God is moving... please be praying

I want all of you who follow this blog to be encouraged. God is moving. I know that I have a tendency to be very truthful in my posting. When things are hard and we are struggling, I do my best to be honest about that. I think it is a vital part of my partnership with all of you and I think that is what God expects of his church... authenticity and transparency grounded in the hope we have in Jesus. While I try to be honest about the hard things, I also want to share with you the good things. And over the last month and a half we have begun to see some very good things as God responds to what you have been praying for.

First and foremost, we have begun to see God raise up leaders for our church from within and without. As most of you who follow the blog know, the VanGo missionaries who were planning to help us for 3-6 weeks have now committed to serve as part-time staff for at least 6 months. Jenna Jones is our new Kids Ave Director and Stacie Hooks is our Director of Intentional Communities. One of the blessings is that we are paying them very part-time pay and they are working with full-time commitment. A huge load has already been lifted from my shoulders personally and we have already begun to see growth.

We have also see people take ownership from within in various ways. We've seen our church come together to decorate our facility for Christmas, host a New Years Day brunch and meet needs in various ways. It has been beautiful to see. The things we need you to continue to pray for are 3 fold. 1) Please pray that God raises up replacements for Jenna and Stacie as they are only here on an interim basis. 2) Pray that God continues to raise up passionate leaders from within our church to host and lead new groups that we will be starting. 3) Pray that we can find a worship leader!!! God has opened the door for a potential interim worship leader which is a huge praise but we desperately need some leaders to commit for the long haul.

I also want you to be encouraged regarding your prayers for my family. Satan definitely attacks us through our kids health but your prayers are being answered and multiplied. Our children are growing healthy and strong, we've had a great month of health and God has been providing for us in miraculous and overwhelming ways. Please continue to battle for us, but be encouraged!

Finally, we are beginning to see growth! Only time will tell if that growth sustains and continues to multiply, but we are seeing great things and prayers answered. We are seeing new families come in and take steps forward in their commitment... praise to Jesus! We are seeing God open doors for opportunities for us to serve within our community and connect with more people, more families. We want to grow because we want God's Kingdom to grow. Please continue to pray for salvation. We desire to see that more often and in greater numbers. But be encouraged, God is blessing us with spiritual, leadership and numerical growth. All praise to Jesus.

Lastly, I want you to pray for our facility that we call The Spot. We have great dreams for how we can use it for the city and for the glory of God, but we don't currently own it. There are a lot of open doors and possibilities for improvements and support, but God is going to be the one to put all the crazy puzzle pieces together if anything is going to happen. Please just pray that his will be done with The Spot because having a facility is nothing I planned or even wanted, but it is obviously a part of God's plan for The Pathway. Please pray that he would put the pieces together in his timing.

We love you all. Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous support of our church and family. Be encouraged! God is moving.