Thanks for Checking!

It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve posted. That doesn’t’ mean nothing has been happening. On the contrary, quite a bit has happened! We’ve just waited until some things were official before sharing them with you.

• First – Our leadership team members have been officially approved by the New Church Development Committee of Classis. This newly appointed leadership team met last Thursday evening for the very first time and we had an awesome meeting.
  It was great to see the diversity of the group, the talents of each member, and the passion and commitment God has lain on each person’s heart. We undoubtedly experienced the hand of God in orchestrating this body and we are excited about what He is going to do through each member.


• Meet our Team! - Jill Hendricks, Gord and Judy Brinks, Lisa and Randy Ledeboer, Rick and Rhonda Workman, and Bruce Gleason.


• At this point, the leadership team has a good idea of the work before each one of us and we are beginning to take up that work. We will be meeting a couple of times in the next few weeks to put together more details etc.
• We are also very excited that the leadership team plans to travel as group to the national Church Planting Conference in Orlando, FL in April. We are excited to be able to do this as a group and feel that God is going to do some neat things and give us some great experiences as he brings this group together and strengthens us for the work He has called us to.
  
  Looking Ahead

• Please mark your calendars for March 26th at 7:00 pm. We will be holding our 3rd mass informational meeting.
  At this meeting we plan to give you a ministry update as well as provide you with tentative plans for gatherings, activities, and worship.
• Remember, this is an outreach driven church so please invite and bring along friends, neighbors, family members, or co-workers.
  
  Prayer Requests
  
  Praise:
  -Leadership Team and Meeting Last Thursday
  -That we have seen God's hand leading, guiding, and providing.
  
  Petition:
  -Guidance and wisdom as we work on a name for this ministry.
  -Direction as we seek a location for this ministry.
  -For continued financial support.
  -For Church Partners – Classis Churches participation
  

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for this new ministry! Your thoughts and prayers are felt and appreciated.

The Excitement Continues...

• We met this past Wednesday evening with people representing Home Missions, Classis GR South, Discovery CRC, a Church Plant that has been meeting for 3 years now, and the new Church Plant. The intention of the meeting was to discuss the past four months, where we are currently, and a time-line for moving forward. The meeting was very encouraging with all in attendance feeling very good about what God has been doing.
• On Tuesday, February 10 the New Church Development team from Classis GR South will be having a meeting to discuss the make-up of our launch leadership team as well as tentative timing for events in the months ahead. At this point we are anticipating bringing the launch leadership team together by the third week in February and having a general meeting again by the end of February or early March.
• Moving forward beyond February, we intend to offer various formats of get-togethers on a regular basis. These may be for the purpose of simply getting to know each other, doing a service project, or gathering for an informal worship service.

Prayer Requests

• Give thanks for the progress and God's blessing on the plant so far as was acknowledged in the meeting this past Wednesday evening.
• Pray for the New Church Development Committee as the organizational structure and launch leadership positions are discussed.
• Pray that God will continue to bless this new ministry with people, churched and unchurched, who are desiring to be in community and grow in relationships with each other and with God.

Some of you have have begun or indicated your desire to begin to financially support the new church through your tithing. Your gifts can be sent to New Church Plant, c/o Discovery CRC, 7245 Eastern Ave., Grand Rapids, MI 49508. If you would like some pre-addressed envelopes you can contact Randy and he will get them to you.

Blessings to all of you and many thanks for your love and support!

The Excitement Continues...

It may be freezing cold and dismal outdoors (for those of us who don't particularly like winter) but it is certainly heartwarming to see what God has been doing the past couple of weeks with the church plant. Here's a few highlights;

• We continue to receive very positive feedback on our meeting held on January 8th. People are excited about this new community and what God is doing. We have heard back from many of you with your intentions for this new ministry. Almost everyday we hear from someone who is on board. We are praising God for each person we hear from!
• We continue to pray for those who are still discerning what their potential involvement might be. We would be happy to talk with any of you at any time to help you in that process.
• A week ago Sunday (January 11th, 2009) Randy led services and met with the congregation at Cutlerville East CRC. We are excited to see how the Spirit is working in and through this ministry as a partner in the church plant and we are grateful for the opportunity to share the vision.
• This past Sunday Randy shared the vision of the church plant with the Hillside congregation in both of their morning services. We are very grateful to Hillside for allowing us to share, for Pastor Ron's support, and for the interest and conversations that followed.

Moving Forward

• We will continue to remember all of you in prayer, especially those we haven't heard from yet as to where God is leading you. If you could let us know by the weekend that would be great. If you need more time - we understand and will honor that.
• We thank God for everyone of you and we are praising Him from whom all blessings flow.

Praise God!

• Praise God with us for the 30+ people who attended our gathering last week! We are so blessed and encouraged by the interest and excitement! Several months ago I referred to this new ministry as a seed. I feel confident in saying that we have sprouted into a seedling and we are well on the way to becoming a healthy young plant! God is so good!!
• We praise God for the commitments we have received from several people who have decided to become a part of this new ministry.
• We praise God for the many year-end financial contributions that were made to this new ministry! What a blessing!

Prayer Requests

• Pray for those who are considering making a leadership commitment as we have asked them to do so by the 23rd of January.
• Pray for continued guidance and clarity for Randy as he continues to lay the groundwork for this ministry. Pray that doors and hearts will be opened to this new ministry.
• Pray that all Classis South churches will support this ministry.

Welcome to 2009!

We would like to wish you all a very happy New Year and pray that God will bless you richly in this New Year! We hope you are as excited as we are to see what God has planned for us and for this new ministry in 2009!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

This Thursday at 7:30pm (come early for snacks and refreshments!) we will be hosting an informal gathering for all of you whom have shown interest in becoming a part of this new ministry or just want some more information or have questions. If you were at our last gathering, or have been in contact with us, and we had your email then you should have received an email from us regarding this meeting. We will meet at Randy’s office, 6534 Clay Ave. (across from the Holiday Inn Express).

The format for the meeting will be: Opening Prayer, Getting to know each other time, Status and Update, Question and Answer time, Next Steps discussion i.e. leadership team, events, timeline… , Closing Prayer.

We hope to be done by 9:00pm. :)

In order to help us with the planning and preparation of this event, please let us know via email if you are planning on attending this event. rsledeboer@aol.com

Prayer Request

Pray for the meeting on Thursday night.

Pray for discernment for each person who is considering, or has already committed to, being part of this ministry. Pray specifically that God will lead and direct them as to how He wants to them and their gifts in this ministry.

Pray that in the next several weeks God will clearly put together a leadership team to work with us in building this ministry and moving it forward.

Pray that we may be fitted with the Armor of God that we may stand strong against the devil and his schemes.

Thank God with us for several year-end financial gifts given to this new ministry. Pray that in a difficult economy God will continue to provide the needed finances for this ministry.

It"s Finally Here!

We have been telling you for some time that that Randy has been working on the Vision, Mission, and Core Values for this new ministry. Several weeks ago when we held our first gathering we shared with those present these statements and now we are finally getting them posted! Sorry about the delay but between continuing to work out the details of the vision, mission, and core values, the busyness of life, and technical difficulties (sometimes I really hate computers!) we are a little behind! Thanks for your patience and understanding and please keep in mind that further changes may occur within the framework of these statements.

“____________ Community Church” (Church Plant)

VISION STATEMENT:

“ _____________” is a DIVERSE COMMUNITY of Christ-followers who LOVE, ACCEPT, and ENCOURAGE one another, GROW in our Faith, and SERVE God and our neighbor.


MISSION/PURPOSE:

To “REACH OUT” to all people, regardless of race, color, or socio-economic levels, by Loving, Accepting, and Encouraging each other, including those from our community, to Grow in faith in God and Serve by being the hands and feet of Jesus to all those around us.


VALUES:

· LOVING RELATIONSHIPS (People/Community)
o We Value a safe accessible place to be together with family, friends, and neighbors.

· INSPIRING SIMPLE WORSHIP
o We Value praising, praying, and proclaiming the
Word of the triune God with simplicity, joy, and excitement.

· PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY (Discipleship & Evangelism)
o We Value learning about Christ so that we can become
more like Him and lead others toward Him

· MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT (Stewardship)
o We value the gifts we’ve been blessed with and pledge to use them by serving our Lord, each other, and neighbors.

· SINCERE SERVICE (Service)
o We value serving our Lord by being His hands and feet to all those around us.

What's been happening?

• Randy continues laying the groundwork for worship to begin. With much to learn about starting a new ministry like this and much to be done to accomplish a successful start, we are not sure when the actual start date will be yet. We are looking at either late spring or early fall.
• We continue to visit many area churches each Sunday. From each different service we attend we are gleaning much useful information as well as being richly blessed through the different worship experiences!
• We have met with some of the pastors and have more meetings scheduled with other pastors of the churches we are visiting. They have already walked the journey of church planters and are excited to meet with us and share their joys as well as difficulties that were encountered along the way. They have a lot of knowledge and are an invaluable resource for us.
• We had been planning on having another get together this month so that we could get to know each other better as well as ask and answer any questions we may have for each other. Realizing how busy this month is is for everyone we have decided not to to get to together again until January. In the meantime if you have any questions or concerns you can contact Randy through this blog or his email, rsledeboer@aol.com.

What's Next?

• We want to thank you for your love and support for us and this new ministry. Whether your support has been through being actively involved, prayers, words of encouragement, visits, financial, or just reading this blog, we love and appreciated you!
• Continue to think about what your role will be in this new ministry and contact us and let us know what you are thinking!
• Spread the word! We know some of you have been doing this because some of the people whom you have talked to have emailed or called us. Please continue telling your friends, co-workers, neighbors... about this new ministry!
• Keep your eyes and ears opened for the date of our January meeting and plan on attending.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that we will continue to seek and follow God's will for this new church.
• Pray that people will step forward who are willing to be part of the leadership team of this new ministry. Pray that God will reveal to you what He wants your role to be.

Needed

• Recognizing that the devil is alive and well and does not want this new church to become a reality, and realizing the power or prayer, we are looking for some people who would be willing to be prayer warriors for us. If you would be interested in praying for us on a personal and confidential level, please contact Lisa through this blog or at laledeboer@aol.com.

If you would like to make a year-end, tax-deductible, financial contribution to this ministry your check can be sent to: New Church Plant c/o Discovery CRC, 7245 Eastern Ave., Grand Rapids, MI 49505.

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