In awe of God's timing

Let me tell you how amazing our God is.

Most of you know that we are in a new phase in the life of The Pathway. We are calling the months of January-April our Gather to Scatter phase. We have combined all our Community Groups into one Intentional Community for the purpose of modeling what "being the church" can and should look like and then scattering at least 5 new IC's across the city. As a part of that modeling, we have adopted a section of our community called the Evergreen Neighbors as our mission field. Over the course of the next several months, as an Intentional Community, we are doing everything we can to pray for, serve and share the gospel with the people who make up the Evergreen Neighborhood.

We made the Evergreen Neighbors our mission field around November. That is when we started planning and praying about our Gather to Scatter strategy. Then, just before Christmas, God did something only he could do in a way that only he could pull off. Most of you remember that God gave Kelli and I another daughter when we moved to Tacoma. Her name is Tiffany and she came to us when she was 17 years old. The pain in regard to Tiffany is great but God is still working in her life and she is still in our life.

One day in December I received a call from a number I didn't recognize. On the other end of the phone was a lady who was looking for help for her pregnant sister. The lady's sister had just escaped an abusive relationship. She was pregnant, close to giving birth and did not have any of the things so many parents are used to receiving from baby showers, family and friends. I told her I would connect her with Kelli because we have so much baby stuff... it's practically coming out our ears! Before I hung up I asked her how she got my number. She said from Tiffany. I asked, "How do you know Tiffany?" She went on to tell me that Tiffany had called her in response to an ad on Craigslist requesting "baby stuff." She told her that I was a pastor and that I could "help."

Fast forward a few days and weeks and the lady and her sister came over to our house, went shopping in our miniature baby boutique (our garage) and spent a little time with Kelli. Kelli invited them to our worship service and they came that week. But they didn't just come. Over the course of the last month they have brought almost their entire extended family with them to various things we have done as an Intentional Community. This past Sunday the lady who originally called me on the phone came up to me teary-eyed and expressed her gratitude toward God. She told me she was amazed that we were putting all our focus on the Evergreen Neighbors because she has numerous siblings, cousins and other family members who live in the boundaries of the Evergreen neighbors. She said that God has used The Pathway to get them to be a part of a church and to hear the gospel for the first time. Awesome.

I love to plan, strategize and vision cast. But ultimately, not even the best strategist could orchestrate something like that. God is moving on the Hilltop. Please pray for us and for the Evergreen Neighbors as we Gather to Scatter for the glory of God and the sake of the gospel.