Wednesday, July 13, 2011

First Journey Lorena Gathering


Well, I promised a detailed description of how our first Journey Lorena gathering went...so...I will deliver!

First of all, I want to take a moment to say a huge "Thank You" to Mark and Cassie Williams for opening up their home as we begin our church plant in Lorena, Tx. Their generosity is overwhelming, and it is a blessing to have them share in this experience.

So, we met in a home for our first official meeting. We asked everyone to be there at 6:00pm, and the fellowship began immediately as everyone began to trickle in. From what I could tell, everyone seemed to connect with one another from the beginning. I saw hugs, handshakes, and many conversations taking place. It didn't take long to notice that we had 30 people gathered together for our first meeting, because the living room was shrinking as people continued to arrive. Out of those 30 people, there must have been about 10-12 kids - looks like a healthy future for Journey Lorena!

We began the evening by letting the kids go outside for some activities, while the adults remained inside. "Thanks" to Gloria and Leslie for volunteering to take care of the kids for the first evening together. The adults discussed the Mission/Vision and Core Values of Journey Lorena. We talked about what kind of church we sought to be, who we sought to reach, and how we hoped to get there. We also discussed John 4:27-42, asking God to give us the eyes of Jesus.

Following our study, we invited the kids back in for our time of worship! David Middlebrook, our Worship Pastor, did a wonderful job leading us in our time of worship. With his guitar on his knee, he lead us in some wonderful songs which helped us focus on Jesus, the one who loves us unconditionally. Great job, David! When the time came, Leslie led us in our thoughts for the Lord's Supper. She fittingly discussed the unity and fellowship of the first century church, focused on a resurrected Christ. A great way to start off Journey Lorena!

As we wound up the evening, it was awesome to see how no one was in a hurry to leave. There was still a lot of fellowship and relationship building taking place. I feel so blessed to be a part of this experience, and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for Journey Lorena. Thanks to all of our financial partners, and thanks to all of those who are covering Journey Lorena in prayer!

2 comments:

joseph reese said...

I think of you and your family all the time. I am so glad to see everything is going so well. Your family and the people of lorena will be in our prayers. May god bless you and his church that you are planting.

joseph reese said...

I think of you and your family all the time. I am so glad to see everything is going so well. Your family and the people of lorena will be in our prayers. May god bless you and his church that you are planting.