I'm sitting here having my morning time of prayer and am
convicted of how long its been since I've written my intercessors! Life is
packed, and as a new church planter I often feel like I'm "chief cook and
bottle washer," but that's a sorry excuse, because I need your prayers more
than I need to "get the next thing done"!
Our Visit to Holland
Just over 2 months ago we were in Holland. Many of our old friends from Holland were
able to join us for a wonderful reunion at the home of Bruce and Margie
Johnson. We were overwhelmed by that time and all felt a connection was formed
between our work in Holland and this new work in Rochester Hills. The time was
encouraging and in many ways healing. Leaving people you love is hard. Our
Holland friends are dear to us. We rejoice that God is forming new deep
relationships, and that we are all united in one family in Christ.
Great Oaks Update
At last we are beginning to see the addition of several new
team members. Our active core has
now grown to 57 (43 adults and 14 kids), and another 20 or so adults (about a
dozen kids) are seriously considering Great Oaks. Small numbers it may seem,
but we are so thankful. The Lord is bringing wonderful people.
We are having an
amazing experience building an entire church around home churches. The home
churches are vibrant and life giving. God's hand is clearly on what we're
doing, by his grace alone. We have 2 home churches and will begin a 3rd this weekend. Our Home Church Service attendance and our Sunday
Service attendance are nearly identical, between 50-60 people each week.
We have several big needs. The RCA funding has ended and we are in great need of finances. We need a worship leader, a youth leader, and an admin assistant (a position Aleyse held until she got another job). The first two positions will, for now, be volunteer leadership roles.
We have posted
our updated website. Take some time to browse at www.GreatOaksChurch.org. It'll give
you a feel for what we're doing.
Bradford Family Update
On the personal side...
- Our daughter Aleyse has moved back
home for a year. She just got a job at McEntire
Pilates as their new concierge (see www.mcentirepilates.com).
- Laura graduated from NYU and got a job in Weehawken, New Jersey right on the
Hudson River overlooking Manhattan. She's working in marketing for The Company Store (see www.thecompanystore.com).
- David will
be back at Grand Valley for his junior year in college. He's living in Holland
and working full time at JP's Coffee Shop as a barista.
- Stephen is home and will begin his Senior year at Stony Creek High School.
- Tammy is teaching 2-dozen piano
students, hosting 2 home churches, temporarily helping lead the worship team, and
much more.
Our prayer needs are in the right hand column.
Love,
Paul & Tammy
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