Ups and Downs

Planting churches has been full of ups and downs. Here are a few examples:

• 31 people in church one week (while missing 14 others), then 14 total the next week.
• One moment we’re seeing PBJ volunteers we hardly know willing to donate haircuts, cell phones and medical aid to help folks get back on their feet – the next moment I’m praying over the effects of miscommunications that threaten to sink the whole ministry.
• We’re seeing God connect us to people in places we hadn't been focusing, while some places we have focused are not producing the contacts we thought they would.

Fortunately it’s been mostly “ups” lately. We’re seeing from 2-8 folks from our homeless outreach (PBJ) at church each week (both volunteers and those we’re helping), along with a new wave of young single adults. Currently 6 PBJ men are off the streets and into temporary housing, while 2 already have jobs and 2 have been saved from life-threatening infections through volunteer intervention. Also, we now have fully functional men’s and women’s discipleship groups and had 8 attendees at our last Newcomer Café (many of who hadn't been in a church in years).