Haven’t updated this page mainly because there hasn’t been a lot of movement. At times it has felt like this process has suddenly lurched forward at warp speed but lately it has slowed to a crawl at best. This can get me a little antsy, but I am trying to rest in the knowledge that God is in control of the timing and I don’t want to get out in front of Him. My connect class is starting a study of the book of Acts tomorrow and as I was preparing to teach, God showed me how when Jesus gave his apostles the mission to be His witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, He then disappeared into heaven and they had to wait for ten days until the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost. I’m in that space between getting the mission and getting the direction and power also, I guess.
I’ve had a couple of meetings scheduled with Pastor Robert that didn’t happen for various reasons. We were going to meet back on July 5th but his dad had some medical issues and then he was in Ukraine for a couple of weeks. This past week we were scheduled to meet but the storms came through and knocked out power. PGBC had the great idea to serve hamburgers and hot dogs to the community so that preempted our meeting. So there have been good reasons that we haven’t been able to get together, which confirms for me that God’s in it. The other reason I know God’s timing is perfect is that He has changed my thinking on some future ideas and plans so that when we do get to meet, my perspective will be much different than it would have been back on July 5th (if that makes sense).
At this stage, I am working through what leadership positions I would like to fill prior to planting the church. Right now, I would identify six of these: worship director, communications director (video, audio, social media, etc.), finance director/treasurer, discipleship director (incl. small groups and children’s ministry), hospitality/guest services director, and evangelism/volunteer coordinator. These would not (all) be paid positions and the list might change as I see who God puts in my path and I think through it more. But a big prayer request right now would be that God would lead me to the people who will be a part of this team. Once this team is assembled, there will be some training and planning as we gather others who will be a part of our “launch team.” So I will be working on job descriptions for these positions over the coming weeks.
Starting this Wednesday night (or possibly next Wed), I will be preaching an eight week series at PGBC which I’ve titled, “What’s So Good About the Good News?” I’m excited about this opportunity and I’ve got three of the eight messages pretty much done already. Those services start at 6:30pm and I certainly would appreciate your prayers that God would direct what I say and use it for His glory.
So that’s the update for right now, although there isn’t much to report. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I think my meeting with Pastor Robert will happen soon, so I might have more to report after that. Blessings!