Email I sent to our Summerlake Prayer Team

Hey folks-

You read it right—Summerlake Baptist Church is about to begin with it’s first Bible study. Etta and I went Sunday afternoon and rented the apartment in Summerwood. A very generous donor has supplied us with the finances to sign a 3 month lease. We are planning an intense three months of outreach to try build up membership and raise enough funding to keep the apartment. Obviously, anything you can give would be a tremendous help. Etta does not have a job yet, but we were compelled to make this step of faith and trust God for the rest.

Pray that we add to our Bible study. We have a few prospects already and we hope to have many more. We have begun some Servant Evangelism by going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s in Summerwood, paying for the food for the people behind us, and leaving them a Summerlake card. We are also looking at some outreach activities at the complex. Pray that people respond, not just to grow our fellowship, but to grow the Kingdom through salvations.

We also have some physical needs some of you may be able to help with. Following is a list of things we need (some we would just like) for the apartment. If you have any spares of these lying around, we would love to take them off your hands for you. We want the apartment to have a cozy, homey feel. It will also serve as my study. That explains the things we are looking to procure.

Coffee pot (12 cup)
Coffee urn (20-30 cup)
Couches
Love seats
Chairs (the cushy type you have in your living room, not folding or straight-back)
Book cases (3-4, I have a lot of books)
Lamps
End-tables
TV & DVD player (for nursery)
Laptop computer
Video projector

There may be other things we need that we haven’t thought about. We will keep you posted.

The most important thing, however, is prayer. I tell Etta that every time I think about what is happening, I want to throw up. (Not really, but you know what I mean) It’s real now. Summerlake Baptist Church is no longer a theory, concept, or idea. It’s a place with (a few) people and all the responsibilities that follow. And let me explain the responsibilities. Have you ever looked at the sky at night, and, as your eyes adjust to the darkness, you see more and more stars? That’s how I feel right now. As I look deeper and deeper at planting the church and the fact that we are picking up steam, and my eyes become more used to seeing it, the job seems infinite. And it probably is. So please pray. I’m not overwhelmed, yet. Just realistic. And as excited as all get out.

So what's going on?

Well, that's a great question. Here's the answer.

Etta still doesn't have a job yet and I haven't found one closer to home. We are okay if nothing changes but so many things would improve even if only one of us would get a job in Humble. Also, as I said and Etta said, Etta working presents us a great opportunity to greatly expand and move forward in our efforts to plant Summerlake.

If Etta does not get a job, we have some other ideas on the table (do you know how expensive store-fronts are? OMG!!), but our first choice is the apartment. As Etta said in her post, we now have the finances to rent the apartment for three months. That will allow us to begin some heavy outreach, get a small group going, and (hopefully) increase our funding so we can keep it. Now our prayer is that they have a three month lease at the complex.

I don't know what our location will be in the coming months, but I feel very strongly that it's time to start. We have affiliated with our state convention (SBTC) and will soon be able to register for our non-profit status. We are oh-so-slowly getting the foundation laid, but the progress is forward. The strongest tug I have is to start the Bible study. D-Day is Sunday, September 7th at 9:30 AM. I pray it is at the apartment, but only God knows.

Pray with us as we continue to seek His will. We want to be bold, strong in faith, but not stupid. We've done that way too much in the past. It's not all that beneficial.