

So the boys were cracking me up yesterday. We went to Heartland Community Church. They meet in a huge movie theater. When we pulled up, the boys said, "What are we doing here?" When we told them we're going to church, Jackson said, "We can't go to church in a movie theater." Of course, once we got inside, they got mad because we weren't going to watch a movie and wouldn't let them play on the arcade games. One of their attenders told me that it takes about a month before the kids go to church without being upset because they don't get to see a movie.

When we got done, we went to lunch with several couples and were walking past the theater to the van. Jackson pipes up as says, "Dad, there are thousands of people going to church in Omaha." After a short pause, he said, "Well, looks like our work here is done!"

We really enjoyed the church on Sunday and made several good contacts with people our age that have kids, etc. I think J'line hooked up with some times for children's story hour, women's Bible studies and the like.

One thing that was really cool is that they had earplugs available at a cart by the door - SWEET. It really wasn't that loud, but it was good and we enjoyed it.

So here's my dilemma . . . I'm in a city of 850, 000 in the Metro area, very few churches, lots of lost people, tons of needs. You could basically throw a dart at a map and just start a church there. I've got to determine the best place to start a work in the middle of all of that. We've got a couple of areas narrowed down and a few people who are possibly interested in each. I'm waiting to hear from or talk to them to find out a little more. I really need to narrow this down and fairly quickly. I need you to be praying that God would show us the best place for us to settle down and work. Pray that he will move in the lives of these people who could possibly be involved and have them commit to working on it - if that's what He wants.

To give you a little more info, we're considering the southwest portion of omaha. If you look on a map, Interstate 80 runs out to a city called Gretna. Essentially, that entire area from I-80 back to the city of Papillion has no churches and they are building houses everywhere. Our sponsoring church has a few people involved from that area. There are also a few people who indicated they might be interested in a Bible study in the city of Springfield. Springfield and Gretna are small farming communities that are now booming with new growth. That's one possibility.

Another is the city of Bennington - Northwest of Omaha. Same deal with the growth. In fact, as I was writing this, a native of Bennington was in and said there are 15,000 building permits issued for the area around B'ton. There's 2 Lutheran churches and another church meeting in the Elementary School. That's it. I met a couple at church yesterday who are both graduates of Southwestern Seminary and came up here to help start a church that didn't work out. They live in B'ton and told me I needed to start one there. I have to follow up with them and see if they would want to help.

In short, I need wisdom and discernment. We've got to get this decision narrowed down.

Thanks for praying.

QUOTE

Never tell anyone it can't be done . . . God may have been waiting for centuries for somebody ignorant of the impossible to do that very thing. - J.A. Holmes

I knew my stupidity would come in handy:)

CHURCH LIFE

Well, we went to our sponsoring church yesterday for worship. We've been wanting to get involved - particularly so the boys have a place to connect with friends. They got to go to SS and we signed them up for Awana's on Wednesday night. J and I will be going to a small group that meets in our target area on Thursday nights beginning Sept 21.

It was an invaluable experience for me. I've been stuck in one church culture so long that you get used to it and your brain kind of fills in the blanks of things that a newcomer finds baffling. Yesterday reminded me of what it is like to go to a church for the first time. You don't know where things are, how things work, what isn't communicated clearly, and what you need to have available for a first timer. Fortunately, i met the discipleship pastor at the door and he walked me through it all. after worship, we connected with the DOM's wife and she helped us with the rest of the stuff. The most helpful person of all was a young lady at the sign up table for children's ministries. She helped me with the stuff to fill out, but most of all she talked to Jackson, made him feel welcome, and helped introduce him in his class. She was awesome!
The moral of the story - when you see someone new at church, ask if you can help them with anything and walk them through it (take them to the class, etc.). Also, you don't have to be a professional, you just need to be friendly, helpful, and willing to have your junk interuppted to help someone else.

I also had two more "It's a small world" moments last week. You know, things like the Sunday i announced our move to the church and Chris Earley's grandson was there - from Bellevue, NE, when I told Bruce and he did DMin work with our sponsoring pastor, when I preached at FBC PSJ and a guy told me he had just moved to PSJ from Omaha. Well the two for this week:
I met the discipleship pastor (Joel Davis) from our sponsoring church, West Bellevue. He asked where we moved here from and I told him PSJ. He got a grin on his face and i said, "Do you actually know where that is?" He replied, "Yeah, I'm from Panama City. My parents had a house on St Joe Beach for years." He went to school at Graceville. The other involves my sister. She moved to Watertown, NY (upstate, way upstate) a few months ago. She was talking to her neighbors last week and i guess mentioned what we were doing. They told her they grew up in Papillion, NE (our target area). Weird, huh?

Thanks for praying. Your prayers got the van out here - i think the waterpump went out. I should have had you pray for it to not break down - period! This week I'll be prayer-driving our area with Steve Holdaway (our sponsoring pastor). The boys will be starting Awana's. J will be starting homeschooling:) I'll also be meeting the pastor of a church in Lincoln that may help for the remainder of the year. I'm also meeting with a guy I hope may be part of the core.

Your prayers make a difference, please keep it up! You are an invaluable part of our efforts to make a difference for the Kingdom.

WE MADE IT!

Looking at the counter, a few of you have been checking for updates this week (or else Suzanne was just checking every 5 minutes). We made it on Monday afternoon about 4:00. Everything's off the truck and in either our garage or storage unit.

So far everything is going great. We've met several of our neighbors - they are extremely friendly. It's like being in a sitcom or the twilight zone - haven't decided which yet. The boys are slowly adjusting by tearing each other's heads off - when we don't beat them to it. Three days in a car was a LONG time and it's taking a while for them to work off the excess energy.

Yesterday was really cool. We decided to take them to the zoo. We actually bought a year pass and only saw maybe 1/2 of it. i found out today that it is consistently rated in the top three in the nation or world (there was some confusion as to which). i believe it, it was the best i've ever been too. I'll try to post some pics later.

Had a good meeting today with the sponsoring pastor. He is really supportive and we are meeting to go "prayer driving" next tuesday. They are doing 40 Days of Community starting Sept. 17 and I'll be leading a small group for them that meets in our target area. I also met another pastor in the area who's family lives in the area and he's going to introduce us. The consensus is that the biggest obstacle will not be the people but where they will meet. The locations are in short supply, are very expensive, as is land. That will be a big thing to pray for - like maybe several churches, investors, etc. will see the need to come together to make it happen.

Sorry, I'm not posting updates as promised, but i don't have an internet connection yet - i'm about to die!!!

Anyway, pray for us to meet the right people, build small groups, and find a place to meet.

More next monday if not before!

LOAD 'EM UP, MOVE 'EM OUT

Sorry the post is late this week. J'line just let me out of the back room where I've been packing the last several days:) Actually, we've had a few breaks to socialize, etc. I'm taking a short break while it rains. We got a break today when the U-Haul place asked us to pick up the truck early so people would quit bugging them to let them rent it. I'm not sure how we're going to get all of our stuff in the truck anyway, so it helps to have more time so we can pack carefully.

The last several days have been very emotional - a lot of ups and downs. Church went well on Sunday. Andrew was baptized to begin the service. At the close, the pastor had us gather up front and everyone prayed for us to commission us. It was encouraging, humbling, and really worked up the ole tear ducts.

Sunday night, we had fellowship at the church that was fun and encouraging. They "equipped me" to go to Nebraska as a "faux Husker" and sent us off with some encouraging comments and CASH!!! Thanks to everyone who was a part. We really appreciate it.

For those of you on the prayer team, we will be sending out a letter this week with more info (for those who aren't and want to be, let me know), but for now, here's some requests:

At the present, our most urgent requests are for help in moving and a safe trip to Omaha (pray that God will hold the van together for the trip!). Once we arrive, I am praying that the boys and Jacqueline will make friends quickly. Please pray for them as they begin home schooling too! For me, the first several months will be ones of learning the community, finding doors of opportunity where God is at work, meeting people, and planning for the new work. Pray that I will learn how God is moving in this culture and join Him there. Pray also that we will meet persons of peace (Luke 10:1-24) who God is preparing to be involved in the work. Pray for leaders to join us in the work of the harvest. Pray that I will be alert and aware of opportunities to share the gospel. Pray that I will share it boldly, clearly, and that it will bear fruit quickly. Pray for the Papillion/La Vista/ 370 Corridor outside of Omaha to be receptive to the gospel. Pray also for wisdom as we make the countless decisions that are going to be needed in the coming weeks.

Thanks for your help!

PICKING UP STEAM

Things are really beginning to move now! 2 weeks until we hope to move. I never realized how much stuff we have. My parents were down and really helped us pack up a lot of it.

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. We had a fantastic service Sunday morning. God seemed to really be at work. A young lady I've been praying for since we came to Port St. Joe 6 years ago came forward and committed her life to following Jesus! All in all, it was really great. The bitter part came last night. We had our last small group meeting with several people who have become family to us during our time here. The adventure of moving and starting a new church is exciting, but it sure is hard to leave people like them behind.

This week will be more of the same - pack, pack, pack. We have a big Sunday coming up - Andrew (my middle son) is being baptized, i'll preach my last sermon here, and the church is having a farewell dinner for us.

PRAYER - Please pray for us to get everything ready for the move.

Pray that I will hear God's plan for what he wants done in Omaha.

Pray for me to present the gospel clearly and courageously at every opportunity. Col. 4:3-6

HERE WE GO. . .

I found out that we will be approved as church planters by the North American Mission Board either today or tomorrow (8/8 or 8/9). That is the last "hurdle" until we can move. I reserved a truck for 8/25, so we will be packing up and leaving a day or two after that. I'm guessing we should arrive in Omaha on 8/28 or 8/29. Then the real fun begins . . .

You know, things seem a little more real now.

JESUS IS EVERYTHING

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. . .” 2 Cor. 3:5

One of the great tenets of Scripture is the claim that Jesus Christ is completely sufficient for all matters of life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3,4)! He is sufficient for creation (Col. 1:16-17), salvation (Heb. 10:10-12), sanctification (Eph. 5:26-27), and glorification (Rom. 8:30). So pure is He that there is no blemish, stain, spot of sin, defilement, lying, deception, corruption, error, or imperfection (1 Pet. 1:18-20).

So complete is He that there is no other God besides Him (Is. 45:5); He is the only begotten Son (John 1:14,18); all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him (Col. 2:3); the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Col. 2:9); He is heir of all things (Heb. 1:2); He created all things and all things were made by Him, through Him, and for Him (Col. 1:16); He upholds all things by the word of His power (Col. 1:17, Heb. 1:3); He is the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15); He is the exact representation of God (Heb. 1:3).

He is the only Mediator between God and man; He is the Sun that enlightens; the Physician that heals, the Wall of Fire that defends; The Friend that comforts, the Pearl that enriches; the Ark that supports; and the Rock to sustain under the heaviest of pressures; He is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3, 8:1); He is better than the angels (Heb. 1:4-14); better than Moses; better than Aaron; better than Joshua; better than Melchizedek; better than all the prophets; greater than Satan (Lk 4:1-12); and stronger than death (1 Cor. 15:55).

He has no beginning and no end (Rev. 1:17-18); He is the spotless Lamb of God; He is our Peace (Eph 2:14); He is our Hope (1 Tim. 1:1); He is our Life (Col. 3:4); He is the living and true Way (John 14:6); He is the Strength of Israel (1 Sam. 15:29); he is the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star (Rev. 22:16); He is Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11); He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2); He is the Captain of our Salvation (Heb. 2:10); He is the Champion; He is the Elect One (Is 42:1); He is the Apostle and High-Priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1); He is the Righteous Servant (Is. 53:11).

He is the Lord of Hosts, the Redeemer – the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth (Is. 54:5); He is the Man of Sorrows (Is. 53:3); He is the Light; He is the Son of Man (Matt. 20:28); He is the Vine; He is the Bread of Life; He is the Door; He is Lord (Phil. 2:10-13); He is Prophet, Priest and king (Heb. 1:1-3); He is our Sabbath rest (Heb. 4:9); He is our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6)He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6); He is the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4); He is Lord God of hosts; He is Lord of the nations; He is the Lion of Judah; the Living Word; the Rock of Salvation; The Eternal Spirit; He is the Ancient of Days; Creator and Comforter; Messiah; and He is the great I AM (John 8:58)!

Taken from the MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1831

Well, it's been a while since the last post . . . mainly because there's not a lot to tell. The one thing we are waiting to hear is that we have been approved by the North American Mission Board (NAMB). This should be a formality, but it takes time and we can't get any money until it takes place. Since they are providing a large portion of our support, it's very important:) We should be receiving notice at some point this month.

Other than that, I have been spending a large portion of my time preparing for the work in Omaha. I've found a website for a network of church planters (Acts 29) that has been really helpful. They have posted their Boot Camp (training for church planters) online, so i've been able to listen to a lot of it. They are a group committed to communicating the gospel to the culture today. At the same time, they highly emphasize Bible teaching and theology, so it's right up my alley!

I've also been making contact with some of the pastors in Omaha. They are a very helpful group that seems to work well together. They are all excited about the work taking place there and having us join them.

Here are a few things you can pray for:

1. Col. 4:2-6 - That God will open a door for the gospel in Omaha. That I will proclaim the gospel clearly and seize every opportunity.

2. That everything will go well with lining up the move - that we can find a truck at the right time, get everything packed, etc.

3. Adjustment for our family. New friends for us and the boys.

4. Pray especially for Jacqueline as she will be preparing to homeschool Jackson and Andrew for the first time.

5. Leaders to go into the harvest field.