Church Family,
As I reflect on the things the Lord has been doing in our community over the past 15 months of the ALL IN initiative, I am encouraged to see how God has been leading us out of the wilderness of the COVID pandemic and into new and beautiful things.
In this quarterly newsletter, you will see much to celebrate. In addition to what you will read below, we’ve been making good progress with the “Identifiable Communities” initiative. Much research, prayer, and planning has been done by the leadership team as to how best to build upon the strong foundation of small groups here at First Pres. We know there is a large portion of our Church community that is not yet experiencing the impact of participating in a small group. Additionally, there are people outside of our church who are longing for a meaningful, authentic, Christ-centered community.
The “Sanctuary Renovation” has seen lots of progress in repurposing, reusing, refreshing, and redeveloping the Sanctuary space. We are still on track for a Christmas celebration like no other. This vision couldn’t be executed without the Lord’s many blessings and a stellar Sanctuary Renovation Team!
The “Refugee Mission Ministry” has recently welcomed a fourth refugee family into the program. Mentors, new neighbors, and volunteers from First Pres have been hard at work serving these families as they transition into their new lives in our community.
Thank you to each and every one of you who is offering your time, talents, energies, prayers, and resources to make these “New Things” a reality in our community. The Lord is using us to build His Kingdom here on earth. What more could a Jesus community ask for?!!
As a congregation, we have dedicated ourselves to praying boldly for our church and its ministry. Below are prayers for First Pres from July through September.
Pray for
- All areas of family ministry as we recruit leaders for our fall programming needs. Raise up people at First Pres who will invest in our children and young people.
- God’s Spirit to refresh our hearts and minds as we engage in the fullness of church life this fall.
- Our preschool families to have an easy transition for their children coming to Westminster Preschool, as for many this is their first school experience.
- Students of all ages as they adjust to fall rhythms and return to school. Pray that they would feel welcome and known in their places of learning.
- The worship department to have a smooth transition back to two services, and for God to work through both the classic and modern ministries.
Chris Griggs
