Thanksgiving Blessings!

We would like to wish all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving! We hope and pray that you are truly able to see God's blessings all around you. God is so good!

We are thankful for the 20 people who attended the meeting last Thursday. We are praying for you that God will guide you as you discern His will for you in regards to your involvement in this new ministry. We are excited as we have already heard from some you and we are anxiously awaiting to hear from the rest of you!

We are thankful for God's faithfulness and grace as we continue to witness His leading and guiding. We are thankful for God's plan and for His control over all things.

We are thankful for all of your support. Whether it is through your thoughts, prayers, or financial support, we are grateful for all of you!

We are thankful that Randy is beginning to feel better. We realize we have not updated in a while and we apologize for that. Randy has been quite sick and things have been on hold for the last week. We believe he is now on the upswing and soon hope to get back into action. Some of you have been waiting for us to publish the vision, mission, and core values. Thanks for your patience! It's coming...

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ledeboer's

Anxiously Awaiting!!!

We are anxiously awaiting Thursday, November 20th. We will be hosting the first get-together of all those who have committed to or have expressed an interest and want to know more about this new ministry. We are looking forward to this time when we can gather for information, ask questions, and make preparations for moving forward.
If you would like to join us for this exciting evening, we would love to have you present. We will be meeting at Randy's office located at 6534 Clay Ave. (Across from the Cutlerville Holiday Inn Express). The meeting will start at 7:30 pm, snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Also, in the next couple of weeks we hope to be able to publish the Vision, Mission, and Core Values of the ministry. Hopefully soon this new ministry will actually have a name as well!

Other News

• First the good news. Randy has located several possible sites to launch/house this ministry. God has been leading, directing, and providing in this process. Randy will continue to work on this process and we will be sharing more in weeks to come.
• Randy has proposed and submitted preliminary budgets for 2009. This has been a challenge since we know what the anticipated costs are, yet don't know what the membership role and their financial support will look like.
• Just looking at the financial numbers, it is clear to see that this new ministry is going to be financially challenged.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the meeting on the 20th of November. Pray for a good turnout and that God will bless the meeting and those present.
• Pray for the finances of this ministry. Pray that we will receive some year end gifts from churches and individuals. Also pray for churches as they continue to consider how they might support this ministry in 2009.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to this ministry, your tax deduct able donation can be mailed to Discovery CRC, 7245 Eastern Ave., Grand Rapids, MI 49508.

If you would like any further information regarding this ministry, Randy can be contacted at rsledeboer@aol.com or 698-7787 ext. 321.

Plant Updates

The weeks are going by in a blur of activity!

• Randy is keeping busy doing a lot of administrative tasks, including working on putting together a budget for 2009 (not an easy task when there is no church in existence yet!).
• Support letters have been sent out to all of the churches in classis asking them to prayerfully consider how their congregations can financially support this new ministry.
• The demographic studies have been ordered and the information is beginning to come together.
• Randy is beginning to look at some possible sites for the new church to meet.
• We have had several meetings with people who have expressed an interest in possibly being a part of the planning and launch team for this new ministry.

Upcoming Event!

An initial gathering is being planned for all those who are potentially interested in being a part of the planning and launch team for this new ministry. This will be a time to share, ask questions, and learn more about the plans God has laid on our hearts in regard to this new and different type of ministry. If you are at all interested in finding out more details of this ministry or are wondering if becoming a part of this is something God is placing on your heart, then please join us at 7:30 pm on Thursday, November 20, 2008. We will meet at Randy's office- 6534 Clay Ave. It's off of 68th street, in Cutlerville, between the car wash and Arby's. Refreshments and snacks will be provided!

Prayer Requests

• Letters - Please pray that the churches of classis prayerfully consider how their congregations will financially support this new ministry.
• Land - Pray for guidance and directions as we begin looking into real estate and locations for the new church.
• Leaders - Pray for the future planning and launch team.

Many of you have been asking how you can you can help. Please remember this new ministry in any year end giving you may be anticipating and prayerfully consider financially supporting the church plant. Tax deductable gifts can be lableled "Church Plant" and mailed to Discovery CRC, 7245 Eastern Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us through this blog or at rsledeboer@aol.com.