Mid-Week Check In

It's been a busy, crazy week so far, but also a great time to be in ministry.

• Sunday's crowd appeared to be radically affected by sickness and sinus crud this past week. The running theme appeared to be "Pray for ____, she's really sick this morning." It also appears that the stomach virus is making rounds too.
• We started a new series called "Going Public" Sunday. We talked about having the faith and boldness to launch out into your relationships as a missionary. We want to have people with the boldness to say as Peter did in Acts 4 - "we cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard."
• This week we are going to give you simple, practical way to share your faith wherever you are with a piece of paper. Don't miss it.
• It was awesome to see Landon Daniels make a public profession of Christ Sunday morning. We have been blessed to see several children ask Christ to be Savior and several other parents have talked to me about questions that their kids are asking. Praise God for changed lives! We have a tremendous responsibility now to shepherd and surround these young hearts with the gospel so that their faith is not just based on a "decision" they made as a little kid.
• On that note, I am becoming increasingly burdened by our ministry to families. We need a team of volunteers to creatively brainstorm how we can build a first-class ministry to children and families. Right now, because of financial and staffing limitations, we are going to have to be volunteer led. However, I think we have a pioneering spirit developing here. Pray for me as we begin to research and work towards building a strong children's program.
• Yesterday, we had a great moment. Gerard Bowles went in for a heart cath for a blockage and when they did the cath the blockage was gone! It was an amazing moment where I believe that God showed his healing power. Pray for Genie and Gerard as they continue on their pilgrimage to Russia.
• If you haven't signed up to be a part of "Across Alabama" here, do so this week. It's going to be a great time praying for our community. Sign up also for our 24-hour prayer vigil.
• Many of you have collected "Buckets of Hope" to feed a family in Haiti. I will be delivering them tomorrow to the Birmingham Baptist Association. Thank you for being the church.

See you Sunday!