1/2/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with 16 at our Morning Worship service. Mike Barber, Youth Minister for the Chesapeake Bay Mission Center, brought the message. Included among the worshippers were some whose first contact with the Power House was through the Christmas Eve service.
Kids' Church had 13 in attendance. We watched the Veggie Tale "Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed" and discussed the concepts in it.
The evening service had 10 present. Along with our time of prayer and praise, we held the business meeting to affirm Danny's call to the office of Deacon.
Wednesday night's Discipleship Class had 8 present. We finished our Temple School course on the office of Deacon. Over the course of this year, three members of the class completed the individual Temple School courses for the three Aaronic priesthood offices.
Wednesday's email brought some internet specials on airfare between Baltimore and Kansas City. Four people from the congregation took advantage of the discounts and spent the money they'd been saving up for travel to World Conference.
A good portion of the day on Thursday was devoted to waiting for Bell Atlantic to come and install the phone lines at the new building. Just like last week, no one showed up. Also like last week, the city inspectors were "too busy" to keep the appointments they made for this week.
The other portion of the day on Thursday was spent in preparation for Friday's New Years Eve celebration with the kids. We were given some funds to provide the gathering and the shopping should have taken about 45 minutes. Instead, it took traveling to four different stores scattered across the metropolitan area trying to find things in stock. By the close of business that night, I had the needed supplies.
Friday's celebration with the kids was a good chance for us just to have fun and fellowship together. We had kids building with Legos, playing checkers, playing Nintendo, and eating popcorn. I took a picture of each kid and printed it out on a "New Years 2000" certificate. Some kids stayed for the whole time while others were there part of the afternoon. We had somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 people.
Looking ahead to next week, we should be pretty much back to our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have several things scheduled to happen at the building, including the installation of the security system on Wednesday. We also have a priesthood meeting on Thursday evening.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following Families the forefront of your prayers:
the Moore family
the Iman family
the Mandell family
the Meile family
the Marsh/Epifanio family
Thank you for your continued prayer support. Happy New Year.
Jeff and everyone at The Power House
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
1/9/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday Morning with 11 present at our Morning Worship service. As a part of this first service of the new year, we reviewed last years goals and presented our new goals for the year 2000.
We had around 15 at Kids' Church. During that time, we made New Years Resolutions of things we would do at home, at school and for Jesus.
Sunday evening's service began a new focus this week. Over the past year or so, this service has gone from being the main ministry for adults to one of three ministries for adults. Therefore, this service will now more exclusively target those who have yet to start a relationship with Jesus Christ while Sunday morning will serve the needs of those already in relationship with Him. Wednesday night will be for those who want to concentrate on their discipleship.
I cannot count the hours that were spent on the phone this week. We had multiple calls to the architect, builder, phone company, fire alarm company, security system company, etc. A little bit of progress was made on the building itself and the phone company ran the wires from the pole to the building. Danny made a call to the city on Friday morning and they were tapping the water main before noon. We have several inspections scheduled this coming week and the fire alarm is to be installed on Wednesday.
Wednesday night's discipleship class had 10 present. We began assembling our "Discipleship Tool Box." We are each filling a binder full of tools to help us in the areas of P.rayer, O.bedience, W.itness, E.ducation, and R.esponse (P.O.W.E.R.). We will be working on this intensively the next few weeks and on a regular basis throughout the year.
Thursday night was our monthly Priesthood Meeting. We spent most of the meeting looking ahead to the major events of the next six months and began some of the groundwork in preparation for them. One of our big concerns has always been the transportation of kids to and from camp. We were really stretched to the limits last year and threw around some options to explore. Within 24 hours, Danny had a bus and driver lined up for camp at no cost to the church.
After being off schedule for the past several weeks due to the holidays (Christmas Caroling, Christmas Eve, and New Years Eve) Pizza Church started off the new year with 13 at the pre-teen session and 8 at the teen session. We looked at the problem of prejudice and compared that to God's love for all people.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have quite a number of projects at the new building scheduled this week. We'll also be making final preparations for Danny's ordination service (followed by a pot luck) next Sunday morning.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people the forefront of your prayers:
Brittany
Bruce
Julia
Kristin
Carol
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
1/30/00
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday, January 16 , with the congregation's participation in the Mission Center's "virtual conference" for the election of delegates for world conference. It was an exciting day as many individuals had their first opportunity to participate in electing delegates. It was especially neat to see how excited the kids were. For some, it was the first time they had voted for something official.
We celebrated Danny's ordination to the office of Deacon during our Morning worship. I brought the message and the ordination was done by Kristin, Darlene, and me. Afterward, we had a potluck dinner together.
In sort of an interesting event, a man who attended church with us for the first time Sunday morning ducked out before we could talk with him much. He came back 30 minutes later to say he just realized that we hadn't passed an offering plate and wondered if he could make a donation. He said he needed to get to work and couldn't stay, but we made sure he had a brownie from the potluck to take with him.
Kids' Church had nearly 30 people present. In learning that we can start building the Kingdom of God here and now in each one of our homes, we made houses and taped them together in rows just like in our neighborhood.
During the evening service, we learned of the good business meeting held at the Towson congregation during which Carol's call to the office of Teacher had been presented. Jeff Rumbaugh, our guitarist, was still out so we gained a little more experience singing with our new CDs.
Tuesday afternoon, Gloria and I attended a park meeting to try to build bridges between subcommittees. Our hope is to overcome some of the bottlenecks and get some action on the part of the city.
Wednesday night's Discipleship class continued working on items in the Discipleship Toolbox. We focused on being obedient to God by living a redeemed and repentant life and on witnessing.
I spent a long weekend at my sister's house in Michigan, so Kristin took over both Pizza Church sessions. She continued the study of learning to hear God.
Bonnie Barber from the Washington congregation brought the message and Vonceil presided on Sunday morning. Bonnie focused on each person's need for a disciplined, personal scripture study. Vonceil presided and brought the message during the evening service.
The blizzard hit on Tuesday. With the airport in Baltimore closed, I got an extra day in Michigan. I got back in time for Wednesday night's Discipleship class. There were only three of us willing to brave the snowbanks to come so discussed some specific concerns and prayed together.
Friday night's Pizza Church sessions had 6 in attendance at each service. During them, we talked about walking by faith.
On Saturday, Kristin and I joined about 20 others from the Mission Center at a "Kid Life" conference sponsored by Forefront Ministries, the children's and youth ministries office in our denomination. Gloria attended the Towson women's group meeting.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have a park committee meeting on Tuesday. We'll also be making final preparations for Apostle Larry Tyree's visit to our congregation the weekend of February 12-13.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people the forefront of your prayers:
Frankie
Brittany
Earl
Billy Jo
Bobby
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
2/6/00
It's been a busy week at the power house in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with 11 present at our Morning Worship. I presided and brought a message on discipleship.
During Kids' Church, we talked about praying that God fill us with those things we need, such as peace and hope. We then made and decorated cups to remind us of that.
By mid-afternoon, the snow and ice that had started during the morning service made the streets and sidewalks especially dangerous. We had four souls walk carefully through the storm to join together in worship.
Tuesday evening brought multiple park meetings. Local community members met at the church at 6:30 to review and prioritize the neighborhood's needs in the park, including the playground, skateboarding, in-line skating, baseball, and other recreational activities. At 7:00 we joined the city planners and the historical committees at the neighborhood center to verify the tentative master plans for the park.
Wednesday night's Discipleship Class had 7 present. We spent some time focusing on effective ways of sharing our testimonies.
We had our monthly priesthood meeting on Thursday night. Everyone present was brought up to speed on all the upcoming events. That time was followed by a visioning session.
After the meeting, one of our teenage boys named Pooh walked in, pulled up a chair next to mine, and said, "I want to get baptized now." This had been in the development for months and we were thrilled that he was finally ready. He and his mom were both available the following day at 6:00 so we began filling the font immediately.
Because of the baptism, we combined the two Pizza Church sessions and had 18 present. Afterward, we opened the doors for pastor's hours with the kids and let them build with legos.
On Saturday the Mission Center Leadership Team held its meeting here. At the conclusion of the meeting, the group took a tour of the new facilities.
The architect and the subcontractors met together and hammered out a plan to get the building done. They scheduled much work to be completed in the next week or so. We've been down this road before, but we're still clinging to some hope.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we'll be preparing for the visit of Apostles Larry Tyree and Dave Brock next weekend. We'll be having an open house on Saturday evening from 7-9 and they will be participating in leading the Morning Worship next Sunday.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people the forefront of your prayers:
Tony
Shirley
Rosie
Loretta
Jean
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
2/20/00
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
All of our services have been well attended. We've had so many "extra" things happening I'll just fill you in on them.
The Baltimore area RLDS pastors met together to discuss the ministries of the congregations. We decided to change our collective newsletter from a monthly publication to being published every other month.
We started a new weekly discipleship class for junior high students. Each was given a Bible and a daily reading assignment. In conjunction with the Bible study, we will be learning about prayer, obedience, witness, education, and response to God's love.
Last Saturday evening we hosted a welcoming reception for Apostle Tyree. Church members from the neighborhood and from other nearby congregations had the chance to informally visit with him.
Last Sunday was especially full. The consecration of the new building was scheduled, so we had many many people visiting from out of town, including but not limited to Apostle Tyree, Apostle Brock, Rick and Kay Bunch, Tim Carnahan, many from the Towson, MD, and the Washington, DC congregations, and a video crew from church headquarters in Missouri. Unfortunately, the building was still not ready for occupancy. Therefore, we had the consecration service in the old building then walked over and stood in front of the new place while a prayer of consecration was offered.
Immediately after the service, the video crew interviewed several people. These interviews are scheduled to be used as a part of a Transformation 2000 presentation the first Sunday night of World Conference this April.
Kristin moved to Florida this week. We will all miss her and her contributions to the ministry here.
I met with the Power House priesthood members this week to update and refocus individual plans of service. It was exciting to visit with each one and see how much each has grown these past six months and catch some of their enthusiasm for serving God in new ways.
A group of women from the area attended the Women of Faith conference in Washington, DC, this weekend. I've only gotten sketchy details so far, but it sounded like it was a tremendous experience for those who went.
I was able to attend a missionary training seminar at the Washington, DC, congregation on Saturday. Stephen Hatch taught the seminar.
We ran into further delays with the building this week due to some electrical regulations. We're hoping this delay won't be too long or too costly.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we'll be starting a new visiting program and a new marketing campaign.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people the forefront of your prayers:
Troy
Shane
Anne
Robert
Roxie
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
2/27/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
All of our regularly scheduled activities were well attended and God's Spirit blessed us abundantly.
Just in the last week or two, many members of the congregation have started new areas of ministry. One woman who has been bringing her grandchildren to Kids' Church for several years has started to help in managing the materials and the kids. Another two people have formed a visiting team to provide in-home ministry each week. Still others have begun volunteering to offer public prayer, knock on doors to invite people to church each week, or clean and set up the building. In a couple of weeks, I'll be transferring full responsibility of our teen discipleship group to another member of the congregation. Whole new areas of ministry are opening up as people are moving out in faith in fulfilling the callings God has placed upon their hearts.
I took the opportunity to run some statistics on our attendance patterns of the kids at Kids' Church and Pizza Church. As of Friday, we've had 151 kids come to a church service at least once since July. Of those, 45 are attending at a rate of at least once a month, 21 of whom attend on average at least twice each month. When you consider the limited space we have available in our facilities, you can see why I'm probably the only pastor in America that DOESN'T want everyone to come to church each week because I don't know where I would put them if they all did.
Speaking of space, we did have a couple of major setbacks at the construction site this last week. One was dealing with the electricity and the other with the sewer line. Both are causing further delays and significant cost overruns.
But, people are still excitedly looking forward to moving in. For months, I've had a man who wants to be the first person baptized in the new building. I now have two sisters who want to be the first ones baptized at Kids' Church in the new building (their mother stopped me on the street this week almost pleading with me to get the building open so the girls could be baptized there).
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, Ron Gillilan will be teaching about the evangelist blessing during discipleship class. We'll be meeting with the city regarding the park on Thursday afternoon. And, on Thursday night, we'll have our monthly priesthood meeting.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following families the forefront of your prayers:
The Pestridge Family
The Meile Family
The Moore Family
The Mandell Family
The Jackson Family
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
3/5/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out at about 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning when one of our members made his usual trip to Wal*Mart. Last week, one of his regular purchases wasn't on the shelf so he inquired about it. They didn't have any in the back and didn't know if they'd get any more in. But this week when he started going down the isles, a voice came over the loudspeaker saying, "The Jesus Man is Here." The floor staff repeatedly let him know that they had the product back in stock. His weekly witnessing in Wal*Mart has begun to bear fruit.
Sunday morning brought the special occasion of Carol Gillilan's and Kathy Kruft's ordination at the Towson congregation. Danny, Gloria, Bryce, and I celebrated with them at the service in Towson. Vonceil presided and brought the message to the group at the Power House.
Ron Gillilan taught the Discipleship Class this week. He provided an introduction and overview of the office of Evangelist and the ordinance of the Evangelist's Blessing.
The community members of the Carrol Park Advisory Committee met with the city to discuss some of the glitches that have arisen in the park project. The main issue that we focused on was the need for an area for rollerblading and skateboarding. We've already overcome several hurdles with the people who have their main interests in preserving the history of the site and we are hopeful to get things past city regulators.
Of course, we are intimately familiar with some of the problems of red tape in the city. We're still waiting for their third attempt at finding the sewer line we can tap into at the new building. We did make some progress on other parts of the building this week, though. Most notable was the installation of the underground electrical conduit. There is hope once again that we could have electricity by the end of this coming week.
We had our monthly priesthood meeting on Thursday night. All reviewed their plans of service and shared with the group the new responsibilities. We also did some long-range planning.
Saturday morning we distributed fliers to every house in the neighborhood. I had an almost immediate response from people wanting further information. We also ran into a couple from a church across town who "just pick a neighborhood and go witnessing" each weekend. They were thrilled to know of the good things happening at our church and asked if it would be OK if they told people to come over to worship at the Power House instead of driving across town to their church. Needless to say, I didn't object. I also noticed that one member had posted her copy of the flier (which she got Wednesday night at Discipleship Class) in her window so that everyone walking by would see it.
Saturday night, about a half dozen teenagers, three of whom I'd never met before, came into the building. A woman who had been living in one of their homes had died in her sleep overnight. They asked if I would pray with them for her. A little later, several of them came back and hung out for about 30 minutes.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, Linda Costello is coming into town for a visit. She'll be speaking at the evening service on Sunday and will be teaching a class on Monday and Wednesday nights. Also, Vonceil will be taking over the Junior High Discipleship group beginning on Wednesday.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please pray for five people in Pigtown whose names I don't yet know and their need to come to Christ and join in the fellowship at the Power House.
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
3/12/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday morning just after setting up the church. Danny, Woody, and I were visiting on the sidewalk in front of the church when a kid carrying 48 cans of Pepsi walked past us, went into the building, and then called us in to ask us where he should put them. They were a donation from Mr. Lee, the man who runs one of the local corner stores, for use at Pizza Church. What a great way to start out the week!
Right after the morning service, we ran out to the airport to pick up Linda Costello. She's a friend of several of us here and the pastor of the church in Sanford, Florida. She decided last summer to come up for a visit, so naturally, we put her to work.
Sunday night, she brought the message at the evening service. On Monday and Wednesday evening she taught a class. We had excellent attendance at the classes and had some people come to the church for the first time when she was speaking and at one of the classes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Vonceil took over the teen discipleship class. Her leadership of this group will help broaden the youth ministries here in Pigtown.
We had lots of good news in childrens/youth ministries here this week. Kids' Church and the two Pizza Church had a combined total attendance of 36 this week. We also received word that we will receive 10 rather than the anticipated 5 corporate sponsorships for sending kids to camp this summer. Plus, we sold enough shirts to send sponsor two more kids' trips to camp.
As for the building project, they got the conduit laid for the electric hook-up. Now, if the city can find the sewer line so we can tap into it we can make some headway.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. For once, I don't have any additional activities scheduled. I'm sure that will change.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Tom
Billy
Tara
Theresa
Dawn
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
3/19/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We had our full schedule of regular activities this week. For the first time in recent memory, we didn't have several additional activities on top of the schedule. That gave us a chance to catch up on some odds and ends that had been neglected in recent weeks.
The excitement at Kids' Church was the introduction of the new child we're sponsoring through Compassion International. Aleksanda Isisisangya is a boy in Tanzania who we sponsor through the offerings received at Kids' Church and Pizza Church. Anna Paula Serenini, the girl from Brazil who we used to sponsor, moved because her father got a better job. She is no longer in need of the program.
The city of Baltimore came through this week by accurately locating the sewer line at our construction site. Even better news is that it is only a few feet from where we were told it was last time so no additional trench digging is necessary. The hope is that we'll have the water, sewer, and electric all hooked up by the end of this coming week.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, Darlene and Gloria will be attending a World Conference delegates' meeting this Sunday in Laurel. We also have a cookout sponsored by the Meiles next Saturday.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Woody
Shirley
Gregory
Shawna
Earl
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
6/26/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out with great news for the neighborhood in the Sunday paper. The old Montgomery Ward building, a gigantic structure on the edge of Pigtown that has been empty for 15 years, is slated for a total renovation. A developer is turning it into an office complex that is anticipated to employ 5,000 upon completion. This kind of economic influx within sight of the church has the potential to provide another positive influence in the area.
Sunday afternoon, Gloria and Darlene attended the World Conference delegates meeting at the Laurel, Maryland, congregation. They had an opportunity to review and discuss some of the legislation that will be presented at the upcoming conference.
Monday night, we attended a meeting of the Skateboarders from Pigtown. This group of teens and young adults has organized in hopes of having a skateboard facility added to Carroll Park. This group, the playground committee, and baseball committee, are making a unified push to get these construction projects under way.
The discipleship class completed its overview of the S.H.A.P.E. profile, looking at an individual's Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. By doing so, we hope to improve the ministries to which each one of us is called.
Danny has been especially busy in getting corporate sponsorships for sending kids to camp this summer. As of this week, he has secured funding for to send 22 kids to camp. He also found a friend willing to come over on Thursday night to weld a part of the font that had developed a leak.
We had our ups and down in the continuing saga of the building project. We signed with a contractor for the finishing work and the city installed the water meter. With the location of the sewer connection, we discovered that we'll need to go back and rework some of the piping before hookup, Baltimore Gas and Electric stalled on connecting electricity, and we fielded multiple complaints from the neighbors at to the construction mess. We ended the week on a good note, though, as much anticipated heavy equipment needed for the finishing work arrived Saturday evening and is poised to be used first thing Monday morning.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we have a playground committee meeting Monday evening. We'll also be making preparations for the upcoming World Conference. Because of the conference, we will suspend publishing "THIS WEEK at the POWER HOUSE" for a few weeks. Look for it again sometime around Palm Sunday.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Richard
Bev
George
Loretta
Tara
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
4/16/00
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Going back to the last week of March, we had our full schedule of activities. A highlight of the week came when Gloria completed her "Insight Group" leadership training that she's been working on for several months. Work progressed slowly on the building, but we had a minor setback when one of our windows was broken. Fortunately, the stone only went through one pane of glass so we didn't need to board it up to maintain security while awaiting the replacement.
On April 1st, Gloria, Darlene, Bryce, and I flew out to Independence, Missouri, to participate in the church's World Conference. Along with church business and worship, we had a great time in fellowship with church members from around the globe.
During the conference, the film footage taken here in Baltimore back in February was used in a presentation at the Transformation 2000 celebration. Also, many photographs taken of youth ministries here were on display side by side with youth activities photographed from throughout the church.
While we were gone, many of the regularly scheduled activities continued here. Teen Disciples, Narcotics Anonymous, and the Sunday morning and evening services were able to remain open. We did shut down during adult discipleship class, Pizza Church, and Kids' Church.
Work progressed on the building that week. The entire interior was finished, the pipes underneath the building were raised to the proper height, and a few odds-and-ends jobs on the exterior were completed. Though not as much construction had taken place as we had hoped, significant progress was made.
Since returning, we've hit the ground running. This past week included the full schedule of activities. Usually after shutting down, the youth ministries take a few weeks to build back up their participation levels. However, the two Pizza Church sessions had a combined total of 22 kids this Friday.
Since the interior of the building was finished, we were able to begin some of our own work inside. We hung blinds on the windows and received a shipment of our new chairs. The contractor anticipates completing the outside of the building early in the week. The plumber was working into the night on Saturday in anticipation of city inspections at the beginning of the week so that the water can be turned on. If those two things happen as scheduled, the only major barriers before us are getting the electricity turned on and getting the plaza area paved.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we have extra services for Holy Week scheduled on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon. We'll be distributing fliers to advertise our Easter activities and will continue preparing the building for moving in.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Stella
Julia
Joshua
Brittany
Roxie
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
4/23/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
In addition to our regularly scheduled activities, we had other events to mark Holy Week. On Thursday evening, twelve of us gathered to remember the last supper. On Friday, we had self directed services between the hours of noon and 3:00 p.m. in recognition of the hours Jesus spent on the cross.
This was the first year that several teens participated in the Good Friday services. They spent a good portion of that time reading the crucifixion accounts in all four gospels. Afterward, they engaged in many questions that arose out of their studies.
Even with inclement weather, construction continued at a quickened pace on new building. After numerous mishaps, the plumbing passed inspection and we now have running water in the building. The electrical conduit now passes inspection and we should be getting electricity in the next few days. Our trenches have been filled in and the contractors are anticipating paving the plaza area later this week. Also, our new sign arrived and should be hung in the next few days.
Saturday morning, Gloria, Carol, Robert, and I distributed about 1000 fliers inviting people to the upcoming Easter activities. Carol also brought down some Easter basket's that Georgia's granddaughter made for those who come to Kids' Church this Sunday.
Saturday afternoon, Dave and Cindy Ford from Atlanta, Georgia, arrived in town. They're visiting Baltimore and Washington for a few days and will be celebrating Easter with us.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we will be continuing to spend a lot of time coordinating contractors and inspectors while we try to bring this building project to a close. Campership award letters will be distributed this coming Friday. I'll also be participating in a field ministers' meeting at Deer Park Campgrounds in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Anne
Earl
Neil
Jodi
Kirsty
Amy
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
4/30/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with Easter celebrations throughout the day. I presided and brought the message to a group of 21 during the morning service. Cindy Ford provided the lesson for the 33 present at Kids' Church. Dave Ford brought the message to the 30 present at our evening service.
Mid-week, we had some new kids at the teen discipleship class. Ron and Gloria began to set up an inquirer's class for several of the folks they've been visiting. Vonceil began distributing award letters for those kids who have earned a campership for this summer's youth camp. I spent three days at Deer Park Campgrounds in New Hope, Pennsylvania, at the staff gathering.
With rainy weather much of the week, the grading and paving at the new building did not get finished. However, we have a firm date for the electric connection (May 10). We've scheduled the installation of the fire alarm and the security system for the following day. Also, Danny coordinated with the person installing the sign to have it up by the end of next week.
We spent some time this week recruiting staff for camp. So far, we have five members of the Power House who are planning on being a part of the staff.
We received some great news about the park project this week. The city has decided to build a permanent skateboard park in Carroll Park and has hired one of the country's top designers. Not only is this great news for our skateboard group, it has put some pressure on the city officials overseeing other aspects of the park which should result in getting the playground and sports fields completed sooner. The front page headline on the newspaper we picked up today was about playground neglect in city parks, including our own. That could help, too.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we have a park committee meeting Tuesday night. Thursday afternoon, our community artist Mary Ferguson will be hosting a children's art contest at the church. Thursday evening is our priesthood meeting and Mission Center Conference is this weekend.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
David
Penny
Richard
Margaret
Bev
Scotty
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
5/7/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We had good attendance at all of our regularly scheduled activities. Our Pizza Church groups started a new study of Friday night. For the next few weeks, we'll be watching segments of "Star Wars, Episode I" and learning about Christian ideals exemplified in the film.
We continued distributing the forms for those who have earned a trip to camp. So far, we have 14 who have returned their forms and are ready to go. We've had a few decide not to go, so I'll be awarding their camperships to some other kids this week.
Thursday afternoon, our artist in residence Mary Ferguson set up shop at the church to help kids create entries for the art contest sponsored by the Colonial Dames of Carroll Park. Over the course of the two hours we were open, we had about 20 kids participate. The winners in the various categories will be announced on Mother's Day and will receive gift certificates to local toy stores or skateboard shops.
Thursday evening brought our monthly priesthood meeting. Much of our discussion focused on being prepared to move to the new building, including the logistics of the move itself and the additional activities for grand opening weekend.
Saturday brought Mission Center conference in Springfield, Virginia. We had worship, classes, a business session, a leadership team meeting, and a camp meeting.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we are anticipating lots of work happening on our building. The new sign is to be installed Monday. We've been told that the plaza area will be paved on Monday and Tuesday. Baltimore Gas and Electric is scheduled to connect the electricity on Wednesday. Thursday, the fire alarm and security system are scheduled for installation. If all this happens, next Saturday will be a clean-up day to polish up the inside of the building and get the essentials moved in and installed. That being the case, we will have our first services at the new building on the 14th with grand opening activities on the 19-21.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the continued progress on our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Gloria
Ron
Carol
Edna
Shawna
George
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
5/13/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
That's sort of like saying it was a licitly rainy when Noah was on the ark.
We had our full schedule of regular activities. Some of the kids' activities had a little lower attendance due in part to the hot weather last weekend, but the other activities had average or better attendance.
The local elementary school decided to offer a full blown summer school program this year. Because of it, many of our younger children will not be able to attend camp. We spent a good portion of time this week tracking them down and then finding replacements for our camperships.
On Monday, the crew came and paved over the trench that contained the electrical conduit. At the same time, Danny brought over a crew and installed the new sign on the front of the building.
Wednesday the much awaited moment arrived. Baltimore Gas & Electric came out and connected the electricity to the building. We discovered that a couple of light switches had not been connected so they'll come out and do that next week. The electricians also connected the phone lines.
Thursday brought the security system and the fire alarm installation crews. They worked all day on the job and by evening we met the security requirements. Also while they were there, the city electrical inspector stopped by to see how much more we had to do before he could come and inspect. After a quick walk-through, he pointed out a couple of minor things that needed to happen before the final inspection but indicated that everything else looked good.
Friday, Mike Barber came up from Virginia and we installed the sound system. The contractors came, too, and began the paving process. They poured the concrete slabs in front of each of the three doors. That left only the plaza areas in need of concrete work.
The congregation gathered Saturday for a clean-up day at the new building. Over the course of the day, 16 of us worked on getting the garbage removed, the sidewalks and alleys power washed, the entire interior thoroughly scrubbed, and the refrigerator and computer monitors moved in. One member who couldn't make it because of work sent two of his employees to work at the church for the day. Carol Gillilan provided lunch for everyone. By the end of the day, we were looking tired, sore, sweaty, dirty, and sunburned, but the church was looking good.
With that, we are planning our grand opening for next weekend. Friday night we'll have our Pizza Church sessions in the new building followed by our first Solid Rock Cafe. The kids who went to camp and did Solid Rock there are especially excited about it. Saturday, we will have magicians, artists, hot dogs, and a Moonwalk for our community open house. On Sunday, we'll have our morning worship, Kids' Church, and evening worship at their regularly scheduled times. If you're in the area, please come and join us in our celebration.
Besides these activities next week, we'll have teen disciples, adult disciples, and Narcotics Anonymous. We'll be distributing fliers about the weekend activities on Thursday. We also have a playground meeting Monday evening.
Finally, we'll be welcoming Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith from Missouri as they visit us this week. They will be teaching the adult discipleship class Wednesday night and will be providing ministry at all our other activities, including speaking at the services next Sunday.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the COMPLETION of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Scotty
Tony
Kirsty
Donna
Earl
Theresa
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
5/21/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with our final morning worship at the old location. We focused on the parable of the Talents and how God trusts faithful people with more and, therefore, our need to continue to grow in faithful service as we are now trusted with our new facilities. During the service, I gave those present who had not yet been baptized the challenge to come to the evening service and be the last ones baptized in the old building. I didn't have any takers.
We only had a few kids come out to Kids' Church. This was expected as the Colonial Dames of Maryland were hosting a Mother's Day luncheon at the park. The announcement of who had won the art contest many of our kids had entered a few weeks ago was to be at that luncheon during the Kids' Church time slot. Though art work had been entered from kids by way of the schools and other community organizations, all three prizewinners came from the workshop hosted by the Power House. The kids and parents were excited and we were proud.
At the Sunday night service, we had the opportunity to share our hopes and dreams for ourselves, the church, and the community as we move to our new place. It was a chance to get a broadened perspective of the collective vision and to get excited about the opportunities before us.
When I got home from church that night, the phone was ringing. It was a person wondering if it would be OK to have a couple of baptism during the Wednesday night's Adult Disciples' Class. Edna and Shawna had decided to go ahead and get baptized before the move. On Monday, I visited with Shirley, who had also been considering baptism, and she decided to do so, too.
So, instead of our regularly scheduled class, we had one final worship service in the building on Wednesday night. 23 people came to celebrate the baptisms. I can't think of a better closing service.
Also on Wednesday, Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith arrived from Missouri as guest ministry for the week. So far they've spent time getting to know the neighborhood and its people, offering pastoral counseling to some of the church's local full-time ministers, and providing much needed additional hands and feet in the final preparation of the facilities and programming of the new facilities. This Sunday, they will bring the messages at both the traditional and the contemporary services.
On Thursday, seven of us distributed 1000 fliers announcing the Grand Opening activities. Afterward, four of us shopped for the necessary supplies for the weekend then moved the most essential items from the old building to the new one.
Friday night brought the first scheduled activities at our James Street location. Because of the additional space, we were able to set up the 6ft X 8ft screen to watch this week's video clip, which was followed by a related Bible lesson.
After the two sessions, we had our first Solid Rock Cafe. During it, we watched music videos, played checkers and cards, raced cars with the Nintendo hooked up to the big screen, and had great fellowship. Things went so smoothly that we extended the time by 30 minutes.
Saturday brought our community open house. It was a chilly and drizzly day so we had to postpone a couple of the outdoor activities. But, we had a great time in spite of the weather. The kids lined up time and time again to go in the moon bounce. We had over 50 people present for the magic show. We sold lots of hot dogs and pop. Many people stayed the entire time we were open.
While there, we received a congratulatory arrangement of cut flowers. They were from Mr. Lee, the owner of one of Pigtown's corner stores. They were especially beautiful and will add much to our worship services tomorrow.
I do not have words to express what it was like going over on Saturday night to set up for Sunday's services. The most strikingly different thing that I was greeted with the smell of a freshly mopped building ready to welcome its next group of people. Those of you who knew the aroma of the old place might begin to appreciate how important that is.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, we still have some final detail work on the building we hope to have finished. We will be sorting and packing the items at the old place that have not yet been moved over and will need to get that finished by June 1 so we won't need to pay another month's rent. Also, I've fallen behind on collecting camp forms from people and will have to be diligent in doing so if we are to make the May 31 registration deadline.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Billy
Steve
Harry
Lauren
Meagan
Christina
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
5/28/00
It's been a busy week a the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with the continuation of the grand opening celebration weekend. During our traditional worship services, Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith brought the message. We had several in attendance from the Towson congregation and four members of the community who attended for the first time. I lost count somewhere around 40 as to the number of folks at Kids' Church. Tony and Charmaine also brought the message at our contemporary service in the evening.
I had been asked to present our "Discipleship Tool Box" to the missionary ministries recourses committee at headquarters in Independence, Missouri, on Monday. Therefore, Tony, Charmaine, and I caught the first nonstop flight to Kansas City on Monday morning. After the meeting, I was able to catch the last nonstop back to Baltimore.
There are still some odds and ends left to finish in the building. The electrician finished some of them this week, but has a couple more things to do. There are also odd jobs left for the plumber and the main contractor.
The biggest item left is the completion of the concrete plaza area. Currently, the area is covered with gravel. This is driving the neighbors crazy as it tends to track onto the sidewalk and children cannot seem to keep their hands out of it. Many have heatedly let me know what they think. Unfortunately, weather this week has not permitted the completion of the paving. Hopefully it will happen this week.
It was fun to visit with the Narcotics Anonymous group this week. They were almost giddy over the new facilities. I think that some of them could hardly believe that they could be meeting in such a great place.
Gloria and I spent a Thursday afternoon sorting through our collection of children's books. Over the years, we've collected multiple copies of some books and others have been loved so much they needed to be replaced. We set out these books that would not be going to the new building so that neighborhood children walking home from school could take one with them.
Friday's Pizza Church sessions were well-attended. We've had a few kids that lived either next door to or directly across from the old building that didn't seem too interested in walking "all the way" (one block) to the new place. However, the ones we were most concerned about have been there both weeks.
Much of the day Saturday was spent catching up on the paperwork that has been backlogged for the past few weeks while getting ready for the move.
As the church continues to expand and people grow in their ministries, I find it exciting that I know less and less of the daily details of the operation of the congregation. We have a strong visiting team providing pastoral ministries. We have members of the congregation representing the interests of the community and the church on community service boards. As individuals magnify their individual callings and giftedness, the church is able to reach into new areas on an almost daily basis.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Additionally, Danny and some people who work for him will be coming over for the final major haul of things from the old building to the new one. We'll also finish up our camp registrations.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Amy
Tarnya
Sheila
Rick
Linda
Keno
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
6/4/00It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We had our full schedule of activities, most of which had higher than average attendance. The exception to that was Sunday night when the rain kept many people at home and the Rumbaughs and Gillilans were on their way home from Pensacola, Florida, where they had been for Tim and Kristin's wedding.
On Monday, Danny brought a couple of men from work over and the four of us moved most of the remaining things out of the old place to the new building. I spent much of the rest of the week working on organizing the cupboards. The Main room is pretty well done, but the attic and closets remain virtually untouched.
After Discipleship Class on Wednesday night, we moved the few remaining items over to the new building. We then removed the security door, the signs, and the cross. After a quick vacuum, we locked up the door. I turned in the keys to the landlord on Thursday.
Contractors did come and work on a few of the finishing touches to the new place. They still aren't completely done, but they're getting there slowly but surely.
We mailed in the kids' registrations for camp this week. This year, we've registered 30 kids for camp. We have 13 going to Junior Camp, 13 going to Junior High Camp, and 4 going to Senior High Camp. This is the highest number of kids we've sent as we've been blessed with a greater number of kids meeting the attendance qualifications and with corporate sponsorship for many of our camp fees.
As a part of the priesthood meeting on Thursday, we reviewed our new seed card. We had new "Got Peace?' cards for the traditional worship and "Get Real!" cards for the contemporary service. We also looked at the five card designs that are in the development stage.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have a playground meeting Monday, a park meeting Tuesday, and a meeting of first time camp staff from the Power House on Thursday. Also, some of us will be involved in the Solid Rock Cafe workshop at the Living Christian Covenant branch in Dundalk, Maryland, on Saturday. Of course, we'll be tracking down contractors trying to get the building project finished.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Theresa
Gloria
Woody
Beth
Jeff
Robert
Melissa
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
6/18/00
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
For the most part, we've had excellent participation in all of our regularly scheduled activities. We've also had many things happening that were not a part of our weekly schedule.
We had a sad start to activities on Sunday, June 4. Overnight there had been two unexpected deaths in the neighborhood. The mother of one of our adult members died of a massive heart attack. The boyfriend of one of our kid's mother died of a drug overdose. Though not the greatest greeting on Sunday morning, the Comforter was present and provided the promised ministry.
The last two Sunday mornings we've begun a 4-part series based on the Old Testament story of Joseph. We'll finish that up the next two Sundays.
Monday evening (June 5th), Gloria and I attended a playground committee dinner meeting. We met with local artists seeking input and ideas for enhancing the playground.
That Tuesday evening we met with the full Carroll Park Advisory Committee. By the end of that very long meeting, we had agreed on a master plan to present to the city. (There's been a change in city government this year and it's been to our favor. Suddenly, there's a new emphasis on parks. Substantial additional monies and several full-time city personnel have been added to this project.) The total park project is to be phased in over the next 10 years with the new playground equipment scheduled for installation this fall.
Thursday morning I presided over the funeral of Salivator's mother.
Friday evening, David Lloyd arrived from Iowa. He presented a Solid Rock Cafe workshop at our church in Dundalk, Maryland, on Saturday. He was able to stay here in Pigtown on this quick trip through Baltimore.
We anticipated a huge crowd of children at Kids' Church last Sunday as many were gathered on our front stoop in the 100 degree heat for nearly 30 minutes before we were scheduled to open. About 5 minutes before opening, they all suddenly disappeared. I looked out the window and saw that someone had opened the fire hydrant right by the church and they and others were all soaking wet. They had a great time cooling off. We had three teenagers who didn't want to get wet come to church. We taught them the craft project so that they could teach it to the whole crew next week.
Wednesday morning brought 5th grade graduation at school 34, our local elementary school. As the children marched in, I noted that 20% of the graduates were active in various ministries at the Power House.
Bruce and I were finally able to come up with a date for his baptism. Last summer he decided he wanted to be the first person baptized in the new building. He held out for the long haul and will be baptized next Wednesday.
Since we still had Danny's power washer from the work we'd been doing at the church, I was able to help a couple of women who live next to the new church clean the Astroturf in their back yard. These sisters, one in her 80s and one in her 90s, have lived on Bayard street all their lives. "It was just country out here when we were born" they said. They shared a lot of things about changes in the neighborhood over the last 90 years and were excited to hear about the plans for the park (their house faces the playground).
With our summer schedule involving a lot of travel, including camps, reunions, and a personal vacation, this report probably won't be published quite as regularly as many of you have come to expect. If you don't get a report, know that we were most likely on the road on Saturday and that you'll get another one soon.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have Bruce's baptism on Wednesday evening. We'll be tracking down forms for camp and making final preparations for our work assignments there. I'll be attending a ministry workshop through InJoy with John Maxwell on Thursday. Mike Barber will be leading Pizza Church on Friday as Danny, Norman, and I will be attending a Promise Keepers stadium event in Pittsburgh.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
George
Justin
Gary
Dion
Shirley
Darlene
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
6/25/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
A good portion of time this week was spent on camp paperwork. Tracking down 30 kids, getting their forms filled out properly, catching their parents at home, explaining all the legal jargon on the 5 different release statements, and answering all the questions is a seemingly endless task.
Wednesday evening we had the first baptism in the new building. More than a year ago Bruce had requested to be the first person baptized there. He patiently endured and we all celebrated with him.
Thursday morning I had the opportunity to participate in a stewardship training seminar taught by John Maxwell and hosted by InJoy. This was the absolute best seminar I've ever attended on this subject. I came away with many ways of helping the members of the congregation be better stewards over their time, talent, and treasure.
Friday morning started off with a loud and frantic knock on the door. A woman whose back window looks onto the church lot hollered that the straw covering the back yard of the church was on fire. Fast acting neighbors were spraying a hose and had all the flames out by the time I ran down to the end of the block. Several square yards were burned, but nothing but a little straw was damaged.
We found evidence of fireworks in the yard and a few of the neighbors had seen a couple of kids running from the site moments before the fire started. Based on the description, I knew who the kids were. I tracked them down and confessions came forth after a little pressure from me and their mothers.
Because of the fire, the tracking down of the kids who were responsible for it, and profusely thanking the neighbors for their quick response that stopped a potential major disaster, Danny and I were a little late in leaving for Pittsburgh. We spent Friday evening and all day Saturday at the Promise Keepers event at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. This gathering marked the 100th stadium event hosted by Promise Keepers since it started ten years ago. As always, it was a powerful experience.
While we were out of town, Mike Barber presided over the Pizza Church sessions on Friday evening. Based on the report, he had a good group of kids present and good sessions.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have Theresa's baptism on Sunday evening. Gloria, Vonceil, Bryce, and I will be heading to New York City with the rest of the playground committee to check out some creative designs there. Next Saturday marks the day when staff is to report to camp to prepare the grounds and themselves for the campers. Camp begins a week from Sunday.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Woody
Jamie
Danny
Gloria
Ed
Stella
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
7/9/00
It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday, June 26, as we watched one of our kids who has come a long ways but has a long, hard road ahead of him get roughed up by the police then taken downtown. This happened right in front of the church as people were gathering for the morning service. We finished up our series on Joseph with this week's topic called "Get Above It!" focusing on our need to rise above our circumstances to be all God calls us to be.
On Monday, Gloria, Bryce, Vonceil, and I joined the rest of the Carroll Park Playground committee in New York City to tour playgrounds there in hopes of enhancing the plans prepared for our park. We had a productive day and came back with some realistic ideas for what can be done for the neighborhood kids.
While we were there, Danny learned that because of a change in Maryland law, we would not be able to use the 15 passenger vans we had lined up for transportation to camp. Since we were late in getting a replacement, we ended up getting a full-sized motor coach bus for the trip.
We finished out much of the week with our regular schedule of activities and doing the preparation work for camp. On Saturday, David and I drove down to Prince William Forest in Virginia to help get the campground ready for the start of activities. I caught a ride home that night while David stayed down.
Sunday afternoon brought the excitement of the start of summer camp. We had a couple of people cancel at the last minute so we ended up with 27 leaving for camp on the bus. The kids thought they were royalty in getting to go this way instead of via the originally planned vans. Not having to worry about driving through Washington, D.C., on a holiday weekend, losing people in the caravan, tracking luggage from one vehicle to the next, keeping track of kids changing vehicles, and not needing to stop so the kids could go to the bathroom (there was one on the bus) dramatically reduced my stress levels and we all arrived at camp in much better spirits than in years past. When the buss pulled onto the campgrounds, some people at the camp's registration booth thought it must have taken a wrong turn and were quite surprised to see our crew bounce off it.
The week was filled with worship, prayer, classes, swimming, recreation, campfires, and lots of good food. We had special events to celebrate like a local fireworks display, a Solid Rock Cafe (some kids from Pigtown were the DJs for the event), and two baptismal services in which a total of 5 kids were baptized. The Holy Spirit was present with abundance throughout the whole week and we witnessed a transformation in many of the 130 campers.
Saturday brought tearful goodbye as all 27 of the kids and the 3 adults from Pigtown boarded the bus to go back home. We made it through the week without having to take anyone home. As we unloaded the baggage in front of the church, one person almost danced as she repeatedly and excitedly expressed how good if felt to "finally have some real concrete to walk on." Camp is a real culture shock for many of our kids and I am extremely proud of the way they handled it this year.
I am also proud of our two young adults who took leave from work to be cabin counselors this year. Having some young folks on staff who can directly relate to the culture shock the kids go through made the difference in some of the kids being able to stay for the week.
After all the kids headed down the street carrying their luggage, we found one lonely suitcase left on the sidewalk. The camp director's daughter's bag had gotten on the wrong pile and therefore got routed through Baltimore. I hopped in the van and ran it down to their house in Arlington, Virginia.
Looking ahead to next week, we will be back to our full schedule of activities. After the last few weeks, that's enough.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Danny
Dion
Melissa
Jody
Lamont
Amy
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
7/16/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Throughout the week we had good attendance at all our regularly scheduled activities. Those from Pigtown who were involved with camp, kids and adults alike, spent some extra time catching up on some much needed sleep.
On Tuesday evening, Donna, a young girl who is active in the church, was hit by a van as she rode her bike down Carey Street. She spent the rest of the week at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Melissa, a girl from Virginia who we all met at Junior High Camp, was also at Johns Hopkins this week. She had a cancerous tumor removed and will begin radiation treatment on Monday. Needless to say, I spent quite a bit of time in the pediatric unit of that hospital this week.
It's not unusual for total strangers to come up to me and ask for prayer or seek spiritual guidance. However, it seemed especially prominent this week at Johns Hopkins. In the parking garage, in the security office, in the elevator, and about everywhere I turned was someone in need of spiritual support and opportunities to provide blessing and comfort.
Since camp is over, it's time for us to premier our new T-shirts to raise funds for camperships for summer 2001. So, we spent some time sorting them by size and updating the display board we take with us to events.
We spent part of the day Saturday doing work around the church building with a teenager who needed to earn community service hours to avoid probation and jail time. He came in thinking that he'd picked a really easy place to earn some hours because, after all, it's a church. He didn't realize the condition our attic was in. He wasn't too thrilled about doing anything until he was reminded not of the courts but of his mother who had sent him over to the church. The attic is looking good. Yard work starts the first of the week.
Vonceil got some good work time in on Saturday getting the computer lab ready for it's opening with the start of school. Most of the computers are now up and running and the educational software installation is near complete. Once fully operational, the lab will serve as a community resource for reading and math tutorials, adult computer literacy classes, email access, and as a place where kids can work on their homework (like typing papers or checking information on the encyclopedias). Funding for the lab came in large part from a Model Ministries grant from World Church.
Looking ahead to next week, we will be back to our full schedule of activities. In addition, Chesapeake Bay Mission Center Reunion will be at the Springfield, Virginia, congregation beginning Thursday evening. We have several people planning on attending some or all of the activities. We are staffed so that none of our regularly scheduled activities will be interrupted.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Troy
Jody
Les
David
Robert
Della
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
7/23/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We had good attendance at all of our activities throughout the week. We were especially blessed on Sunday morning when several members of the Towson congregation joined us in worship.
Monday morning, Mike Barber and I went to the hospital to visit with Melissa. While there, we delivered the cards the kids had made for her during Kids' Church. She was scheduled to have her radiation treatment later that morning and would be in isolation the rest of the week. She was in good spirits and seemed ready to get on with the procedure.
Wednesday afternoon brought confirmation of an email I received on Monday. Grant McMurray, President of the church, would be able to visit our congregation this coming Sunday afternoon and evening. He was in the area for our mission center reunion and found the time to schedule a quick visit.
The people at Adult Discipleship Class were more than excited about the news. They immediately began planning on how to get the word out to everyone, planning a pot luck, and checking to see if anything extra needed to be done to prepare for his arrival.
Thursday brought the start of our mission center reunion at the Springfield, Virginia, facilities. Grant McMurray and Dave Schall (pastor of Stone Church) were the guest ministers for the event. One of our young adults rode down with me and pitched a tent in the church's yard. Mike and Bonnie Barber hosted one of our teenagers at their house for the event. I commuted.
Throughout the event, more and more people from the Power House showed up for the activities. Friday morning, another young adult showed up and joined in the tenting adventure. Later that afternoon, Cindy Morrell brought three more teens from Pigtown and hosted them at her house for the rest of the weekend. We ended up with nine people from the Power House in attendance for at least part of reunion.
The crew at the Pre-teen Pizza Church session got quite excited about Grant's upcoming visit. They all signed a pizza box and sent a couple of slices back with me to give to him.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. I know in advance that I won't have access to my computer the next couple of Saturday evenings so don't think you've been dropped off the list if you don't get a report for a while.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Stella
Shirley
Pooh
Robert
Jamie
Otts
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
8/13/00
It's been a busy few weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Grant McMurray, president of the church, visited Pigtown the afternoon of Sunday, July 23. While he was there, he lead a discussion during Kids' Church, walked around the neighborhood and visited people, and spoke during the evening service. We had an opportunity for fellowship with a pot luck after the evening service.
My family and I headed out on vacation for the next two weeks. While we were gone, virtually all regularly scheduled activities continued. Ron Gillilan taught the Adult Discipleship Class focusing on healing. Mike Barber hosted Pizza Church the first week, Earl Jamison spoke at the morning service, Ron Gillilan was responsible for the evening service, and Danny, Gloria, Carol, and Darlene took care of Kids' Church. We only cancelled our Teen Disciples group and one night of Pizza Church.
The day-to-day operations of the church in the neighborhood were handled expertly by Gloria and Danny. They were even successful at finally getting the plaza area of paved. Gloria also organized a surprise 50th birthday party for Danny for the Sunday we returned.
As we pulled into Baltimore from our trip Saturday evening, it was refreshing to see large banners hanging on the long-abandoned Montgomery Ward building. The anticipated renovations for the office complex expected to employ 5000 people upon completion has progressed to the point that the developer is beginning to advertise that he has space to lease.
This week we had our regular schedule of activities. Among the highlights of the week were a service of commitment to youth ministry and expansion on Sunday morning. During that service, we received an offering for the soon-needed addition to our new building. Wednesday evening Ron Gillilan finished teaching his series on healing.
We also had some additional meetings this week. The playground committee met on Tuesday evening to review and amend the plans for phase one of the playground. A December ground breaking is anticipated. Thursday evening brought the first official camp planning meeting for the 2001 camping season.
On Wednesday, Ed and his family arrived. Ed is a member of the church who moved to the area from Kansas and has rented a house on Carey Street across from the old church. With his moving in, we now have seven consecutive houses in which church members reside.
I spent Saturday evening visiting with one of local drug dealers. He has convinced himself that his occupation is consistent with the scriptures. Needless to say, I disagreed. We were still friends when he left, but he knows I'll be continuing to work on his thinking.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project (we still need plumbing repairs, the parking pad paved, and railings), please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Donald
Mike
Elizabeth
Ryan
Roxie
Donna
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
8/20/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with Mike Barber bringing the message at the morning worship. We had several present from other congregations, enough so that Danny had to add a row of chairs before the service could start.
After the service, my family and I headed up to Deer Park Campgrounds in New Hope, Pennsylvania, for our annual missionary reunion. While we were away, Danny took responsibility in presiding over Kids' Church and our evening service. We gave the two discipleship classes a vacation for the week.
We returned Friday evening in time for Pizza Church. Most of the kids who came to the sessions were wound up from being at the annual German Festival here in Carroll Park. Though we had a big group at each session, we didn't get too much accomplished.
During Pizza Church, I also announced some changes that are coming in the next few weeks. We're changing the attendance guidelines for Pizza Church from ages 9-12 & 13-18 to grades 4-6 & 7-12. This should eliminate the issues that come up when friends in the same grade have to split sessions because of a birthday. It also puts us in a better positions to divide the second session into a junior high group and a senior high group once it gets just a little larger.
Overnight Friday, we had some neon orange graffiti sprayed on the house next to the church and some on the church itself. Fortunately, we caught it in time and there is no evidence of it any more.
Saturday morning I spent some time in a housing development a few blocks further away from the church than we normally go. While distributing fliers about the church, I learned that the third Saturday of each month is their community clean-up day so I was able to visit with people who were out sprucing up their homes. Though we've never really reached into this community before, some of the people knew of the church, recalling the article in the Baltimore Sun in April, 1999. I was surprised by that. The head of the homeowners association was genuinely pleased to have me there and invited me to distribute information about upcoming events throughout their neighborhood at any time.
Saturday afternoon, a plumber finally came to begin redoing the problematic plumbing in the building. By 11:30 Saturday night, we had some of the leaks fixed, some of the clogs undone, and cold water (instead of hot) in the toilets. However, not everything is finished and I'll get a full report as to the status on Sunday.
We also received our new bike rack on Saturday evening. Penny Troutner, a resident of the neighborhood who owns a bike shop near the harbor, donated it to the church. We have many kids who ride bikes to church activities and we're glad to have a place to safely keep them during services.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have a playground committee meeting on Thursday. Next weekend, Steve Jones, a member of the presiding bishopric, will be visiting the church and participating in all our activities. We're also hoping to get the plumbing finished, the fire alarm fixed, the bike rack installed, and the parking lot prepped for paving.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Steven
Joshua
Donald
Sherl
Justin
Shaniqua
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
8/27/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Sunday we had our regularly scheduled services. During the morning service, we had several visitors. Almost all of them were unsure about being able to come in to the church because they "weren't dressed for it." They were relieved that they were both welcome and that most people were dressed informally, too.
During the evening service, we started a series with the rough title of "What do I have to give up to be a Christian?" We get this kind of question a lot so we decided to answer it through stories of transformation in the lives of people in the community. That night, Gloria shared part of her story about her giving up vengeance and anger for justice and peace.
We had continued construction throughout the week. The plumber worked on redoing the plumbing to fix the errors and carelessness of the first plumber. As of this writing, we have cold water in the toilets (instead of the hot water we've had since May) and all drains are draining properly. We're still working on some water pressure issues at the water fountain and some of the faucets.
The main contractor came and did the final touch-up and caulking work. That completed all the work he was to do. We're simply waiting on the parking pad to be dug and poured.
At Wednesday night's Adult Discipleship class we introduced our new "Power House 101" class, which discusses the basics of who we are and what we do. With the extremely positive views from those present, we'll now use this material as our adult pre-baptismal class.
Thursday morning, Gloria organized a group of people to package school supplies. The women of the Towson congregation provided a trunk load of school supplies to be given to the kids in the neighborhood. The crew on Thursday morning grouped items in age-appropriate bundles and packaged them for distribution after church this coming Sunday.
Thursday evening we had a playground committee meeting. As a group, we made final approval for the design plans. Phase 1, which includes large amounts of new play equipment, will begin this winter. Phase 2, which builds new basketball courts outside the playground and removes old courts will be the following winter. Private funding can now be sought for the amphitheater, pavilion, water play, and sand play areas now that the master plan is in place.
On Friday, Steve Jones arrived from church headquarters. He's a member of the presiding bishopric and came out for a weekend visit. We spent time walking the streets and getting him acclimated to the area. He lead the Pizza Church sessions on Friday evening.
Also during Pizza Church, Rhonda Radliff stopped through on her way from Texas to New York. This was her first visit to the Power House since the new building opened. Rhonda was instrumental in getting through the process of acquiring the land and getting the building built.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. On Sunday, Steve Jones will be speaking at all three services. We'll be distributing school supplies after Kids' Church having a potluck after the evening service. We have a priesthood meeting on Thursday night.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Brandy
Miles
Travis
Otts
Justin
Alan
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
9/3/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Steve Jones, member of the Presiding Bishopric, brought the messages at both the traditional and contemporary services as well as teaching the lesson at Kids' Church. After Kids' Church, we distributed school supplies that were provided by the Towson Congregation's women's group. After the contemporary service, we enjoyed a pot luck dinner. Steve headed back to Missouri first thing Monday morning.
We continued through the week with our full schedule of activities. Among the highlights was the beginning of a study of prayer during Adult Discipleship Class. This week, we focused on the prayer elements of adoration, praise, thanksgiving, petition, intercession, confession, and commitment. Both Pizza Church sessions discussed temptation and how to resist it.
On Thursday night, we had a priesthood meeting. With Ed moving into the neighborhood, we have another priest in the church. We had a long agenda as most of our brief meetings over the summer focused on making sure all the work assignments were covered while people were out of town. We spent about two hours going over recent, current, and upcoming activity at the church.
Among the good news that we discussed is that this fall the church will be open six days each week. Thursday evenings will be our primary computer lab time. Tuesday afternoons, Gloria and Gina are offering a ministry called Turning Point, which is a program for adults who have addicts in their families. For about six weeks this fall, Ron Gillilan will be offering a Tuesday evening class on health and healing ministries. A few other new projects are in the works as well as we work toward being open every day.
The plumber visited us this week and got everything but the water fountain fixed. We're working on that one ourselves now. On Saturday, a work crew came and dug out the area in the back of the lot for our parking pad. It's completion is the last major hurdle we need to jump before final inspections by the city.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we'll be working on the marketing and programming elements of our SonRisers Breakfast Club which is scheduled to launch September 20, and getting ready for the women's retreat September 15-17.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Donald
Francis
Troy
Shirley
Theresa
Edna
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
9/10/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We had our full schedule of activities throughout the week. One of the highlights in the scheduled activities came during Kids' Church. Brenda and Meredith Mitchell came up from Virginia and provided a lesson and craft for the day. They had the kids passionately involved throughout the entire session.
Also, the attendance at both our Pizza Church sessions more than doubled from last week. Our numbers have been down all summer, but the start of school brought the return of the crowds.
Work continued in preparation for our new programming elements that start this fall. The computer lab will begin partial operations this coming Thursday. Elementary school children can use the lab from 4:00 to 5:00. Junior High and Senior High students can use the lab from 5:00 to 6:00. In the next few weeks, we'll be adding activities and classes for adults during the evening hours.
We had a good visit with our architect this week as we continued to try to get the final details of the building finished. He's already excitedly talking about the next wing of the building and designing it for us. Even with all the problems he's had in getting this structure done, he won't let us think of having another architect do this work as he wants to continue to volunteer his services for this ministry.
Roxie, one of our most active kids, decided that she wanted to get baptized. After visiting with her mother, we scheduled the baptism for this coming Sunday evening during the contemporary service.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, five women from here will be heading up to Deer Park campgrounds in New Hope, Pennsylvania, for a women's retreat. While they're gone, the men from the congregation are all going out to dinner together. We'll also be finalizing the details for the start of SonRisers and the restarting of our Solid Rock Cafe, both the following week.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Lindy
Kim
Less
Mike
Tarnya
Penny
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
9/17/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday with our three services. Among the highlights of the day was Roxie's baptism and confirmation during the evening service. Also during that service, Danny shared some of the incredible story of his life with the congregation.
In running the statistics for the weekend, I found that our largest service had 30 in attendance. Yet, the total attendance for the weekend was nearly ninety. When considering that some people came to more than one service, we still had over 70 different people come to church last weekend. That's more than double the capacity of our building which is part of why we have so many different services.
Throughout the week we continued with our full schedule of activities. On Thursday, we opened the new computer lab. We've started out with having it open from 4-5 p.m. for kids in elementary school and 5-6 for junior high kids. People were lined up at the door waiting to get in and start. Computer activities for adults will begin in October. Even without advertising, we have two of the five available slots filled for our first adult computer literacy class.
Friday afternoon, Vonceil, Gloria, and Theresa headed up to Deer Park Campgrounds for the annual women's retreat. Dawn and Darlene were going to meet them there. This event has been a significant opportunity for the spiritual growth of the women of our congregation and is a high point of the year.
While the women were away, some of the guys got together for our own activity. Mike Barber took us out on the Potomac River on his boat. Bryce got to catch a fish (which he threw back). We went out to dinner afterward.
After months of delays, we finally have a working water fountain in the building. This last repairman figured out the mystery of its water pressure problem. Now, the only thing left before final city inspections is the paving of our parking lot. The forms are already set and they are scheduled to come out and pour the concrete the first part of the week.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we're starting our new SonRisers ministry for Junior High kids. It is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. each Wednesday morning. We will also have our monthly Solid Rock Cafe this coming Friday night and a wedding shower for Darlene next Saturday afternoon.
In addition to these activities, those individuals mentioned, and the completion of our building project, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Norman
Edna
Crystal
Lamont
Francis
Miles
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
9/24/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We had our full schedule of activities. Sunday morning, Stella returned to church for the first time in several months. She's been having trouble with her legs and finally got an electric scooter so that she is able to go a few blocks from home now.
During Kids' Church, we took advantage of the nice weather and did drawings with the sidewalk chalk. It was the first time we've done that activity since the plaza area was paved. It provided a much better environment than the broken sidewalk in front of the old building.
Sunday evening's crowd was neat to look out on. Most of our services are age specific. However, this week we had small children, pre-teens, teenagers, and people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s gathered in worship. We also had people who have been a part of this denomination for their entire lives, people who have become a part of the church over the last couple of years, and first time visitors. This may not seem like much to read, but the spirit that accompanied it was special for us.
Wednesday morning brought the start of the newest outreach ministry for teenagers. We opened the doors of the church at 7:00 a.m. for SonRisers. During the 45 minutes we were open, 20 kids came through. We provided them each with a donut and started a scripture card collection contest. We're looking for increased participation next week.
Near the end of Thursday's computer lab time (which had more kids come than last week), the cement mixer arrived to pour our parking lot. They had enough with them to pave about 3/4 of the space. I stood guard over it until most of the kids were in for the night to prevent graffiti. It drew quite a crowd of onlookers so I was able to meet some new people, talk about the things happening at the church, and invite them to join us.
Mike Barber came up and taught the lessons at both Pizza Church sessions on Friday night. Afterward, we had our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. We set up our three tables with different games on each one and had the Nintendo going. We snacked on leftover donuts we'd frozen since Wednesday. One kid even brought his homework to type on one of our computers while all this was going on. Among the 20 kids who came were a couple of kids I'd met the night before while the concrete was being poured.
On Saturday, we hosted a wedding shower for Darlene. The women seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves for this event.
While it was going on, another cement mixer arrived and the remainder of our parking lot was poured. This completes all the items required for the city of Baltimore prior to final inspections. Though there is still work to be done, such as landscaping, we can say that all the things we'd had contracted for the building are now complete. YA!!!!
But, this is just phase I of our construction project. Already, we are regularly at or above capacity for many of our activities and growth is limited because of it. Therefore, we've begun planning and fundraising for the next phase of our project. The current structure was designed with expansion in mind so we're ready to make the next part happen.
I don't usually include links or attachments, but I this article about the heroin problem in Baltimore was a headline on Netscape/CNN this Saturday. Below is the web address for anyone that is interested in reading it. If it is no longer available and you would like to get a copy, let me know and I'll send you one.
http://dailynews.netscape.com/dailynews/cnnnews.tmpl?story=heroin.baltim ore0923.html
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. Bonnie Barber will be bringing the message at Sunday morning's service and Sparkles the Clown will be providing ministry at both Kids' Church and the contemporary service. Monday evening we have our monthly priesthood meeting and Thursday evening the playground committee will be meeting at the church. We also hope to have final city building inspections this week.
In addition to these activities and those individuals mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Danny
Darlene
Keno
Ed
Gloria
Kyle
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
10/1/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Sunday morning, Bonnie Barber brought the message. Then, for Kids' Church, Sparkles the Clown came to visit and teach the lesson. She walked around a couple of blocks for about 30 minutes prior to the service and we had 45 in attendance. Sparkles also stayed brought the message during the contemporary service.
Meanwhile, the Sadlers, a family from the Laurel congregation, came up to the church to network the computers in the computer lab. The hardware needed to do this was provided by the members of the church in Laurel.
Monday night was our monthly priesthood meeting. We reviewed recent events, discussed upcoming opportunities, and spent some time trying to solve some logistical problems we're having.
One of those logistical problems is in the area of youth ministry. Some of our activities have grown to the point that we need to divide them into two groups because of space and age span considerations. With our building having basically only on main room, it means rearranging the schedule to accommodate it happening. The fact that we have activities nearly every night means we have to consider the impact of scheduling something new on other ministries. We haven't solved the problem, but we did narrow down our options.
As usual, Wednesday was our busiest day. We had 24 kids come to SonRisers before heading over to school at the junior high. Later in the day, we had Teen Disciples, Narcotics Anonymous, Adult Disciples, and Community Prayer Circle.
Also on Wednesday, I had a chance to visit with Lamont's mother about his desire to get baptized. She approved, and he started listing all the people from camp he hoped would come. He especially wanted camp pastor Patty Ballinger (who is also the pastor of the church in Dundalk, Maryland) to come and take part in the service. Fortunately, she's available that Sunday and will offer the prayer of confirmation.
On Thursday evening, the Carroll Park Playground committee met at the church. We got our final approval from the city for phase I (new play structures) of the project, considered time frames when funding would be available for phase II (new basketball courts), strategized as to how to get funds to upgrade our fence, and empowered the Junior League of Baltimore to raise funds for the artistic elements of the design.
We had to order more pizza between sessions of Pizza Church on Friday. We had 26 at the first session (we don't have that much table space) and 16 at the second session.
On Saturday afternoon, I officiated at a wedding of a couple from the neighborhood. Many families with connections to the church were a part of the celebration. While I was there, the Mandell family was working on painting the lines on our parking lot. Once they got started, the area was overrun by children so they had to stop. They're going to try tomorrow during Kids' Church with the idea that they can send the younger ones into church while they're working and put a paintbrush in the hands of the older ones.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have our final building inspections on Monday and Tuesday. Linda Costello will be in town for Ed and Darlene's wedding so while she's here she'll be teaching a class "The Power of a Focused Life" on Monday & Thursday evenings. She'll also be preaching the series "How to Live in God's House" beginning Wednesday night and then again at both services the next Sunday. I'll be meeting with Berny, our architect, on Wednesday to begin his work on plans for an addition to the church building. We'll also be distributing fliers to each household in the neighborhood this Monday.
In addition to these activities and those individuals mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Sean
Steffan
Amber
Tomarra
Forrest
Shawneqwa
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
10/8/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out Sunday great attendance at each of the three services. It was especially good to have many children who came to Kids' Church for the first time last week because of Sparkles the clown being there return this week.
After the evening service, we headed out to the airport to pick up Linda Costello. She was flying in from Florida for Ed and Darlene's wedding so she came several days early to teach some classes and preach a series for us.
On Monday, we had planned to have one of our final building inspections. However, when we called to schedule it, we learned that our building permit had expired and they could not come out until we had obtained a new one. That "getting a new one" turned into an all day process which ended when they told me that everything was ready and all I needed to do was stop by in the morning with the payment.
Monday evening, Linda began here class entitled "The Power of a Focused Life." This class was limited to eight participants so we had selected people before hand and offered it "by invitation only." Its start was delayed for a few minutes as a pipe in our bathroom burst spraying water throughout it and into the hall. Danny got it fixed within the hour.
Tuesday morning I headed back to the city's building and zoning office only to find that things weren't ready with our permit. It only took another hour there to get it done. When I got back, we distributed fliers throughout the neighborhood advertising Linda's sermon series.
Wednesday started out with SonRisers at 7:00 a.m. The plumbing inspector was scheduled to come that day so we had someone at the building on watch for him all day. He didn't show up.
While we were waiting for him, Berny, our architect, came to discuss expansion plans. We discussed our original concept for an addition and discovered that with regulation changes and significant construction cost increases, those plans more than doubled since our original cost estimates. We began brainstorming as to what to do and found that though we couldn't bring the dollar amount down, we could get a lot more for our money if we scrapped our plans and started over with a totally new concept. He's literally at the drawing board right now trying to put some of these ideas on paper.
That evening, Linda started her sermon series entitled "How to Live in God's House." We had our core folks from the neighborhood, people from other congregations in the mission center, and a couple of visitors. Afterward, we had our community prayer circle.
Thursday morning, the inspector arrived and did our final building inspections. Once he was done, he said that we were ready to get our occupancy permit. Vonceil ran the computer lab that afternoon. The kids seem to both really enjoy using the computers and lean quite a bit while using them. That evening, Linda completed teaching her "Power of a Focused Life" class.
Friday morning, after our fire alarm got repaired, it was back to city offices to get our occupancy license. After spending some time running from office to office, I was told that everything would be complete as soon as a zone supervisor signed off on the forms. Before he would do that, though, he would need to come out and do an occupancy inspection that I would need to schedule with him.
Even with the competition of a dance at the local Police Athletic League Center, we had large groups of kids at both sessions of pizza church. There's a new crew of kids that have just discovered this activity and are becoming consistent in their attendance.
Saturday was Ed and Darlene's wedding. Many people from the Power House were able to celebrate with them at the wedding and reception.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. On Sunday, Linda will be preaching at both the morning and the evening services in order to complete her series. Brenda and Meredith Mitchell will be teaching the lesson at Kids' Church. On Monday and Tuesday, Linda and I will be attending a "Leading and Communicating" conference taught by John Maxwell and Bill Hybels in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Tuesday evening, Ron Gillilan will begin his class on healing. Daphne, the leader of our Narcotics Anonymous group, will be addressing our Adult Disciples class regarding ministry to those addicted to heroin. Friday evening will be our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. Sometime in there, we hope to schedule our occupancy inspection.
In addition to these activities and those individuals mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Katherine
Melina
Alan
Donald
George
Pooh
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
10/15/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
On Sunday, Linda Costello brought the word at both the traditional and the contemporary services. Brenda and Meredith Mitchell came up from Virginia to lead the Kids' Church activities. We also were blessed with several visitors from out of state who were in town for Ed and Darlene's wedding.
Monday and Tuesday, Linda and I attended a conference called "Leading and Communicating for Church Leaders" in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Church, and John Maxwell, director of the InJoy group, were the speakers.
Tuesday evening, Ron Gillilan started his 6 week course on healing and health ministries. He had about a dozen people in attendance.
The SonRisers group continues to grow. This Wednesday morning, we had 31 kids stop by on their way to school. Later this week, SonRisers was awarded a Model Ministries grant from church headquarters.
Our guest speaker at Adult Discipleship class cancelled at the last minute. Instead, we had a short fellowship time followed by our regular community prayer time.
Friday night's Pizza Church sessions continued to grow in numbers. Once again, we ran short of pizza, though only by one slice. Since I was teaching on Mark 8:34-38, without telling them I didn't have enough I asked one kids to "give up" pizza for the night. Once everyone else was being served, she and I ran around to the corner grille and got dinner. We brought it back just as the others were getting out and we cemented the concept of the lesson.
Afterward, we had our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. We had around 20 kids, which for us is a full house. They finished up the leftover donuts that we had frozen since Wednesday's SonRisers activities.
Saturday afternoon, Mike Barber took a couple of our kids over to the congregation in Dundalk, Maryland, to help him set up sound equipment and to DJ for the opening of their Solid Rock Cafe. It was a good opportunity for them to provide ministry for others.
As for progress with the building, not much happened. We scheduled our final inspection for Friday morning. The inspector didn't show up and we were told to just try again next week.
We've also had some strained relations with a couple of our neighbors the last week or so. We've had some concerned about parking and others bothered by having kids around the building. Your prayer support for this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Looking ahead to next week, we will have our full schedule of activities. In additioin, on Sunday afternoon Lamont will be baptized and confirmed during Kids' Church. Monday evening is the official grand opening of the local skateboard park. Next weekend is the mission center leaders' retreat. Therefore, there won't be a report next weekend.
In addition to these activities and those individuals mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Michael
Forrest
Torrin
Bonnie
Alicia
Brandy
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
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
11/13/00
Hello!
I tried sending this week's Power House Report out from a different computer. Something went wrong. As a result, some of you got the report and some of you didn't. I decided just to send it out to everyone again and try again next week. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
BTKOGHAN
Jeff
_______________________
It's been a busy few weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland. For
those of you who wrote concerned because of not receiving a report the last
few weeks, thank you and know that the business of the schedule kept me away
from the computer on Saturday nights the last few weeks.
Since it's been a while, let me give you some of the highlights from the
past few weeks rather than a day-by-day breakdown of events.
Since the last report we've had two baptisms. Lamont was baptized and
confirmed during Kids' Church on October 15. Lil was baptized during the
contemporary service on October 29.
At our priesthood meeting on October 30, we discussed goals for 2001 and
went home to prayerfully consider our individual roles in leading our
congregation to achieving them. We also took a look at the concept drawings
for our building expansion.
During Adult Disciples, we began studying the "Becoming a Contagious
Christian" materials. This eight week course will take us up to Christmas.
Through it, we're hoping to develop better skills at sharing the gospel with
our friends.
Mike Barber and I have traded roles during the Pizza Church sessions on
Friday nights. He's taken the lead in the development and teaching of the
materials and I've been in the teaching support and room management role.
Having the fresh ideas and direction has made immediate improvements in the
instruction and has lead to a better coordination of materials between Pizza
Church and Wednesday afternoon's Teen Disciples meetings.
Halloween brought much excitement to the neighborhood. The Saturday before
Halloween, Theresa, Gloria, and I gathered to assemble candy packs for
distribution. Each Ziploc bag had four pieces of candy and a Halloween card
inviting the kids to participate in the activities appropriate to their
ages. On Halloween night, Gloria, Danny, Carol, and Theresa distributed 300
of those packs along with hundreds of cookies provided by the Towson
Congregation's women's group.
Our early-morning SonRisers activities continue to expand. We've been
having 30+ in attendance most weeks with many kids new to the ministry among
that population. Those who have gotten in the habit of coming have started
showing up at Pizza Church, Kids' Church, and/or the Computer Lab.
We've continued to be snarled in the city's red tape. It looks like we'll
end up paying property taxes for the year 2000 and are still trying to get
our final inspections.
I've had the privilege of attending a couple of training events recently. I
was able to take part in a course on Interpersonal Peacemaking taught by
Diane Kyser and Sandee Gamet. I also attended a spiritual endowment retreat
where the sessions were taught by Tony and Charmaine Chvala-Smith.
Last night's two Pizza Church sessions had 14 and 22 present. Afterward, we
had around 30, many of whom were not a part of Pizza Church, present for our
Solid Rock Cafe.
During Solid Rock Cafe, one kid asked if he could use the computer to type
up a letter of application so he could try to get accepted at a magnet high
school rather than the local one. While others were spending time playing
games and eating snacks, he wrote a letter to the school explaining his
desire to attend a school where he would be safe and not have the serious
drug dealing going on that our local high school is notorious for.
After everyone had left, Mike and I visited him for a little while, then
anointed and prayed for him just like had been taught at Pizza Church a
couple of hours earlier. He approached this sacrament with a reverential
fear and a hopeful faith I haven't seen in a person in a long time.
When we were done, he described the experience in one of the local slang
terms that let us know he'd experienced the Holy Spirit working in him. He
then requested baptism. He'll be visiting with his mother about it and
getting back with us.
Looking ahead to next week, we have our full schedule of regular activities.
In addition, Kirsty will be baptized during Sunday's Kids' Church. We'll be
finishing up the 2001 plans of service for each priesthood member. We'll
try once again to get the final inspections done for the city. And, we have
a 2001 summer camp meeting on Thursday evening.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the
following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Tara
Woody
Bonnie
Stella
Donald
Bob
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
11/19/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
On Sunday we had our three services. A highlight of the day came when over 50 people crammed into the building during Kids' Church to take part in Kirsty's baptism.
On Monday evening, Gloria and Gina launched Turning Point. This is a Bible study and support group for people who have adult children addicted to drugs.
Tuesday afternoon I taught the religion class at Catholic Community School. They had just finished their study on the Reformation and were getting ready to look at different denominations that had started since that time.
I ran the statistics on the group of junior high kids that attended our SonRisers outreach activities Wednesday morning. Of the nearly 30 who came, approximately 1/3 came to the Power House for the first time that day. Half who came were active in another ministries (like Pizza Church) at the Power House. Of those who are active in the church, about half have become active in other ministries only since the start of SonRisers. Only 2 who came were baptized members of the church.
Also on Wednesday, we had yet another city inspection. We're hoping this one is the last one, but we're not holding our breath as they seem to always have "just one more" every time we think we're done.
I visited with Donna' s mother this week as Donna had requested baptism and said she had talked to her mom about it. We scheduled it for 3:00 on Sunday, November 26.
Thursday night, Mike Barber called several of us together to make some decision about camp 2001. We met at the Washington, D.C. church and had a productive meeting.
We had 18 at session 1 and 17 at session 2 of Pizza Church on Friday. The topic for the week was "God's Law and You." Though we didn't talk about baptism during the lesson, 5 kids came up after the second group and asked to be baptized.
After Pizza Church, we let the senior high kids stay after for ice cream and fellowship (we're tentatively calling this activity Sundae Church ;-) ). We plan on doing this activity on a monthly basis, but have challenged the kids that if they can consistently have a large enough gathering of senior high aged kids at Pizza Church then we'll divide them from the junior high group and do this each week.
Looking ahead to next week, our schedule will be a little different due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be closed on Thursday and Friday so there won't be computer lab or Pizza Church this week. We are, however, having our annual dessert potluck after the contemporary service on Sunday night and will be delivering the Thanksgiving basket provided by the Towson congregation's women's group on Wednesday.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Joshua
Michael
Andre
Tony
Chris
Melina
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
11/26/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
Sunday morning we had several visitors from out of town at our worship service. My parents were here from Michigan and Rhonda Radliff was here from New York with her mother from Houston and her aunt from the Washington area.
My parents taught the group at Kids' Church. With Thanksgiving as a theme, they lead the kids in making turkeys with each feather labeled with something they were thankful for.
After the evening service, we had our annual dessert potluck. This year, though, we were surprised when Mr. Lee, owner of one of our corner stores, donated a turkey. His wife cooked it for us so we had a meal of turkey and dessert.
Unseasonably cold temperatures worked to our advantage on Wednesday for SonRisers. I went up to the steps of the school where several kids were shivering waiting for the doors to open and invited them to warm up at the church. Several responded. We ended up with 35 kids coming. We've purchased what we need to now add hot chocolate to our morning menu so we'll be able to better meet the needs of the kids this winter and encourage attendance at our activities.
Wednesday afternoon, Gloria met up with Kathy Kruft to deliver the Thanksgiving basket provided by the Towson congregation's women's group. These women have faithfully provided an abundant Thanksgiving dinner to a family in the neighborhood each year since the Power House opened.
We also learned on Wednesday that one of our kid's godbrothers was shot six times and killed. In visiting with him later in the week, he's coping about as well as one can expect from a ten year old.
We continued our study of the course "Becoming a Contagious Christian" during Wednesday night's discipleship class. This week's focus was on following the apostle Paul's format for sharing our own personal testimonies.
With the Thanksgiving holiday, we closed the church on Thursday and Friday. Everyone has been working really hard and needed a couple of days where we could focus on our own families and celebrations.
Looking ahead to next week, we'll be back to our full schedule of activities. In addition, Donna will be baptized during Kids' Church on Sunday. We have a priesthood meeting on Monday evening. Also, I won't have access to my computer next Saturday evening so there won't be a report next week.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Theresa
Lil
Earl
Billie Jo
Steven
Stella
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
12/10/00It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
We started out excited about Donna's baptism on November 26. However, the excitement got a little overwhelming for her and she decided at the last second to wait until another day.
The next day I again entered the red tape of the City of Baltimore in our continued attempt to get our occupancy license. Miraculously, I actually talked to the person I needed to talk to on the first call. By the end of the conversation, he signed off on the forms and we became legal occupants of our new building. The only remaining thing to cut through with the city regarding this property is the tax status.
Also that day, we finalized our plans for an interactive nativity on Christmas Eve day. That Sunday afternoon, we will have a petting zoo bring farm animals to the church's back yard. The kids will be able to meet and pet the animals and visit with Mary and Joseph.
Monday night, we had our monthly priesthood meeting. It was a relatively short agenda and we celebrated our obtaining of the occupancy license.
I attended the Northeast Mission Field employee gathering in Hampton, Virginia, the last half of the week. The adult disciples class was supposed to watch a video while I was away. Through a communication mix-up, the video ended up no where near where the class was. Being a creative bunch, they decided to do a review of the curricular content of Kids' Church. In other words, they found a Veggie Tale video on the shelf and watched it instead.
When I rolled into town of Friday evening for Pizza Church, I had kids lined up at my door wondering if I would be there since the church lights weren't on at 5:00 like normal. Since we had closed Pizza Church the week before due to Thanksgiving, some were concerned that we had quit having it.
Vonceil brought the first Advent message Sunday morning at the traditional service. Not knowing if I would be back from Hampton in time or not, we scheduled the Veggie Tale video "The Toy that Saved Christmas" for Kids' Church (I made it back just in time). During the contemporary service, we switched musical styles slightly for a couple of weeks. We'll br singing Christmas songs with contemporary accompaniments.
SonRisers grew in attendance both weeks. We've been thrilled with the steady growth of this group, the building of relationships between the kids and the adults, and the influx of kids we've met at this activity into the other activities of the church.
Wednesday night's adult disciples class worked on how to share the essence of the gospel with someone unfamiliar with it. It was really neat to watch them practice together then to have Shirley get up, go to the overhead projector (red pen in hand), and share the gospel with the entire class.
As is consistent with after school activities in the weeks prior to a holiday, attendance at the computer lab has been down slightly the last couple of weeks. We expect it to pick up again in early January.
This Friday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe following Pizza Church. It was our smallest gathering ever with only about 18 kids. We realized, though, that 18 kids and 3 adults constitutes a full room for this kind of activity and it was actually a manageable crowd. We've got to figure out a way to better accommodate this kind of activity so that our numbers don't stagnate due to space.
Also, in the last couple of weeks, the storefront on S. Carey Street that was our church's home for several years opened up as a real estate office.
And, we had two members of the congregation have their cars wrecked this week. One's was hit while parked outside his house. It's banged up but it can be fixed. The other was hit while driving to work. He and his passenger are OK, but his car was totaled.
Looking ahead to next week, we'll have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we'll be finalizing plans for our Christmas activities and coordinating Christmas basket distribution. I'm also going to make an attempt to try to get the property tax situation straightened out. Friday night after Pizza Church we'll have our monthly Sundae Church for our Senior High kids.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Ed
Danny
Kirsty
Dawn
George
Less
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
12/17/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out early Sunday morning with a phone call from Danny saying that is back had gone out. We rearranged plans and barely managed to get all the work he does in preparation for the services each week done by the time people began to arrive.
In keeping with the season, the group at Kids' Church made Christmas cards for their project this week. We spent part of the evening service singing Christmas carols as requested by those who had gathered.
Much of the week was spent doing paperwork. I had let things stack up and had to get some things in by the end of the year. We also spent a great deal of time in preparing fliers for our upcoming Christmas festivities and updating our published activity schedule for the new year.
Bitter cold weather helped bring in a record crowd to the SonRisers activities on Wednesday morning. 43 kids came through the church. We'll try to end the year right by breaking the 50 mark next week.
Our adult discipleship class completed the course work for their study on "Becoming a Contagious Christian." Some class members had been practicing some of what they had learned with members of their families and, in doing so, had opened up to deep discussion of spiritual matters that had never been discussed before. Next week, the class members will test their skills as I roll play someone considering Christianity.
I spent one day trying to track down why the church property was being taxed and how to get the exemption in place. Though our bill came from the city, I eventually ended up at the state offices. I confess it was a little disconcerting when the security guard gave me a visitor pass then said, "You need to go to the eighth floor and I will pray for you." Her prayers worked as the people were very helpful. We weren't able to figure out the whole problem, but I was able to make phone contact with another office that sent me forms to fill out.
We suspended our lessons at Pizza Church this week to practice singing. Next week, the groups will be caroling in the neighborhood and, after last year's experience, we decided that practice would be a good thing. Most kids around here don't know some of the most basic traditional Christmas carols (Away in a Manger, Silent Night, etc.) so it's a real teaching time.
Looking ahead to next week, we'll have our full schedule of activities. In addition, we have a priesthood meeting Monday night. Friday evening will be our time for Christmas caroling. Saturday will bring preparations for the Christmas Eve festivities (the live interactive nativity in the afternoon and the candlelight service at 6:00). Further, throughout the week we'll be distributing thousands of fliers inviting people to celebrate Christmas with us.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Mike
Joshua
Julia
Jackie
Billy
Melissa
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
12/24/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out with our three services on Sunday. Also during the day on Sunday, Danny and Norman were able to mount our new banner on the front of the church. We'll be changing this every couple of months to reflect seasonal themes and events.
Monday brought the beginning of distributing fliers advertising the interactive nativity and the candlelight service. Normally, we distribute 700-800 fliers. This time, we ran 1500 and expanded our coverage area to include several blocks surrounding the immediate neighborhood. With the increased numbers and busy schedules, different people volunteered to distribute fliers on different streets throughout the week. By week's end, the neighborhood had been saturated.
Monday night's activities included Turning Point and our monthly priesthood meeting. Those participating in Turning Point have expressed consistent appreciation for the ministry and skills provided there in coping with relatives addicted to drugs. During the priesthood meeting, the main topic of discussion was to make sure that we had covered all our bases for the activities of the next couple of weeks.
Icy weather caused a 2 hour delay in school on Wednesday. Because of it we weren't sure how to handle SonRisers at that point so we showed up at the church to just wing it. We had about five kids come around 7:00 a.m. They came and went repeatedly until 10:00. The last hour before school started we had about 20 more come in.
Since the adult discipleship class had finished the "Becoming a Contagious Christian" course last week, their job this week was to go through all they had learned with me while I pretended to be a non-believing friend. By the end of the class, they hadn't totally converted me but had me seriously considering my relationship with God and considering accepting Jesus.
Bitter cold wind chill temperatures caused us to cancel our Christmas caroling with the teenagers on Friday night. We had planned a pizza party for afterward so we just had it instead.
One of Saturday's activities included distributing the remaining gift baskets for families in need in our community. One woman was so overwhelmed with the blessing that she immediately began to pack a basket from her bounty for a shut-in man next door.
Saturday was also filled with detail and final preparation work for the Christmas Eve activities. The distribution of the remaining fliers, running errands, making copies, cleaning the church, and installing the candle chandeliers kept much of the congregation busy throughout the day.
Looking ahead to next week, we'll an amended schedule of activities due to the holidays. We have our traditional service Sunday morning, but will replace Kids' Church with the interactive nativity from 2-3:30 that afternoon. We'll have our annual candlelight service in place of our contemporary worship Sunday night at 6:00. We'll close on Monday for Christmas and, because school is not in session, will suspend activities that are tied to the school schedule, such as SonRisers and the computer lab.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Mary
Danny
Edna
Alicia
Jerrell
Miles
Thank you for your continued prayer support. Merry Christmas!
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
12/31/00
It's been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland
It started Sunday with our day-long celebration of Christmas. We had our Advent message during the morning service with 26 in attendance.
We got a phone call from the petting zoo about an hour before the interactive nativity was scheduled to start telling us that they were iced in at the farm in Pennsylvania. Though having no animals was disappointing, we continued on with the activities. People were understanding and seemed to have a good time visiting with Mary & Joseph and each other during the 90 minute open house. We don't have an exact count of the number of people who came, but we do know that there were at least 80.
The candlelight service had 36 present, most of whom had not attended another service that day. We had 120 candles lit in our little building which made it easily bright enough for reading the text of the songs and scriptures. Afterward, we had a baby blessing.
Our schedule was amended for the week due to the holidays. We didn't have any activities on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday and had a shortened schedule on Wednesday with only Narcotics Anonymous, Adult Disciples, and Prayer Circle that evening.
Friday evening brought Pizza Church. The church became a parking lot for scooters as the kids rode their new Christmas gifts to the church.
Saturday brought the first of the Christmas trees. It's not uncommon for some people to dump their old Christmas trees on empty lots in the neighborhood. Last year, several ended up in the open trench when we were having the sewer line installed. Today, there was one on our back lot. We'll be getting that removed and trying to figure out how to prevent other people leaving their trees there.
Looking ahead to next week, we'll be back to our regular schedule of activities, except for Monday when we'll be closed for New Year's Day. Additionally, Sunday evening after the contemporary service we'll fellowship together and eat hot dogs.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following people in the forefront of your prayers:
Chris
Michael
Alan
Melissa
Melina
Lauren
Thank you for your continued prayer support. Merry Christmas!
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
"Building the KINGDOM of GOD Here & Now"
PowerHouseMD@juno.com
home.sprintmail.com/~vajaba/
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