Hello everyone,
Twelve days! It's incredible to me, almost surreal, that we are so close to the launch of the church plant. Things have been a little crazy around here and there are so many emotions. When our eyes are on ourselves--our capabilities, our limitations, our understanding--it's easy to start to feel overwhelmed. The New Testament makes it clear that the church is such a sacred thing in the eyes of the Lord. It's His blood-bought bride and shepherding over His flock is such a weighty responsibility. It's too much for any man to take on his shoulders alone.
However, when our eyes focus upon Jesus--who He is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He promises--our perspective starts to change. We realize that it is His church and that He is the One that builds His church. It's His burden to carry. We realize that we are more than conquerors through Him and that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. With that perspective, things get really exciting because nothing limits our God and He is ultimately the One doing the work.
The Name
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." -Matthew 16:18
This is the verse that the Lord has been showing us over and over again throughout this whole process. As we prayed about the name of the church, He used it mightily to remind us whose church it is and what the church is to be built upon. So, the name of the church will be......(drum roll).......Roca Norte (North Rock). "Roca" because Jesus is the Rock that is the foundation of the church--immovable, unchangeable and dependable. "Norte" because yes, we are located in the north of the city and of the country. However, "norte" also has a sense of direction and guidance here in Chihuahua. When lost and looking for directions, you can ask, "Me da el norte?" which basically means, "Can you point me north?" So, Jesus is our Rock but He is also our North (our direction and guidance) as we travel through life. We pray that this name keeps us focused on the Main Thing as we seek to glorify Jesus in Chihuahua.
Thanks so much for backing us in this step of faith. You are such a blessing to us! We'll keep you updated as the week of the launch approaches.
-Tim, Priscilla, Josiah and Hannah
Eph. 3:20-21
Praise Reports
-God continues to bring together all the details as we prepare for the launch of the church plant on October 6th!
-God has provided an awesome team of six people that will be joining us to launch the church!
-The announcement to our local sending church, Capilla Calvario, went really well as we look forward to maintaining a close relationship moving forward!
-The Lord continues to bless the ministry at UACH with various opportunities to share about Him as we serve Him in different ways on the campus!
-God provided us with a second car to help us as we balance our different commitments!
-We will celebrate Josiah's 9th birthday on October 3rd!
Prayer Request
-That God would continue to guide the vision and direction of the church as He shows us His plans to reach Chihuahua with the Gospel.
-The final plans and details as we prepare for the launch (including the various roles in the church and the application of the united church/house church hybrid model that we will be using).
-Continued unity among those of us launching out to start the church and also between our church and Capilla Calvario.
-That God would continue to provide wisdom, guidance and open doors with the ministry at UACH.
-The kids' continued transition in their new all-Spanish school. It has been a little difficult the first few weeks, so please pray that God would strengthen them and help them connect with the other students.