Thursday, April 28, 2011

Freedom Valley this weekend

Just wanted to highlight some exciting stuff happening at Freedom Valley that I hope you can be a part of:
  • Church Defined - we will continue our series with part 2 "Gifts Defined". Im excited to help you see how you have been uniquely gifted to be part of God's team!
  • Communion - we will be closing our service out this week by receiving communion together. You've never seen such creative communion elements - come and see.
  • Party!! - we will be celebrating a few of our leaders who are about to move on to a new season in their lives. We will be meeting at my house (6323 S. 109th E. Ave, Tusla) from 5-7pm for some food, hanging out and to bless our friends who are taking the next step in their lives. Please bring a snack or drink to share. We will provide burgers and hot dogs for everyone. Kids are welcome, too! I hope you can celebrate with us on Sunday evening.
Don't forget that our service time has changed to 9:29am so we can have more time to hang out afterward!

Looking forward to some time with you this weekend.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Easter Weekend at Freedom Valley!

Just wanted to make sure that you were well aware of all the great experiences Freedom Valley has made available for you and your family this Easter Weekend:

  • Friday, April 22 / 7pm / Community Good Friday Service. We are partnering with 4 other local churches as we remember together the great sacrifice Jesus made for our sake that day so many years ago. Freedom Valley's worship band will lead this Good Friday Service at The Thoreau Demonstration Academy at 71st & Memorial. More info at http://www.goodfridaytulsa.com/
  • Saturday, April 23 / 9:30am & 1:30pm / South Tulsa Community Easter Egg Hunts @ Jefferson & McAuliffe Elementaries. We have collected and stuffed over 10,000 Easter eggs for these two fun-filled egg hunts for ages birth thru 5th grade. Details can be found on our calendar page. Just click on the individual events http://freedomvalleytulsa.com/church-calendar/
  • Sunday, April 24 / 9:29am / South Tulsa Community Easter Service @ Freedom Valley. Yes, 9:29 is the time. Be sure to bring your friends and relatives who are not yet connected to a local church and be sure to get there a few minutes early as we're expecting a record crowd. We will be starting our new series called "Church Defined" where we will talk about what church really is - according to God's Plans - and how we can be His Church. You can view the trailer on the home page of our website http://freedomvalleytulsa.com/

Looking forward to seeing you and meeting your friends and family!

Monday, April 18, 2011

prayers!

Just wanted to say that God is doing some great things in my life right now. I've not felt this light and optimistic about the future . . . ever! Some places you can join me in prayer this week:
  • Easter Weekend - It's a big weekend coming up. We have a community Good Friday Service, 2 Easter Egg Hunts and our Sunday morning Easter Service. I'm praying that the people of our church can love on our friends and our city like never before! I'm also praying for great weather on Saturday for our egg hunts and a big crowd on Easter Sunday . . . and for those people to feel very impacted by their experience at Freedom Valley.
  • Job Search - I have some applications and resumes out there, but next week I really begin a hard search. I am praying for an early first shift job that is Mon-Friday.
  • New Families at Freedom Valley - Even if we don't see a single guest family on Easter Sunday, God has brought a lot of new families to Freedom Valley lately. Can you pray that they find a good place to belong (both relationally and in using the gifts God's given them) among the people at the church.
Thanks so much for your prayers and you friendship!

Monday, April 11, 2011

your prayers are so powerful

Your prayers sure are working! Last week was a breakthrough for me personally. I am really overcoming some fears and God is opening my eyes to some issues in our church that are relatively easy to fix that will bring us a much greater level of health. I really believe this a lot to do with your prayers. Thank you so much for your faithful partnership!

Where my prayers are focused this week:
  • Job - I've applied for a few jobs, but this week begins my job search in earnest. I am looking for a first-shift job that runs M-F and pays enough where Sara does not have to go to full-time work. It's a pretty tall order, but I trust God to meet my needs and answer my prayers. Please pray with me for that job this week.
  • Leaders & Location - I am currently working with many of our church leaders to reorganize how our leaders function and where they report. We are also actively looking for a new location for our church. Please understand that this is not a "we're moving" announcement. We are going to be meeting at the Cinemark Theater for the foreseeable future. We're just in the beginning stages of looking for a facility that can help us get to the next level. Between the leadership clarity that our reorganization will bring and a possible new facility, I believe our church can be positioned to take off in the very near future.
  • Easter - Easter is a traditional time when churches grow. I'm asking God that our church would grow significantly through this Easter season and that we do a good job caring for those new people we meet and see that growth sustained as we move on through this year. I'm also asking God to put His blessing on our Good Friday Service on April 22 and the Community Easter Egg Hunts on April 23. So far, we have raised $2000 of the $4000 needed for that egg hunt. Pray we find donors for the other $2000.
  • Finances - The last six weeks have been the strongest financial weeks our church has seen yet! I praise God for that and I'm asking you to continually join me in believing for our average weekly offerings to be $3K and for God to bring in special gifts of $10K, $25K and $50K. I want to help other new churches in our area get started so bad, I can taste it. These financial breakthroughs will really get us to where we can help in very significant ways.
Thank you again for all your faithful prayers. You mean the world to me!

Monday, April 4, 2011

let's pray together this week

Thank you so much for the continuous prayers! I appreciate you so much more than I could even say! Here is where my thoughts and prayers are this week:
  • All Access - I am flying to Baton Rouge, LA today for the All Access Conference. Would you pray that God would speak to me and help me to learn. I'm believing I will begin and solidify some relationships that are very key to the future vision God has placed inside me. I also hate traveling because I miss my family so desperately. Can you pray that part is a little less painful and that God watches over and blesses my family as I'm gone.
  • Job Hunt - I'm looking for a job for sure. I really need God's wisdom on what to take . . . pay, hours, type of job . . . I need to hear from God on what is best for this time in my life.
  • The Unknown - Just like everyone, I struggle with the unknown. I feel like just about everything in my life is up in the air. That's good, because I'm 100% dependent on God, but I still don't like the feeling. I'm praying that I grow in my character and persevere through this season of life.
  • Fasting - today I'm on day 2 of my 21-day fast. I know many of you are joining me on this, as well. I don't have a great track record on fasting, but I am believing that these 21 days are going to be the most life-changing I've seen yet. I am creating space in my life for God to live and I am looking for Him to make me into a new man in many ways!
If you want to download a free 21-day fasting guide, we have one on our website. Just click here and look at the bottom right side of the home page. It's helpful and it's free!

Thanks again for all your prayers! I look forward to hearing from you too. I would love to pray for you this week!