April Update

Hello dear friends and family!

We have a bunch to write about so I'll get right to it.  God in His graciousness is moving with us, and we are grateful for everyone who is partnering with us in person, in prayer, and in giving.  Thank you so much!

[this update is a little longer than usual because there is so much going on!]

Work at Christ Fellowship

Go and Be with Christ Fellowship

Things have been busy as we work towards the tail end of our Residency here.  God has been stretching and growing me and Erin a lot, and we are grateful He has deemed us worthy to grow in Him.  The current projects I have been/am currently working on:

• A new welcome video for the Christ Fellowship website
• 6-12 short web videos highlighting certain aspects of technology and faith that will be used in a summer sermon series
• Materials for the Elder team and leadership team book study this semester
• Go and Be, the largest project

Adrian, Erin and Michael

For the Go and Be project, I was able to assist Ken Stoneking, who was heading the project up, and be his go-to-guy with coordinating volunteers, online registration and communication pieces.  We spent many weeks setting up the system so that the church could have an impact in our community.  We had hundreds of volunteers working over two weekends on 20-plus homes and churches on the east side of McKinney.  We are grateful for the work the Lord did in the community and in those who were a part of the event.

I will be finishing the Residency this month and am looking forward to years and years of partnering with Christ Fellowship in reaching our city and beyond with the gospel.


Exciting News in Our Church Group
Although we have some special news that we will release next month : ) , I am excited to share that the Holy Spirit is moving mightily in our team.  Recently we have seen a young couple who came to our group as unchurched and (at least one) unsaved.  God is moving in them as the young man recently professed faith in Christ for the first time, and the couple is working on what it means to follow Jesus together.  Tonight we have dinner with another lady who seems very close to trusting in Christ and is bringing her questions about Jesus to us.  Along with that, some of our other members have demonstrated great steps in discipleship and a desire to be used by God for His will.  It's an exciting time and can only be credited to Jesus answering our prayers and moving in our group.

All these things are happening within the context of our ongoing ministry of a weekly church gathering in our house on Sundays, a women's Bible study on Tuesday nights, and a men's breakfast each Saturday morning.

Since we are formally disconnecting from Christ Fellowship, we are pursuing a connection with the church planting network, Acts 29.  We have completed the initial application, have a phone interview next week, and will be heading down to Houston at the end of the month for the formal assessment.  Please pray that God would lead us and the leadership of Acts 29 in determining His will for us joining the network.

In Our Community

True religion - helping widows (James 1:27)

We have been doing a lot to connect with our city these days.  Along with the Go and Be projects, our church has been serving in other areas of our city.  We recently helped a widow take care of her landscaping (an annual event she used to do with her husband), and we are heading this weekend to help another lady stain her fence.  It has been such a blessing to put hands and feet to our faith and love our city with the love of Jesus.

I continue to build relationships with church planters and leaders in the community and have already developed some great partnerships and friendships.  Along with those connections, our church plant has joined the Chamber of Commerce, and I am sharing our heart and vision with the business owners and leaders of our community.

Upcoming Things
Along with the Acts 29 assessment and the serving we will be doing this weekend, we have some great things on the horizon.  Our men are going on a short get-away retreat this month to dive into what it means to be men who love Jesus.  Also, this month we will be unveiling some exciting news about the nature and direction of our church plant and the vision we are casting for the near future.  Please be in prayer and stay tuned!

Prayer Requests
- Pray for the hearts that have recently (or we are hoping are about to) confess faith in Jesus, that the Holy Spirit would call them to new life in Christ
- Pray for our team -- that we would be unified in heart and vision, and that the Lord would bring more workers to His harvest
- Pray for those we share Christ with, that He would call them to faith in Him

Eating after Sunday Gathering

Eating again after a different Sunday Gathering