The Send Off and Beyond

Sunday was an awesome day at Bridges of Hope Fellowship! We worshipped God in song and then commissioned our first overnight mission team. It was great! There are seven people (adults, teens, and kids) who are serving in the Appalachian region doing home repairs, Bible clubs, and food and clothing ministry. When I asked them to come and stand at the front for us to pray over them, one was missing. It turned out to be one of our youth who was serving her turn in the nursery. WOW! What a testimony that are teens are willing to do whatever God asks them to do. After the message, we experienced communion together as a church body. Awesome!

The send off, however, was difficult for me. I guess it was because me and my family were supposed to go on this trip with them. As the doors closed and we said our final goodbyes, I fought back the tears. As I watched them pull away, headed for Jefferson City, Tennessee, I lost it. I was so proud to see our church family continue the journey that I began. David Cook is leading our team in this endeavor. I now only wish that more of our people would catch the desire to GO serve on mission with God. I have been receiving text messages, pics, and reports from Charles Clayton about the progress of the trip. They are doing a great job of sharing the love and gospel of Christ with others in need. I am proud of you guys and gals!

Since they've been gone, David Clayton and I have worked hard ourselves at the church. We rented a scissorlift and 18 ft. ladder and moved the sound system from the stage to the back of the sanctuary. What a job! We did it. It looks great and we can't wait to use the new sound booth for this Sunday. My son, Dwight, will take over running the projection and Steven Clayton will step into the sound engineer role. Yes, they will both need some training and equipping! They have to start somewhere. As a matter of fact, all of our youth serve in one or more areas in our church. I'm proud of that!

Tonight, Natalie and I sat down to watch the first 2 hours of the second "Anne of Green Gables" movie. I love it. I guess we'll finish the night by reading some more in the book "Sticky Church." It's a must read for any church leader.

Tomorrow is another very busy day. Until then, be blessed!