Kevin
Puritan Board Doctor
I few people have asked me to provide an update on our local outreach/ministry.
there is much to thank the LORD for, we have a place to meet at a reasonable price & people keep showing up!
Here is a summary of our ministry;
Sunday Night, this is our main gathering. We average 40 (+/-) every week.
Tuesday Night, we have an adult Bible study & a teen/under 25 bible study.
Our Sunday night group is very diverse. We have a couple of "Canadian" families, one Korean family, one Chinese family, one English family, one Dutch family, one Swiss family, etc.
The greatest success has been with those people that have been in the country for less then a year. However our Tuesday night groups more closely reflect the typical local demographic.
Our adult group is around 13-15 every week. Mostly older adults. 50% do not attend on Sunday night.
Our under 25 group is nearing 20 in average attendance. This group started with 6 kids that were a part of our Sunday night "core". We did a major outreach that brought in over 60 people to a christmas party! That has accounted for our recent growth. We gather every week to sing, have discussion based on the "Do Hard Things" book, and to plan local missional opportunities. Some of our kids have collected for the local food bank, manned the SA kettle, traveled to Hiatti to assist missionary evacuation.
We also have a very active hospitality ministry. We have people into our homes for meals, host xn travelers, and visit the sick.
(What I do...)
Personaly; I have a ESL bible study based on the book of Acts every Saturday morning with some Koreans, I meet several times a week in local coffee shops with our members & with members of the local biz community. I also visit those that are sick in the local hospitals.
I prepare & preach 2 sermons each Sunday. I teach two classes each week, I meet with an average of 4 people one-on-one per week, I spend (at least) 10 hours on course work preparing for ordination, plus I parent 5 kids & make living. (as of now I recieve 0 $ for my work planting this church)
What we need, Our own space, we have several meetings a week, all of which we must pay rent for. A centeral site that allows continuity would be nice.
Our blessings,
we get stuff cheap. our rent bill would shock church planters anyplace... because of our situation ( myself, my dad, and an other core member are "plugged in" to the local community) our rent is 25-30% of what others would pay.
We meet new people. since 6 members of our core are vendors @ the local farmers market, and since we meet at that same market, and since I spend @ least 4 hours every week at this market, we meet new people.
We have become more "intentional", we have added banners, and a more purposeful style to our meetings.
God keeps surprising us. New members, that were part of church plants in London or Hong Kong, are now here! Non-xn's that keep coming, seem to be growing in grace, A major site in our downtown core has become available...
Please keep praying...
there is much to thank the LORD for, we have a place to meet at a reasonable price & people keep showing up!
Here is a summary of our ministry;
Sunday Night, this is our main gathering. We average 40 (+/-) every week.
Tuesday Night, we have an adult Bible study & a teen/under 25 bible study.
Our Sunday night group is very diverse. We have a couple of "Canadian" families, one Korean family, one Chinese family, one English family, one Dutch family, one Swiss family, etc.
The greatest success has been with those people that have been in the country for less then a year. However our Tuesday night groups more closely reflect the typical local demographic.
Our adult group is around 13-15 every week. Mostly older adults. 50% do not attend on Sunday night.
Our under 25 group is nearing 20 in average attendance. This group started with 6 kids that were a part of our Sunday night "core". We did a major outreach that brought in over 60 people to a christmas party! That has accounted for our recent growth. We gather every week to sing, have discussion based on the "Do Hard Things" book, and to plan local missional opportunities. Some of our kids have collected for the local food bank, manned the SA kettle, traveled to Hiatti to assist missionary evacuation.
We also have a very active hospitality ministry. We have people into our homes for meals, host xn travelers, and visit the sick.
(What I do...)
Personaly; I have a ESL bible study based on the book of Acts every Saturday morning with some Koreans, I meet several times a week in local coffee shops with our members & with members of the local biz community. I also visit those that are sick in the local hospitals.
I prepare & preach 2 sermons each Sunday. I teach two classes each week, I meet with an average of 4 people one-on-one per week, I spend (at least) 10 hours on course work preparing for ordination, plus I parent 5 kids & make living. (as of now I recieve 0 $ for my work planting this church)
What we need, Our own space, we have several meetings a week, all of which we must pay rent for. A centeral site that allows continuity would be nice.
Our blessings,
we get stuff cheap. our rent bill would shock church planters anyplace... because of our situation ( myself, my dad, and an other core member are "plugged in" to the local community) our rent is 25-30% of what others would pay.
We meet new people. since 6 members of our core are vendors @ the local farmers market, and since we meet at that same market, and since I spend @ least 4 hours every week at this market, we meet new people.
We have become more "intentional", we have added banners, and a more purposeful style to our meetings.
God keeps surprising us. New members, that were part of church plants in London or Hong Kong, are now here! Non-xn's that keep coming, seem to be growing in grace, A major site in our downtown core has become available...
Please keep praying...
