Moving Past the Negative...

Meeting was...

I'll leave it at that for now. Will probably blog it this weekend when I have more time to digest.

One of the things I have missed about blogging is being able to share what God is doing at JFC. It's been amazing! Over the past six months we have seen God's hand at work. First, we are seeing people saved and people restored to the church. A large part of the ministry God has given us in this season of time is a real ability to reach people who have been angry with God, or Christians, or church or who had never given any thought to Jesus at all. It is so exciting to see folks getting it and then to see those people become some of our front line evangelists and bridge builders. Of course, a lot of these people are young, in age and faith, but their passion and enthusiasm make them excellent community connection points.

Further, we have seen our small group ministry begin to take shape. Now it's not perfect yet, far from it, but we have people who are making an effort to meet and when they do meet they are accomplishing some things. Of course, it helps that they are guided by some phenomenal curriculum produced by Song of Solomon ministries. Vintage Jesus is 12 lessons on who Jesus is and what He came to do. Great stuff! And yes for all you haters, it is taught by Mark Driscoll- God forbid we use good Bible teaching from Mark- it might make us think! :)

We are also seeing new leaders rising to the fore, not the least of these are the elders. But beyond the elders, we have a good team of leaders falling nicely into place- small group leaders, a ministry assistant, an older children teaching team, and a lady who has a passion for women's ministry who is awesome. This is such a huge change from several years ago and I am so amazed at what God is doing.

Finally, personally, I am enjoying a personal spiritual renaissance. It's not just a return to blogging, but a return to a passion for Scripture, reading for personal edification, enjoying times of slowness and solitude to hear God's voice, and rediscovering a passionate love for Jesus and what He's doing. All of this gives me an amazing sense of peace and excitement for the coming days.

May His kingdom advance...