Waiting to have church...in our new surroundings!

Looking forward to meeting together again for the 2nd Sunday in our new location: Memorial Baptist Church. Last week was pretty awesome, despite the kinks that this new facility presented us with. But we will not only survive tomorrow, we intend to THRIVE in it!

The FLOOD OF '08 has clearly caused us to think about doing church in new ways. We are being pressed to do things in ways that we haven't had to do in years or even in days past. Tomorrow we are preparing to have our nursery, toddler and children's ministries back up...or at least meeting together as a group. Remember, we have lost all our materials, supplies and resources. We must depend upon the Lord to help us in this new land!

Some wonderful things are springing up from this disaster. People call on one another. People pray for one another. People are checking on their pastor...more often than ever. People are coming to the church to see where they can plug in...this is crucial for every member of our church family. People are believing that God will lead us step by step, no matter how many steps it will take before we reach our next destination.

Our partial flood insurance check arrived today in the mail at our church. This is a start of what we need to see to help us pay for the first phase - demo and cleaning. The next phase will require more faith and more determination to not let the enemy deter us from our mission: Transforming lives through the power of Jesus Christ! Our vision in 2008: Beyond All Limits!! You better believe we are going beyond any place that we have ever traveled before...for the glory of God and His kingdom.

Churches, individuals, and friends from across the country are hearing about our plight here @ CFA. We don't and won't have the money to completely prepare us for the rebuilding and restocking phase. BUT GOD IS STILL A GOD OF MIRACLES! Many people are praying and many churches are praying. Many are planning to take up an offering at their church. Others are giving their economy stimulus checks. Others are utilizing the online giving feature on our church website to donate to our recently established FLOOD FUND: www.columbusfirstassembly.org

Read about what one pastor's wife and her church is doing for CFA:
http://hoosierfamily06.blogspot.com/ (read down a couple of posts for what she is doing to help spread the word and share the burden)

Here is another Christian outlet that shared the story about our church:
http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=5465

There are difficult days ahead of us in this journey of faith, but nevertheless days that we must move out and look forward to claiming the promised land that God has specifically prepared for us. We were hit head on in this flood. Water was on all sides of us. You got to believe that this opportunity was presented for us to use as a catalyst, rather than a chain saw to cut us up. God has destined our church for greatness; not for our sakes, but for His glory and honor. We must decide to decrease; and we must point every soul to Him and let Him increase!

Pushing ahead...looking up...marching on!

It's going to be another great service tomorrow. Would you pray for us? Let us hear from you on my "comments" section below.

Lots of love to you. Beyond all limits...