Seeds

Did you know that inside every seed is a tiny plant that is waiting to erupt into a young seedling? At this point in the process of this church plant we are still just a seed! However God is doing amazing things and as He continues to water and nurture this seed we are confident that soon it will erupt into a strong young plant! It has been exciting to hear from so many different people! The excitement is spreading, you are reading this blog, and you are getting in contact with us. Thank You for your interest and excitement!

The DeColores event that Randy attended was very beneficial and a spiritual high for him. He had the opportunity to meet many new people, spend time in quiet reflection, and attend different seminars, all of which proved to be very timely for him. Sunday morning we worshipped at the Grand Rapids International Fellowship. Once again we were inspired and awed by the timeliness of the message we heard. Certain themes continue to reoccur, leading us to believe God is speaking to us and giving us direction through these different situations we find ourselves in. Whereas it is difficult not worshipping with one community of believers, a church family, we have been blessed to experience many different styles of worship. To hear the joy, see the excitement, and participate actively in these different styles of worship, yet all worshipping the same God, is an awesome privilege and blessing!

Upcoming Events

• This Tuesday evening we will be officially installed! The service will be at 7:30 pm at Discovery Church. All are welcome to join us for this event!
• October 5-7 we will be attending the classis prayer conference that will be taking place at The Shack. This is a time of reflection and renewal as well as a time of learning. This annual event is sponsored by the spiritual growth and prayer team of classis and is attended by the classis pastors and their spouses.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that God will continue to stir the hearts of those whom He wants to position in leadership.
• Pray that people capture the vision that this is not just another church, this is going to be a different kind of church. There appears to be much confusion as to what we are really doing and we are trying to clear up some of this confusion!
• Pray for continued direction as the mission, vision, and core values are being defined.

As always, please contact us if you would like to know more or are interested in becoming involved! RSLedeboer@aol.com

Praises and Updates

Randy is settled in his new office and has had a busy week. The meetings with Home Missions and the New Church Development Team went very well. As I mentioned before, we spend our Sunday mornings visiting other church plants so that we can glean some knowledge from them. On Sunday evenings we are visiting churches within our classis and soon hope to be able to present you with more concrete information such as the vision, mission, and core values of the new church.

This week-end Randy has the opportunity to be part of DeColores. This 4 day men's retreat is a time of spiritual refreshment, encouragement, and reflection. This is also a time of no watches, no keys, no cell phones, you are locked in for 4 days! How do you think Randy will handle that?

Prayer Requests

• Pray that meetings with potential partner churches will go well.
• Pray that God will work in the hearts of those whom He wants on the leadership team, and that they would step forward.
• Pray for the administrative work that must be done this week.
• Pray for the DeColores event.

Get involved!

If you are thinking about becoming involved in some way or if you are interested in hearing more please contact us, or you can comment on this blog and we will get back to you!

Moving Day!

Address: 6534 Clay Avenue SW ------Phone: 698-7787 ext. 321

Despite the rain Friday night the move to the new office went relatively smoothly! We'd like to thank Covenant CRC for the use of their trailer. We were able to move everything in only two trips!











We'd also like to thank friends, Rick and Rhonda, for helping us move everything and put it all back together again. We could not have done it without you!







Randy is all ready to get to work! We are grateful for your support and love! God continues to amaze us by the people He places in our paths!


What's Next?

• One of the first steps in this process is to visit other churches, primarily church plants, and learn from them. We began this today by visiting Harderwyk Ministries in Holland. We attended their Fusion service and their Watershed service and came away from both with new ideas and renewed excitement! We will continue to visit different churches each week.


• This Tuesday and Wednesday Randy has three different meetings. One with Classis and two with Home Missions.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, that they may go well and that God will continue to reveal His plans.


• Pray for the meetings that Randy is setting up with individuals who are interested in being involved in the Plant.


• Pray for direction as the mission statement, vision, and core values of the church are being formulated.

And We're off!

September 8, 2008 marked Randy's official first day as a church planter!
The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed as to the progress that is being made, give you specific prayer requests, and answer any questions you may have.
We are so excited to begin this new work and see God's plans as they unfold!
Thank you for your support, we covet your prayers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need another church?

• We do realize that this area has many existing churches in it already. Statistically people who are not currently involved in a church will not walk into our current church buildings and church the way we are used to it is not appealing to them. Some of the aims of this new church are to reach those who have been hurt by the church and walked away, have never been involved in a church, or have left the CRC for some other reason. These people are not easily going to return to an existing church. The need for a church in which these groups can feel accepted and comfortable and come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior is huge! This church is going to have a very different feel to it. The focus will be on building community, out of which we build relationships with each other and relationships with Jesus Christ.

Where will the church be?

• The location remains to be determined. After much prayer as well as demographic studies, the process of determining the location will occur.

How Can I Help?

• Pray
• Get involved! If you are interested in being actively involved, please contact us
• Financial support. If you are able to help out in this way you can send checks to Discovery CRC, mark them "Church Plant".

Prayer Request

• As we are just in the beginning stages of birthing a new church , pray for clarity and direction, that God's will may be sought out and followed.


• Pray that the move to the new office will go smoothly.


• Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of those who have been hearing about this new church and are considering whether God is calling them to be a part of the leadership team.