8/13/2006

It's been a busy month at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.

For the first three weeks I was on vacation. Lots of good things happened here at the church while my family was away.

Kris and Peter Judd came to town the first week we were gone. They stayed at our house, taught some classes, preached, and offered a variety of ministries as they participated in the life of the congregation. The following Sunday Earl Jamison brought the message in the morning. The third weekend we were gone Don Chesworth came down and shared with Pizza Church and the Sunday services stories from his time in South America.

That said, the leadership crew in the neighborhood carried on the bulk of the work for those weeks. Jenn, Tamara, Danny, and Gloria provided most of the leadership in staffing, teaching, and presiding over the activities for the week. Through their work things went very well the whole time.

This Wednesday Woody stopped by with plans for the cross he's making for the building. He gave us the dimensions and we need to select a more exact location.

Bible School is coming up next week so Tamara and Jenn did a lot of planning and gathering of materials these last few weeks. We met after Pizza Church on Friday to discuss what they had done and solidify the planning.

Thursday through Saturday of this week I participated in the Willow Creek Leadership Summit which was live from Chicago via satellite to a church north of town. Each year when I go I think that it can't be any better and each year I've been proven wrong. This year was no exception.

While at the Summit I ran into Doug, our building contractor. He's on the leadership team at his church and took time out from work to attend the conference. He knew several people there, not only people from his own church but people whose churches he'd built. As he introduced me to some of the people he new, he told them that when he looked at our congregation and what we do it's exactly what he's always pictured a church serving in an inner-city community should be.

When I opened the closet door at the church this weekend I found a very large box behind immediately inside. It was filled with brand new squirt guns. One of our neighbors had seen them at work and thought we might be able to put them to use with the kids so he brought them home and gave them to us while I was on vacation.

Saturday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. The group was made up entirely of boys, most of whom were high school age. You could tell by their behavior that school needs to start soon.

Looking ahead to next week we have our full schedule of activities. In addition we'll be distributing fliers about Bible School on Monday morning then getting things set up that evening. Bible School will be held Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. - Noon.

Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following individuals in the forefront of your prayers:

Bob
Walter
Less
Keith
Dennis
Shawna
Roxie
Jordan

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now"
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org