Our scatter was an overall success! It was so fun to pray for each Intentional Community throughout the week and then to hear reports of how the group went. Overall we had over 50 people in the 6 Intentional Communities we launched this week and we have one more that will launch this coming Sunday. Please continue to pray for these groups. Some of them are short term. They will be faced with a decision after 7 or 11 weeks on whether or not they want to continue as a group. This will be led by the Spirit because the group and the leadership will need to be on the same page. Pray for week number two, that we would not back track but that even more people would get involved. God is working and it is a beautiful thing.
Sunday was a great day as well. Easter Sunday is supposed to produce greater numbers of people for worship. But the entire time I was wandering what the week after Easter would look like. Our mission is not to get a bunch of people to one worship service. Our mission is to make disciples. I was excited to see our worship service yesterday packed with new faces and people returning from the previous week. We began our Hot Topics Series by taking a look at the exclusivity of Jesus' claims and what exactly God had to say about the God-man. That leads to the next thing.
This Hot Topics series seemed like a good idea originally (and I still believe it is), but now that we're getting into it I'm realizing how tough it will be to preach on all these issues. Especially with the large numbers of new and not-yet believers in our midst. Please keep me in your prayers that I would preach with grace and truth, straight from Scripture. This week we will be dealing with "What God thinks about sex." I'm excited to explore this issue but I know that the truth of Scripture is going to cut to the core of some of the people in attendance. Conviction leads to beauty, but the road is messy.
Our kids have been healthy for what feels like an extended period of time for the first time in a long time... maybe ever. Jagen is tolerating his new FODMAP diet for kids with a fructose intolerance. We're not sure yet if it's working, but we are at least figuring it out (by we I mean Kelli) and he seems to be eating well. While Jagen & Rylan's health is doing well we could definitely use your prayers in our parenting. We've officially got double trouble in the terrible two's department but Jagen is passionately leading the way. He has learned to throw a fit with the best of them and he doesn't care when or where he is. The hardest part is that he is so strong and it's often impossible for Kelli to control him while keeping an eye on Rylan in public. These are just parental growing pains of course. But they're hard in the moment. We appreciate your prayers.
Lastly, we are going to watch the parents of at least 16 children dedicate themselves to the Lord this Sunday. Sixteen kids who have a new hope of being raised to know God and follow hard after Jesus. Sixteen kids whose parents are committing to be a part of changing the culture on the Hilltop and in Tacoma by modeling for their children what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I'm very excited about this day. I'm so excited about the fact that God has been bringing us families.
God is at work. He's moving in Tacoma. Please pray for our Mariner's game this Saturday. We are slated to take 92 people from our Community Dinner. That's one more opportunity to build relationships and share and show the love of Jesus to our neighbors. Pray that people show up. Pray that our people our bold. Pray that we have fun and please pray that more and more people get connected to Jesus.
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