BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

So.., I'm on my date day with my bride yesterday, (which by the way has been made a major priority in my life given the nature of the beast called church planting) and a friend sends me an email which I did not read until this morning about our blog. No updates since launch?

Pretty lame yes..., but, we are actually in the process of having our blog revamped and updated. Each of the staff will be running their own blog and our hope is to have at least one update a week about our journey on those blogs. So.., until that time, I will give weekly (or more) updates on here.

We are headed into our 4th week as an active church plant. It has been interesting, challenging, exciting, and a ton of other adjectives, but also very busy. Some upcoming events are:

#1 - Sunday the 18th of October - We are going to be the church! On this day, we have chosen 3 service projects in the community to be part of.

- We have adopted approx. 20 families in a rundown motel that is about 1/2 mile from the facility where we meet.

- We will be working with New Bethany Ministries in Bethlehem (A family shelter) and do some painting and cleanup for them.

- We will be hoping a local homeowner in low income housing to do some work and cleanup in their home.

#2 - Sunday the 25th of October - We will be holding our very 1st baptism service! Party time!!

#3 - Sunday the 8th of November - Surprise guests from Virginia Beach! Can't wait - this should be a cool day!

#4 - Sunday the 15th of November - Surprise guests from the Lead Uganda project!

So..., lots of good stuff happening. Stories are starting to be shared and folks are now allowing God to jump into those stories, and we just happen to be part of making that happen. It is such an honor to work amongst the folks of the Lehigh Valley; and we know that we know, that God has put us here for such a time as this!

Thanks for following along! Peace and One Love!

GOOD NIGHT GOD!

Father - I'm not sure why or how I/we were chosen for this task and I know all of our team feels the same way; but "Thank You"! We Love You Pops and we know you have our back!

Help us all to get a good night's rest and be fresh to meet the adventure you have placed us in!

10 hours and 35 minutes for the ride of a lifetime! God - never let us forget that lives/souls are in the balance and never ever let us underestimate the importance of this task. Amen.

Good Night God!

SURREAL AND HUMBLING

It was in February 2006 when God planted the seed into my heart to return to the Lehigh Valley. I laughed then and 2 weeks later when I told Karen my wife, she did the same thing. LOL!

3 years later in February 2009 we landed back in the Valley after a 30 year hiatus. In April of 2009, the rest of our team showed up and we began a labor of Love!

3 years quite honestly seems like 3 minutes ago. The time has just zipped on by and here we are, 4 days away from officially launching a new church into the Lehigh Valley.

We are meeting @ Rascals Fun and Food, 6616 Ruppsville Road, Allentown, PA 18106, 9:30am every Sunday. The children K-5 grade meet in the restaurant; the infants and toddlers meet in the Party Rooms; the middle school crew meets in the Laser Tag area; and the adult worship is in the bar and balcony area. Why this setting? Is church about the building/meeting place or about the people? We like to think it is about the people and we really DO NOT think that not having our own personal meeting place gives us legitimacy or not. What gives us legitimacy is that Jesus and the Cross is the centerpiece of our community and it is our attitude of Loving People as He did that give us legitimacy.

That being said, it certainly does seem very surreal and very humbling that we are on the precipice of starting this new adventure! God has placed a very talented and energetic team together for this ride and our initial group of volunteers and friends is amazing! So.., "Thank YOU" God.

If you follow this blog, please pray for our team; but more importantly, pray for the people of the Lehigh Valley!

Peace and One Love!