Memorial Day Bash Reflections

I have finally recovered enough to jot down some thoughts from our time yesterday at the Swim Club. These will be brief as today is a "holiday" and the circus will be rising soon! I just couldn't wait another day to share why my heart is so full (and overflowing) after yesterday's event!

-The beauty of the body of Christ- Seeing our 16 volunteers pull together and serve was once again a great blessing to me. Children and adults shared the work and served the people of Suffolk. Glorious!

-People of peace- God is connecting us with people who know people who know people and they are talking about our Fellowship. Some are believers and some are not. We have found favor with the Swim Club to the extent that they not only invited us back for the next two holidays, but offered to put our flyer in the Swim Club for everyone to see on a regular basis.

-It takes a village- While God gets all of the glory, it was two of our members who helped make this a reality. They have been instrumental in taking this ministry to the next level and I praise God for their hearts for ministry and the mission! We are also seeing a team form among the people of our church to reach the people of North Suffolk and it is going to take a passionate commitment from each one if we are going to see a movment of God in this area.

Need affirmed- We continue to hear from the residents that there is a need in this area for a church with our doctrinal background and heart for the gospel. Some shared with us yesterday that they had visited First Norfolk before but the commute was too much for them. Others shared that they are attending churches in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, etc. but would really like to have a church that was more accessible to Suffolk for regular fellowship. Still others were not involved at all in a church, but were so impressed that our members would take a holiday weekend to minister to their families.

Prayer- We need to be a people of prayer now more than ever as we see God opening doors of ministry in Suffolk. Much like the flying of a kite, the wind is picking up...will we be ready?

Leadership- It may sound a bit redundant, but I can't do this alone. It will take fellow believers who are committed to reaching the lost and seeing God do a new work in North Suffolk. My prayers are intensifying toward a team who will help take leadership of this ministry.

Well the circus is partially awake and I need to go. I hope that you can see from this post that I am excited about all God has in store for us in North Suffolk and I invite you to join us in this journey. There will be more plans posted soon. We are praying towards Bible studies and additional block parties in strategic areas to reach out to the people of Suffolk. May God continue to guide us by his grace.

Memorial Day bash this weekend!

We are less than a week away from the Memorial day bash at the Riverfront Swim Club and I am so excited about all of the ways that God is providing and preparing us for this event!

-We have a great group of volunteers coming together! Please make sure that you have confirmed on our facebook event page for the "Memorial Day Weekend Celebration." The club has asked us to limit our team to 15 people, so we need to try to honor that request as much as possible.

-Some great materials are on the way! We have ordered sun block and shopping bags with North Suffolk Fellowship on them and we will be unveiling our first T-shirt! We would like for all volunteers to wear their NSF t-shirt if possible and a $5 donation is always appreciated to offset the costs involved.

-Many pieces of the puzzle have come together, but there remains a few that I would still like to see fall into place. One big one would be to have two classes offered for those in attendance. An "Art of Marriage" class and a "Truth Project" class would be great for connecting with residents. There are many other women's studies and other ideas available if you are interested. These could take place in a home or we could explore other locations. I hope to have surveys available for people to express their interests.

-Prayer! Keep praying for this event that work that we have in the Suffolk area. I would love to have a prayer walk on Thursday evening around 6pm with anyone who would like to walk the neighborhood. I am working out logistics, but hope to be there and pray toward all that God is going to do!

Let me know if there are any other questions or ideas that you have as we look forward to a great weekend. May God continue to guide each step that we take toward reaching the people in North Suffolk!

Craig

Back in the Saddle

It feels like forever since I have been out to North Suffolk with my friends out there. Preparation, service, and recuperation from Uruguay have demanded much, but we had a fantastic time serving among the people of Rosario, Uruguay and the surrounding area. As I return, I would like to share just a few brief thoughts as we pray for North Suffolk.

Prayer- We spent two whole days on Monday and Tuesday praying through the neighborhoods of Rosario. Our culture has often neglected the importance of prayer when seeking to reach people with the Good News, but we need to renew this fervor! I am already looking at the calendar to schedule more prayer walks as we get ready for the Memorial Day party at the Swim Club.

Church- We worshiped in various places and ways in Uruguay as we studied God's Word and shared the faith with people. Our worship is often limited to a building, but God wants us to reach beyond this religious mold to realize that God is much bigger than a meeting place. As Isaiah 66:1 says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place?"

Open doors- While we arrived in Uruguay with an agenda for ministry, God sometimes had other plans. Our plane was struck by a luggage truck on the tarmac of JFK airport delaying our flight by one day and causing us to miss two significant opportunities. Although this was distressing, we saw God's hand at work as we were able to visit the family members of one of our teammates while in New York and share with them why we were going to Uruguay. We also saw God open doors for the gospel that we did not expect as we were invited to serve twice in a hospital that was one of the largest in the city!

There is so much more, but the greatest conviction that I have is that we would be the same people in Hampton Roads as we were in Uruguay. This means that we must live the mission while God has given us breath to praise Him! May we take seriously the call for us to reach North Suffolk with the Good News of Christ.

I am attaching below a slideshow of photos from our journey for you to pray for the people of Uruguay. Remember them especially on Wednesdays as that is the primary day of follow up and Bible study in Rosario.

Memorial Day Celebration at the Riverfront Swim Club!

We are looking forward to a great day on Sunday, May 29th from 12-3pm at the Riverfront Swim Club! This will be a great day of swimming (bring your bathing suit!), food, and fun. Our church has been invited to bring the block party trailer and coordinate games, inflatables, face painting, and balloon animals for the residents in attendance.

We will need help with the following:

Someone to pick up and transport the trailer who has a truck/suv with a hitch.

Some strong backs to help with setup for the inflatables. One weighs about 500lbs.!

Others to help oversee the inflatables and games.

Artists who can help paint faces. (advance training will be made available)

Artists who would like to make some wacky balloon animals.

Others to greet people at our North Suffolk Fellowship table.

This is going to be a great day to live the mission in Harbourview and we are praying that we will be able to connect with many families. Please register with the missions office if you plan to serve as the organizers have asked us to limit our volunteers to 15 people. We are also praying that there will be some bible studies that we can direct people to even though we do not have worship gatherings to invite them to just yet.

Join me in praying toward this great event in North Suffolk on Memorial Day weekend!