A lot has happened since our last update. Good stuff. And Tammy and Stephen just left me. It's OK, they're coming back! I'll fill you in below.
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Road Trip to New York City
Aleyse and Laura, our daughters who live in Manhattan together, have been looking for both a new apartment and a roommate to share the apartment with. Well, everything came together this week and they need to move Monday.
I've often been the main mover for my daughters, I enjoy getting them settled in a new place, its a dad thing. But this time on such short notice I couldn't go. So, we packed the truck full of the girls stuff we had in storage, I strapped it all down, and Tammy and Stephen took off together on a road trip to New York City. Please pray for them. It's a long trip, and that big truck will be a challenge to maneuver in Manhattan. They'll be gone from Saturday to Wednesday.
Ordained
You were praying for my ordination. Thank you. Many friends from Holland attended, which meant more to us than I can say. Dwight Beal and an all star worship band rocked Harlem Reformed. My good friend, John Nyitray, the Senior Pastor gave a great sermon. A reception followed. All went very well. Then we joined a gang of old friends for dinner. Couldn't have been better.
So, I'm now officially an ordained Reformed Church in America minister again. While you know that my loyalty is to Christ, not to a denomination (and that's how I believe it should be for all of us), coming back into the RCA feels right in my spirit. I believe this is where God wants me, and I pray I will be a blessing to the RCA, even as my colleagues are already being a blessing to me.
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Update on Great Oaks Church
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Officially official
As many of you know, we originally began this church plant on a contingent basis - we were given 3 months to see if we could gather a viable core group. If we could, we were then to be given final approval. Well, the 3 months got stretched out to 8 months for a number of reasons. At last, two days ago, the final approval was given. The Great Oaks Oversight Team recommended approval a couple of weeks ago, and the Church Multiplication Team, which met Thursday, gave that approval. We are here in the Detroit Metro area for the long haul. We're officially an official RCA church plant.
Growing and Giving
We are seeing our core group come together, and they are wonderful people. We had an "all church picnic" last Sunday and about 40 adults and kids showed up. We actually have around 60 adults and kids coming regularly to Village gatherings and other events. (Villages are the groups of 20+ that we meet in weekly at Great Oaks).
This coming Saturday, June 6, we're doing our first "Serve" event. We'll be going to inner city Pontiac to help at Grace Centers of Hope, which is the former Pontiac Mission.
The Next Step
This coming week I'll be sitting down with a couple of Great Oaks leaders to prayerfully think through the next steps. We've gathered our initial core, we've gotten two Villages going, and we've received official approval to proceed. Next steps will include building our core, planning for Sunday Services, finding a facility to meet in, reaching out to serve, and seeking to bring people to Jesus and help them to become Oaks of Righteousness who bring God glory, which is what its all about!
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| Paul & Tammy Bradford
13712 Castle Avenue
Warren, Michigan 48088
616-886-5500 Great Oaks ChurchP.O. Box 70313 Rochester Hills, MI 48307 _______________________________
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Here is how you can pray for us:
- Thank
the Lord for a blessed ordination service, for final approval for Great Oaks, and for the incredible people God is bringing to us.
- Pray for God's protection over Tammy and Stephen as they drive to New York City and back to help our daughters move into their new apartment.
- Pray for the Lord to continue to draw people to Great Oaks, and pray that we'll be honored to begin reaching others for Christ.
- Pray for the move of the Holy Spirit in our Village gatherings.
- Ask the Lord to show his love through us as the Great Oaks congregation does our first event focused on serving the poor.
- Continue to pray for our 5th Wheel to sell and for the Lord to open a door for the right home for our family.
- Continue to pray for spiritual protection around our family, those on our team, and those considering our team.
Thank you!
Love always,
Paul & Tammy
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