bellingham

It is nice to be back in WA, and to begin to think again about the task before us. We've been called to start a new church. As individuals and as churches we are called to partner together in reaching our neighbors w/ the good news of Jesus Christ. My hope is that the church plant will focus on loving and worshiping God, while loving and serving others in their physical and spiritual needs. My hope is that this new church will call others to Christ, be built up in Christ, and send people out in the name of Christ.
Since starting 2 months ago, I've begun to network w/ local CRC folk, and other church leaders. We'll continue to pray together as we partner together in our common task of Kingdom growth. We'll have another prayer gathering next month, so stay tuned. The other task since we started was to begin looking at where God is leading us locate. We've looked at lots of demographics of the county. We've spent many more hours in communities throughout the county, meeting folks and getting a feel for the personality of each place. We've spent lot's of time praying for these communities and how we fit into reaching needs. Through these efforts and discernment w/ others, we've decided that God is leading us to plant the church in Bellingham. It, like everywhere, is a place that has a great need for the gospel. It is a town that matches who we are as a family and our vision for ministry.
So now our task becomes to find who we feel led to reach in Bellingham, and which neighborhood would facilitate that. This means we will continue to to pray discern w/ others. Once we feel a leaning toward a general part of town we will move to that neighborhood, so we can begin developing local relationships in the neighborhood. We will also continue to pray for folks to initially join us - whether that is to simply worship w/ us or join us in initial leadership.
Please pray that:
-God would draw us to a specific neighborhood in Bellingham
-Folks would gather w/ us to worship and serve
-And how you individually can get involved (contact me if this strikes a holy chord in you)

love

I recently returned from Colorado, for the second time. I returned again to Colorado, after only a week home in Washington, b/c my Grandma passed away. It was a special time of connection w/ my family. When i was in Colorado the first time, for Christmas, I was able to connect w/ Grandma. She and my Grandpa, "Peeps", had an awesome marriage of commitment and love that I hope K8 and i can imitate. In my last couple conversations w/ Grandma, she got sappy when it was time to go (she always did). In her "goodbye" in those last couple meetings she gave me the advice to love, "b/c it's the most important thing." Reflecting on this, I shared 1 Corinthians 13 at her memorial service. We wrongfully think of this text only as a wedding text, that is focused on marital love. In reality Paul wrote the Corinthians concerning church unity, by which love draws us together. So, using the text as a wedding text fits, but on a secondary level - the same can be said for using it as a funeral text as well. Anywho, I think Grandma's words are true. Love is most important in our relationships w/ God, our family, church, friends, and community. If our desire is to love all these things, then we must reflect on the words of 1 Cor. 13. As you read the words of the text, I invite you to join me in reflecting on how we match up to the descriptors of love. I pray that you will be blessed by the exercise.
1 Corinthians 13, "1 If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body [to hardship] that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails... 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."