Merry Christmas!

Wow, I can't believe Christmas has again come and gone so quickly. I really wanted to slow down some today and remember that Jesus really did come down to earth, the same earth we stand on right now, and was born as a baby, leaving the comforts of Heaven just to come down to earth and provide us a way of salvation. So He left His home so that we could have a home, one day with Him. I enjoyed being with family today and enjoyed eating some nice food and I get to do the same thing tomorrow, but I really do want to tell others about Jesus and I thought so much about my neighbors today, especially those who live alone, and want to share with them so much about what Jesus offers us, if we will just accept it. Maybe the new year will provide us with the opportunity to share the love of Christ more and more with those around us, both neighbors and friends, and family, so "Happy Birthday Jesus" and I pray that we will continue to celebrate your birth and your life all year long!

Monthly Movie Madness Night!

Last night was encouraging in that we had 45 folks show up for our Monthly Movie Madness Night. We have been showing movies since June and have showed one every 3rd Saturday of the month but last night also added a "dinner" to the festivities by giving everyone Pizza and a Salad, so it was a very busy night but a good one hopefully to make more contacts for the future. It was a little bit frustrating in that I want so much to just share Jesus with folks and tell them about Him and His free gift of life to us, but sometimes with children and comotion I wonder if the message is as clear as I would like it to be or in short, if anyone is really listening, but I just have to remember to Plant & Plow, and God will do the harvesting. So let's press on and look forward to the new year and hopefully some New Lives that are formed because of Jesus!

God Provides!

It has been a good day and God blessed us with a good Bible study tonight! Not only did we have 16 people but it was just a good reminder when we watched the Andy Griffith Episode entitled "Quiet Sam" which is about a man who seems a little strange acting to Barney but it's because he is about to become a father. And just the thought of a baby at Christmas time reminded us that another baby entered the world about 2,000 years ago, and it too may have seemed strange to some folks, but brought salvation to others. God blessed my heart too even as I taught, He is just so good when He is the Master teacher and teaches us while we teach others. He is so good! And I was indeed blessed yesterday when I received a package from Johnny Karls the man who made the movie JUSTSTOPANDTHINK which I think is a great witnessing tool. After contacting him several times and asking about the movie, he very graciously sent me about 60 copies of the movie yesterday and even paid the postage because he said he wanted to help with my church plant. That was great and very giving of a person that I have not even met face to face. God is indeed Jehovah Jireh in that HE provides us with exactly what we need. With a community outreach this coming Saturday, the movies came just in time and will be very useful to me in sharing God's grace and goodness with others. God continues to be awesome and show Himself mighty as we plant the church He's called us to plant for His glory!

God Is At Work!

It's obvious that God is always working on our behalf and preparing things for us that are just great, exciting, and most definitely for our benefit. But when we can witness first hand or just see some things from time to time that we just know that God is doing, it's exciting and we are again reminded of His faithfulness and blessings to us. Everytime I contact someone, especially some of my former students that I've had years ago, I can see God maybe working to put us together again, so that I might again teach Bible to them, just like I did years ago. Or when I see someone who doesn't really want to go to the church they use to or just haven't attended in such a long time, but yet are open to maybe coming to a Movie Night that we are hosting, or attending a Bible study the we are doing, then again I just see God putting things in place for BIG things to happen in the future. So I'm exciting, God is working, and the best is yet to come! Praise Him!

A Christmas Story!

Well tonight was a good time at Bible Study as we watched the Christmas episode of Andy Griffith entitled "The Christmas Story" which features the mean old store owner named Ben Weaver who plays the part of a scrooge until the spirit of giving takes over and gives him a new heart. We then found it very easy to compare the story to what Jesus does with us. He changes us and gives us a new heart as we place our faith in Him, and then we find that we are so grateful for what He has given to us that we in turn want to give to others. From a manger to the cross, He couldn't have shown us any more love than He did. May the spirit of that first Christmas capture us and our hearts as we continue to learn how to love and give just like Jesus did for us.

Morals From Mayberry

Well here it is the first Tuesday after our Thanksgiving Holiday and while we had 14 folks for our Bible Study tonight (which was great!) we were missing a few people and so I was reminded that I am very thankful when everyone is there, especially Ginny who was absent tonight so she could attend a church function with her Mom. I know Ginny is valuable but it's nothing like her being gone to remind me of that. But we did alright and we had a good time studying what King David, Samson, and Barney Fife had in common. I know it may sound crazy but you would have had to be there to get the full comparrison of all these guys but the episode was Barney buying a car and how we often ignore good advice from God and our good friends and instead get suckered in to a bad deal, so maybe that will give you some good hints on what our study was about. But now with the new month, we will turn our attention to Christmas and so next week will be the Christmas episode of Andy Griffith, so hopefully it will be a blessing and another opportunity for God to teach us all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night for our Bible Study we had some really nice goodies like: ham biscuits, twice baked- potatoes, green beans with almonds, cherry pie, chocolate cake, and then a good study which reminded us to always pray before we do anything, especially anything BIG. The Andy Griffith episode which is about Barney buying a car, but not taking time to inquire about it before buying it and instead letting his emotions make the decision for him, just reminded us that we do the same thing sometimes. We picked a couple of passages of scripture, one about Joshua and the Gibeonites, where Joshua and his men did not inquire of the Lord before they made their decision thus making a big mistake and being made to look sort of foolish; and then we looked at another passage of Scripture in II Chronicles 20:3 where Jeshoshaphat the King learned he was about to be attacked, yet with time drawing near, he still took the time to inquire of the Lord for guidance and help. The lesson was simple, things turned out great for one and bad for the other, so just like Barney and buying the car, we need to seek guidance from both friends and God to make the best choices in our lives. God continues to bless us as we plant His church, and it's exciting to watch!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night for our Bible Study we had some goodies like: ham biscuits, twice baked potatoes; green beans with almonds,

Tuesday Night Bible Study!

Even though we were a little fewer in numbers tonight, we still had a good Bible Study and enjoyed talking about, seeking God's advice even though it is sometimes tough to take. We watched the episode of Andy Griffith that was "Aunt Bee and The Medicine Man" where Anut Bee was feeling a little low, so rather than go see Doc Andrews, she instead took the advice of Colonel Havey who was selling Indian Eilixer or Tonic to help folks feel young and have more pep. What it turned out to do was "give you a buzz" as Andy found out and by the end of the episode, Aunt Bee learned the same thing. So finally she ended up going to Doc Andrews and seeking wisdom from someone who was trustworthy. The lesson is simple: God is who we need to go to and seek wisdon from, but instead we call on friends, try things that aren't too good for us, and when we finally learn the hard way, then we ask God what He thinks. We could learn a lot from Aunt Bee......go to the right source when we are feeling low or need help and the right source is the Master Physician who can help us feel better and do it the right way. Have a good week!

Good Movie Night!

I felt this past movie night was really about the best one we have had so far! The first one we ever had was exciting and it was neat to see how God finally brought about our vision to start reaching out to the community with some events that would encouarage the neighbors and to let them know a new church is on the way, but it's just that this past Saturday night's movie ran about as smoothly as it could. Last month's movie may have had more people but it just seemed like there was too much comotion going on with people getting up and down, going to the bathroom and parents dropping off their kids and wanting us to keep up with them. (Which we really hadn't planned on doing) But this time, the parents stayed and the younger ones behaved better and it just seemed like I was able to share the fact that we are a church, and we are there to remind folks about Jesus, and I was able to give away more Gospels of John than I ever had. It just seemed like the people were more interested and receptive this time, so Praise the Lord!

One Week Later!

Well, here it is one week later from election day and while I was hoping there would be a lot more at our Bible Study last night, it was still a good time! Ginny and I handed out over 125 candy bars on election day telling folks about Life Pointe Church and about the weekly Tuesday night Bible study, and about the movie that we show every third Saturday of the month. So with all those candy bars going out, I thought we might see a few visitors for last night's study, but still it was ok, we had 13 people and I thought God blessed out time. We talked about how God loves us, has a plan for us, and no matter how we feel, He still has us made in a special way for a special purpose. We watched an Andy Griffith episode about "Cousin Virgil" who seemed to say the words "I'm sorry" quite a lot and seemed to have a lot of "accidents" or things he messed up. But I pointed out that all of us are sort of like Cousin Virgil when it comes to God, in that we all have messed up a lot and all need to say "I'm sorry". When we do that, God gives us forgiveness reminds us that we are special to Him and helps us find our purpose. Good reminders for all of us desiring to serve the Lord!

A Victory On Election Day!

No matter how anyone looks at the end results of any of the political races, I still think there was a major victory today on this Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, Election Day! Why? Well this morning at about 8:00 am I went to the Elementary School, (Huff-Lane) where my wife works, where we both vote, and where we are currently holding our Bible studies every Tuesday night. I give all the credit to the Lord who gave me an amazing idea last week while I was out walking my kitty cat Tory one night. The Lord gave me this idea: why not sit up a table or tent at the school and give out information about Life Pointe Church as voters come to the school to vote? I thought "wow, what a great idea!" It make perfect sense! The people who come to vote, have to live close by the school or they wouldn't be voting, thus they would be close enough to be potential members or visitors to Life Pointe! So this morning, at about 8:00 am I went to the school, (my wife was there at 5:30 am to work a PTA bake sale, so we both were there with a purpose) and I sit up a tent, began to hand out candy bars to folks passing by, and not only did I share my heart, info about the church, and future events, but I was even able to invite them to the Bible study that was tonight! So..........by the end of the day about 5:30 or so, we had handed out over 125 candy bars that my wife Ginny had carefully taped little notes about the church to, thus giving us a good conversation piece and a valuable (and chocolatey) way of giving out info, but more importantly had planted about 125 seeds for the Lord to bring to harvest! See what I mean about a victory? I really don't know how many will come to Life Pointe in future weeks and months, but I feel we were faithful today in following what God told us to do, and we got out more info about the church, had more meaningful conversations, and planted more seeds for God to water and harvest that we could have in months and months or knocking on doors in the neighborhood. God is so good and I praise Him for the idea, for the opportunity to share, and for the results He will bless us with in the future! It's exciting and I can't wait to see the harvest!

Tuesday Night Bible Study!

I was reminded the other day by a friend who lives in France, whose name is Annick, that I should post something after the Tuesday night Bible Study so those who missed it will know what we did! I thought that was a "bon" idea, that is a good idea to do. So just for an update of these past few weeks, we started the Bible study on September 23 with 15 people at Huff-Lane Elementary School. We meet at 6:55 pm and usually finish around 8:05 pm. The series we are doing right now is called "Morals From Mayberry" and so each week I pick an episode or short segment of an episode of the Andy Griffith Show to watch, then compare to a Bible character, then apply the lesson to our own lives. It seems to be going well, and as I said the first night we had 15 people; the second week, 12; the third week, 18; the fourth week, 12; the fifth week, 7; and then last week we had 12 again, so it seems to be up and down sometimes, but we always have fun and learn some good lessons about: responsibility, sacrifice, transformation, and love. Last week, we learned about discipline as we watched the episode of the "spoiled" kid who got his way all the time. It was good, even though it was cold outside, we stayed warm with some good hot coffee, hot chocolate, and a good life lesson from the Bible. Come join us if you can!

Thank the Lord, For He Is So Good!

I usually find myself writing about the church and how God provides for us in such neat and wonderful ways but today I just didn't want to nor couldn't limit my praise for God's provision and goodness just to church related things because God really showed Himself mighty today in taking such good care of my son Andy! Andy got up very early this morning (4:15 am) to embark on his trip to Scotland to do several things there, including getting to hear his favorite preacher, Alistair Begg, speak at a special service! But after leaving Roaoke, he found himself sitting in the Dulles airport for quite awhile waiting to leave and go to JFK. After waiting for a good amount time, he actually had one person who works for the airlines tell him, that he might be better off going back to Atlanta, then back to Roanoke, where he could get up in the morning and try this all over again! It short, it would be impossible for him to get on the flight he needed to get on to go to JFK and then onward to Scotland. When you fly standby you always have that possibility, but then again, with God on your side you might just have other things take place. With things looking a little bleak, I was reminded that with things looking "impossible' this is exactly where we need to be, so we can then see God do the "impossible" and we will then know that without a doubt, beyond our power, that it was totally God doing the impossible. So did Andy make his flight? Did he actually get on the plane that he needed to get on? Yes he did, and not only did he make the flight, but right at this time, he is on his way to Scotland and he is flying first class to get there! God is sooooooooooooo good! He is truly an amazing God full of grace, mercy, love, and yes.......provision, just when we need it! Praise the Lord for His blessings!

A Good Study Time!

God continues to bless us richly and encourage our hearts, just like last night at our Bible Study when we had 18 folks come out to enjoy the "Morals From Mayberry" series! It was just so good to see all those people come in, find a place, and take part in the Bible study.
I know it encouraged me and certainly blessed Ginny's heart too when we see a good number of people show up and enjoy the things we have planned for them! So God certainly blessed and encouraged us greatly last night! And twinning the Andy Griffith Show together with a Bible story or characater seems to work well, especially since the Andy Griffith show has so many good moral lessons in the episodes. So praise the Lord, and it is just so good to know we, with God's big blessing, are making hopefully an eternal difference.

Things Continue To Be Exciting For Life Pointe!

Here is it on the eve of our second Bible Study and I am again just so thankful, excited, and looking forward to what God is doing and has in store for us! Not only am I excited about the Bible Study for tomorrow night, last night, Ginny and I fixed up some post cards to send to all the folks who came to our Block Party that filled in a card showing or expressing an interest in receiving more information about Life Pointe and there were 60 cards filled in from the Block Party! A few folks were in the same family, but with names and addresses of over 50 potential visitors to Life Pointe, that is exciting to me, in that even if just a few folks come to the study who we sent cards to, that will be 5 or 6 more that can hear the word of God, enjoy His blessings, and encourage us to know that Life Pointe is growing! God continues to work and bless especially my heart to confirm we are right where HE wants us to be! Praise His Name for He is so good to us!

History Made!

One day after my 54th birthday and just 3 days after our fantastic Neighborhood Block Party in which we had a great turn out of between 150 and 200 people, we again had something very special happen. Last night on September 23, 2008 we had our very first Life Pointe Church Bible Study. Now while that may not be Big News to some, to me it is great! Even though we have had Bible Studies at our home before, this is the first ever, truly Life Pointe Bible Study! I was excited as a couple came in to Huff-Lane School and when I asked "could I help you, or are you looking for something in particular?" And when the man responded "Life Pointe" it made me realize not only how great God is to finally bring in to being a church that we have been dreaming about; working towards; and praying for, for literally months, and months, and months, but God also reminded me that I now am really the Pastor of a small group and that this is just the beginning of something Big that God has in store for us. It's exciting and was exciting as abou 15 people came in the library at Huff-Lane School and prayerfully will come back next week as I share Jesus with them. So while we haven't had our first true church service, we have had our first true Bible Study! Praise the Lord, and as Tommy Walker sings, "I Have A Hope!"

What A Mighty God We Serve!

Wow, here I am again with a "must post" situation even though it is almost 11:00 pm here on Sunday night, September 21, the day before my birthday! It seems God has already given me my present though, by exceedingly giving me such a blessed day, yesterday at the Block Party! I won't say that I didn't expect God to show Himself mighty, because since I serve a great God, I did expect great things, but still I am just sitting here now, amazed at what my God does for us and did for us, especially yesterday. Not only was it a beautiful, warm, Saturday with a gorgeous blue sky, but I was blessed so much by the Liberty University Students coming down to help and by their apparent willingness to give up a beautiful Saturday to just be used in any way they could to help show the love of Christ to the community. With face painting, moon walks, games, food, door prizes, and with over probably 200 people enjoying the day with us, I was just blessed out of my socks! We had the opportunity to share with many folks, both in person, and by means of a video entitled "Just Stop and Think" that God loves them, has a plan for them, and wants to forgive them and have a relationship with them. A couple of people even prayed to get things right with God so it was wonderful. Either they were making sure or making a decision for Christ and His salvation after being spoken to by the items presented in the film, so it was great if for no other reason that folks met Jesus for the first time, or got things right with Him, like they needed to! So it was a fantastic day! And we have a Bible study set for Tuesday, so the fun and blesssings will hopefully continue to flow there too, as we follow up on the contacts God allowed us to make yesterday! And I was even blessed yesterday, and again tonight by one of the LU students, whose name was Joseph, being willing to offer his help in the future as we have our Tuesday night Bible Studies. I told him to contact me and even last night, at almost 12:00 midnight he indeed kept his intentions and emailed me to again say he would just be willing to help out in any way he could especially working with the youth, which is indeed an area I could use some help with! Isn't it great that God sometimes supplies our needs, even before we can ask for it specifically. So I am continuing to be blessed and have a feeling I will continue to feel blessed by what great things God did for me and for us yesterday! To GOD BE THE GLORY!

A Must Post!

With my eyes so heavy that I am about to fall asleep, I still feel that I must at least post this very important thought before I head off to bed this Thursday evening. The thought simply is thankfulness. Thankful to the Lord for calling me and my family to plant a church and in just 48 hours we will have the biggest event we have sponsored yet in stepping closer to that goal of planting Life Pointe Church. I just finished counting up door prizes that I have been securing for the past 2 months or so, and God blessed so much in that we have between $500 to $600 worth of door prizes for our Block Party! God is great and so good to use in supplying what we need! And so with the prizes and the Liberty Group coming down and with me and my friend Cecil going to Lynchburg tomorrow to pick up the Block Party Trailer so it will be here on Saturday, and with Ginny picking up last minute things tomorrow and with Andy helping with the lists of items and activities that we are going to have on Saturday...............it's definitely an exciting time! And a pivotal time for our church I believe, so yes I am excited with all that we have done by God's grace and all that we are planning on Saturday, looking for our Great God to do Great things, but again I am.........................thankful. Thankful for a loving God who choses ordinary people like us to do perhaps some extra-ordinary things for Him. I am indeed thankful. Praise the Lord, we are on the verge of seeing some Big things happen in the life of Life Pointe! Let us, as Steven Curtis Chapman would say, "Saddle Up Our Horses....We got a trail to Blaze!"

Exciting Things!

Rarely does someone jump up and down or get real excited when the mail comes, but then again maybe if it's a letter from someone special or a BIG check, or just something that is expected, maybe a person might get excited, but I was somewhat excited today when the mail came because the postcards I ordered several days ago for our church came. They have information about the church on them, our church name of course, the ways in which to contact us, but they just remind me of just how far we've come in the venture for God. Months and months ago, we were just thinking and considered stepping out in faith and planting a church. Then came the talks, the training, the studying, the reading, the praying, and then of course the working out of so many details, etc. But more importantly God began working on all of us, that is Ginny, Andy, Ashley, and me to prepare us better for being a family that's planting a church. And of course I could say so much more about that, but just getting the beautiful cards today that promote what God wants us to promote; and knowing we are going to have a Big Block Party on September 20, and hand out a lot of those cards to folks we don't even know as yet, and folks that prayfully might just be a part of Life Pointe Church.....that's why I was excited when the mail came and when the cards came.....and when I'm reminded that God is so good and has so many good things in store for us in the future! Praise His Name!

WoW, God is Working and Blessing!

This has been a good week and it is only Monday! Yesterday I had the opportunity to go and speak at White Rock Baptist Church out on Hardy Road near Moneta and had a very good time! Ginny and I made the trip and I had the opportunity to share the vision God has given me to plant a church and also hopefully challenge the folks there to answer the call, whatever it is, that God has given to them. The people were receptive and very nice to me and God provided for us in a very good way, so I am thankful. I just had total freedom to sing and play the guitar, plus share the message God had given me, so it was a good time all around. Last week after Ginny and I had made the trip to Richmond for our final evaluation, (which we passed and were very thankful for that), Tony called and after giving me the good news about being approved, also ask if he could give me name to someone about speaking in their church, so that's how this past Sunday came about and it just shows how quickly God can make things happen! And today, after talking to some folks at Thomas Road Baptist Church, and Liberty University, the plans for the Block Party are just falling into place in a God blessed, heaven sent way! The main concern last week was that it just seemed like some folks who we thought were going to help with the BP seem to not be able to help after all. So it was a little trying the last part of last week, but I just know God is in this and today He showed us that by the person at Liberty telling me that about 15 or 20 students will probably come down with the trailer and help us with the events surrounding the Block Party! WoW! And they will even help us with the music too! Another WoW! And everyone including Cale Duncan, the students, and especially Debbie and David Wheeler have just been so nice and supportive, and very encouraging, so God is blessing me and the event hasn't even happened yet! And He said He would do exceedingly above all that we ask or think so...............look out! The best is yet to come! It's exciting to see how God has it all worked out, we just have to be faithful and follow His leading!

Good Week!

Wow, I can't believe I have waited so long to post more news about what God is doing both in my life and in the planting of Life Pointe church. I thought several times this past week about posting something when I saw things happening that I just knew had to be God working both on my street and in other places as well, but it seemed I was always busy doing so many things that I didn't get to, but never-the-less I will try to catch up on the posting now. First of all, I finished driving on Tuesday of this past week and on that morning I was touched by the Lord to just go over and pray with my neighbor who was having to go in to see about some internal bleeding. I am so glad I was listening to the Lord because as it turns out, my neighbor really needed someone that morning to not only pray with him, but just to be with him. God blessed and the check up for something that could have even been cancer and thus very serious turned out to be something much less serious and my neighbor is now doing much better and very appreciate of my coming over and just being with him when he needed someone. It was my blessing as well and I think God is doing a work now in my neighbors heart that only He could do and that He could have set up so beautifully. Another blessing this week was our final interview in Richmond to become full fledged church planters. My wife Ginny and I headed down to Richmond on Wednesday and after traveling in the rain (all day!) we arrived, had a good interview, and I think conveyed very well to those present at the interview exactly what the Lord has put on our hearts to do and how to plant the church that He's called us to plant. It was good and now we are one step closer to being church planters in a more fuller sense. And then there's the prizes that God has blessed me with for the Block Party that is coming up on September 20th. I have asked several businesses in the area to donate something and it has been amazing how stosres and businesses have responded so positively! It's great and it's God! So I am really encouraged and grateful to the Lord for all He's done. And finally, as if the Lord hasn't done enough this week, tonight Ginny and I were eating in Hardee's when I noticed someone talking on the cell phone and being very kind and thoughful to his son so I commented on that when he got off the phone and even ended up praying with him just to encourage him to keep that up and to be careful as he traveled. Turns out it was a major league baseball player that plays for the Cleveland Indians who just happened to be in Hardee's and was on his way back to the hotel where he was staying. I gave him a pocket testament and shared with him and it was again just really neat how God crossed our paths and let me share with a total stranger about God and how He is leading us to plant our church and to honor Him. God is amazing and sometimes He is just really amazing! And I almost forgot, He also saw fit to help a turtle across the busy interstate this moring after I just felt so compelled to pray for Him to do that. Little things, big things, it makes no difference, God hears us and answers us, and cares about us and our cares all the time.

God Is Good, All The Time!

I have had a good day, and God has been good to me (as always) and encouraged me to keep going, cause He's with me and in the vision He has given me to start a church and share my faith more with others. First we went to my native Giles County to enjoy the yearly family reunion and not only was it nice to see friends and family, but I got to give a pocket power testament booklet to someone who after hearing me say we were going to start a church hopefully some time this fall, said "well, I need something in my life". Who knows but the Lord might have just planted a seed in the heart of that person to not only come to our church but come to our Savior as well. And then after getting back home, I went to work out at the gym and saw someone there whose family has moved from Giles to Roanoke and will probably be needing a church to go to. I hadn't seen this person for a good while, and I remembered that the last time we spoke that she shared that her family was going to move but I couldn't remember when. And then I was reminded of her and her family when I traveled to Giles today, and I thought, "I'm going to have to hunt her down and ask when her family is going to move up here", and 'lo and behold the Lord lets me see her tonight and learn that her family is all here now and that they are indeed going to need a church to go to, so again, who knows, but that the Lord didn't plant several seeds today to bring folks into His church and maybe even into His family. God is Good, All the Time!

Last Movie For The Summer Months!

Well, we had our last movie for the summer months and I must admit it was a little disappointing in that we only had about 16 folks who showed up tonight. We started off with a bang and had 30 for our movie in June, and then about 26 for July, but really fell off in numbers for tonight, so again, it was a little disappointing, but since we never know exactly how God uses our efforts and blesses in His own way, maybe some seeds were planted tonight just the same as if we had a hundred people there, so I will just leave the results to the Lord. We plow, plant, and let God do the havesting. I will start getting ready now for the Block Party in September. I pray God uses it to bring some folks into our Bible study and eventually into our church.

Refreshing!

Wow! I've taken a day or so before I added this post but I could have sit down as soon as I came back home on Wednesday and typed a book on all the blessings God gave me in the past few days! And now, even after taking a few days to reflect, I still feel God blessed me (us) so much and encouraged me (us) greatly the first part of this week. Ginny and I had the opportunity to go to the Innovate Conference that was held at Thomas Road Baptist Church on Mon., Tues., and Wed. of this week and the conference was just great! From the music being led by Charles Billingsly and Tommy Walker to the great messages from Rick Warren, Jim Cymbala, and others it was just a great time in the Lord. And the break out sessions gave me some encouragement as well as ideas to help me further with planting the church God has called us to plant. It was just really a great time! I saw genuine hearts and sensitive spirits that just seem to be eager to let God get the glory and to remember that it's "not about me" but always about Him and His Kingdom. I didn't want to come home because the music, messages, and fellowship was just really refreshing. God even gave us a hotel after hearing for two days that no rooms were available. But God gave Ginny and I a place to stay that was only 5 mintues from the church so again, God provided us with what we needed and His presence was felt in just so many areas and in so many ways while we were there at the confence. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. I certainly agree with the words of that chorus! And I look forward to God working even more, showing me exactly what He wants me and others to do, to bring His church about.

Staying Faithful!

I can't believe it's August already and that summer is flying right by. I am keeping busy with teaching summer school and helping the rest of the family to remodel Andy's old room so he and Ashley can enjoy a new look but I want to still always be looking for ways to tell others about the Lord and about the church that He's called us to plant. I must admit in recent months we seemed so busy doing things and right now, I don't seem to be doing as much or getting things ready as much as I would like to, but the Lord just seems to tell me to be patient and that He will grow things in His own timing and in His own way. Tonight I was thinking of how I would like to tell others about the church and about the way God has touched my heart in these past few months and given me a burden to share my faith, and lo' and behold, Ginny and I took some things to Goodwill and we ended up telling the person who came out to get our items about the church and how God is working and we ended up having a real good time and conversation with a "total" stranger, but one who I think God had cross our paths on purpose. So just when I want to share.........God brings someone across our path to do just that. Isn't He Amazing? And always has been and always will be! Praise the Lord and let's all continue to be found faithful for Him!

Jesus is Proposing!

I watched a dvd the other day that was entitled JUSTSTOPANDTHINK and if you add the .com after that title, you can watch it too. It was an excellent reminder that in the midst of this sometimes very busy world, that we all need to just stop and think truly about what is important and what really matters. One of the mental pictures that I picked up from this video was the fact that since we are the bride, then that means Jesus is the bridegroom. And since He is the bridegroom, that means He has asked us to marry Him, right? Picture this: Jesus down on one knee, ring in hand, love on His face, tenderness in His voice saying the words: Will You Marry Me? That was a new picture in my mind that I don't know if I had ever really thought of before. And what a picture that is! Jesus asking us to marry Him! My nephew Brad was married yesterday to his now new bride Jenny and I can just imagine Brad asking Jenny to marry him and waiting with love and anticipation for her answer. Jesus does the same to us, calling us to Himself. And since Jesus attended a wedding Himself in John chapter 2, that's another reminder of Him when I attend a wedding. A celebration of love and happiness of especially two people and in fact, a whole lot of people, as families and friends alike, all celebrate a union of love. What a picture..........what a Savior. In case you have never answered this question or pondered your response to Jesus, what do you think? Want to marry Someone who loves you so much that He was willing to die for you and wants only the best for you now? Hope your answer is yes.

Stepping Out In Faith

I have been reminded so much lately of how we all should just step out in faith and make the most of the gifts we have to honor the Lord and brings others to Him, especially with the time being so short that we have. God spoke to my heart months ago about stepping out in faith and starting a church. I am so glad I listened and am currently in the process of starting that church for Him. It's so good to "be about the Father's business" just as Jesus said He must do. When I hear messages about forgetting about ourselves and when I hear songs like the ones Steven Curtis sings that remind me "it's time for letting go, of all of our "if onlys", cause we don't have a time machine" it just makes me feel so good and blessed to know that in the past year or so, that I and my family have done just this and are looking forward to all the new and wonderful things God has in store for us in the future. That's not to say it isn't scary some days and not to say that it is always easy, but I want to be a pioneer, blazing trials, not a settler building forts. It is time to "let go and let God" and to attempt to do things only He can accomplish. It's exciting to know that God is with us, no matter how many are with us on earth just yet, at least the One who has called us is with us, and that's all that really matters.

Movie Madness #2

Tonight we had our second Monthly Movie Madness night and we had an enjoyable time with about 25 folks in attendance. It was a little disappointing in that several people who had said they would come, didn't show up after all, but still we had a good time and I believe we are doing just what God wants us to do, and that is to reach out to the community and to our neighbors. So we will continue to be faithful and to reach out again next month with the movie being "Road To Redemption" and just pray that God uses it to touch hearts and to perhaps introduce Himself to those who may not know Him yet as Savior.

Conference & Upcoming Event

It doesn't seem like it's been that long since the last post I made but time does fly! I was excited yesterday as I nailed down the details of Ginny, Andy, Ashley, and I all planning to attend the Innovate Conference that will be held in Lynchburg at Thomas Roads Baptist Church in the first part of August this summer. I am excited to get to hear and learn from some very blessed pastors from across the nation. I have read books by Jim Cymbala and Rick Warren and now I get to hear them speak, so it ought to be great! And the Lord was again so kind to me in that all four of us get to go at a greatly reduced price because God opened up some doors that allowed me speak to some folks that helped me to attend much cheaper than I thought I might initially have to pay. So hopefully all of us will go and enjoy ourselves and be blessed and be ready to come back and be a blessing to others! Our second outreach effort for the church will be this Saturday so prayerfully it will go well and we will have even more people than last time. We are showing a movie complete with Spanish subtitles. This way we can establish friendships and be able to make some contacts that we can later use to go and visit and get folks interested in the church and in learning more about Jesus. God continues to bless us with the desire to serve Him by serving others. And another big, big, blessing of this week was the fact my daughter-in-law Ashley got a job, so that's great and again a reminder that God provides for our needs! He's so good! And I think the best is yet to come!

A Great Monday!

Some may expect a "let-down" after having such a great, great, week at Camp Ta-pa-win-go last week but the Lord didn't let up on His blessings at all! I had been thinking about going to a conference that's coming up soon but just didn't want to spend too much moneny on it, so I called to inquire about the Innovate Conference that's coming at Thomas Roads Baptist Church on August 11-13 and ended up with a great surprise and blessing. It turns out since I am planting a church that's associated with the SBCV that if I join the Liberty Baptist Fellowship that I can go to all conferences absolutely free! And that's not all! If the church sends in a certain amount each month, I can actually take classes at Liberty University absolutely free too! WoW! I was surprised and yet I shouldn't be, it just seems like God continues to show Himself mighty! And even later I met someone when I was working out at the gym who may be very helpful in getting some flyers out for the next movie we will be having on Saturday July 19th. If this person can help as much as they implied, we could have a really good number of people there, so that would be great. So again, God is good...........of course I should just expect mighty blessings from Him the way He has showed Himself so good these past few days!

Take a "Listen", to what the Lord has Done!

I just wanted to follow up my last post with another bit of information about this past week of my speaking at Camp Ta-pa-win-go in Tennesse. We, that is the Moser family, has been going to this camp for almost 20 years now and we have often witnessed the Lord work on the hearts of both campers and conselors alike and this year was no exception. Many guys came up and told me that the Lord really touched their heart this week and that they had made a decision to follow Him more closely and to let go of some of the things the Lord had spoke to them about and to live for Him more strongly in certain areas of their life. So it was a blessing to see all these decisions being made and all these hearts being "tenderized" by the Master. But not only did God work in a terrific and mighty way, by saving and renewing the hearts of many folks who prayed and got their life right with the Lord, but "Uncle Paul" was a big blessing to me and really out did himself by recording all my messages and almost immeadiately putting them on the podcast of the camp so campers could listen to them again and again even after they left camp and returned home. Paul really worked hard to do this and I appreciate him so much for putting forth this big effort in helping the campers to be able to listen again to the messages that God used to touch their hearts. So often campers hate to leave camp and return to the "world" in which they live normallly because they wish they could take a part of what made camp so special to them this week back home with them to help them continue to live strongly for the Lord and to keep faithful in the decision they made to the Lord at camp. Now, maybe they can stand a better chance in doing this by listening over and over to what God used at camp to grab their heart. While I know I may not be the greatest speaker in the world, I am grateful God used me and my words to show Himself mighty this week in the lives of so many young people. I am blessed, humbled, and indeed grateful that He lets me be a part of His great work. The web site address for the camp is http://www.cbmcamp.com/ and the place to go to find these messages is to the left under "Cool Camper Clicks" then just click on Camp Audio Stuff and you'll be set. God bless and good listening if you decide to check these messages out. While you won't get to see all the powerpoint slides or movie clips I used, hopefully you can still check out the main points of the messages and be encouraged and blessed. Again, I praise the Lord for all He did and still is doing to help use me to be a blessing to others. I am grateful and He indeed is great.

God is Amazing, just like His Grace!

I wanted to tell those of you who prayed for me while I was speaking at camp this week in Tennesse that God certainly answered your and my prayers! I had the opportunity to speak a total of 9 times and on several occasions both in the morning and evening and God just showed Himself mighty! We started off the week on a good note Monday night and the campers seemed to listen well. And then after I finished and about everybody had left, I noticed a conselor sitting talking with a camper and the camper soon bowed his head and asked the Lord to save him! When I went over after they were talking, he told me " I just got saved"! That's always great news when I hear it! So again, we got off to a fine start on Monday night! On Tuesday night, several responded by coming up and praying which was very good but on Thursday night, it just seemed like the Lord broke out revival! It was just so amazing! I finished speaking and just bowed down myself at the front and started praying for God to just touch hearts and show Himself to the campers and just consume the place. With the Amazing Grace video by Chris Tomlin being played for our invitation, I was just humbled before God myself as I bowed and prayed thanking God for how He had touched my heart and how I just wanted Him to use what I had said to touch others. I then noticed a couple of campers coming up and praying on both sides of me. Then there was a few more. Then a few more, and I soon had to move because there was hardly no room at the front to kneel. God just touched heart after heart and people were coming up crying, praying, and getting things settled with God. I had the opportunity to listen to several young people share their heart and what God had spoke to them about and then pray with them. This went on for quite a while, and the next thing I knew, there must have been about 30 to 40 campers (maybe more) who camp up and prayed. Our service started at 8:15 and I believe we ended about 10:00 or later with several still sitting, praying, and talking with conselors. Several shared at the campfire later that night on what they prayed about and how God had touched their heart about making a decision for Him. Then on Friday morning, apparently God wasn't through working yet! After giving the invitation for folks to come down and pray as God led them, I looked down and normally I don't even worry about numbers or am not too concerned with them, but I thought I would just count the number who were praying while I waiting as God again touched hearts, and 17 campers were on their knees talking to God about things He had spoke to them about. It was just an amazing week and to God be all the Glory! Thanks for praying and being a very important part in the working, saving, renewing, and delivering of souls and lives for Jesus Christ this week! Thank you so much. I'm still praising Him!

Camp Time This Week!

We had a good time at church this morning at Fellowship Community Church. The music was good and one particular song "Worthy Is The Lamb" touched my heart and just reminded me that Jesus truly is the "darling" of heaven and gave it all up to come down to "seek and to save that which was lost" and "that" was me....and you, if we will but trust Him as our Saviour. I have and trust that all who might read this blog message would too. As for this upcoming week, I am planning on going to Camp Ta-pa-win-go tomorrow on Monday, so please pray for me and Ginny as we minister to young people and pass out cups of "living water" to them. And as I have said before, you can't help but get wet yourself sometimes when you're giving water to others, so I pray God blesses Ginny's and my heart as we sing, speak, and love others all in the name that is above all names, that being JESUS.

Lessons From God

I still remember last week being such a blessing in several ways. Our Bible study group got to go and minister by serving dinner at the Salvation Army's Red Shield Lodge downtown Roanoke; then on Saturday we had our first outreach effort for Life Pointe Church by having a Car Show-Car Wash plus our first Monthly Movie Madness; so it was a very, very busy week but a blessful one. This week our Bible study was about the parable of the Good Smaritan, again reminding me of how we are suppose to be servants and take care of those who need to learn of the love of God. So this upcoming week, from Monday until Friday, I get to visit Camp Ta-pa-win-go, my favorite camp to go to in Tenn. where I get to speak about 9 times to junior highers. I want to ask you to pray and to ask the Lord to just use what I say so that others might be drawn to Him and become fellow servants, just as Jesus was, who was the ultimate example of what a servant is. I enjoy camp and speaking, and I look forward to next week, and just pray that God would work mightily on hearts, including my own.

Making History for God

Thanks for all of you who prayed for our Monthly Movie Madness Night that was tonight at Huff-Lane Elementary School! Although we have not officiallly started Life Pointe Church yet, this was our first outreach to the community and so it was sort of the first event for our future church! We had around 16 people at first, and then about 1/2 hour into the movie, the door opened and a couple of families totally about 14 people came in, so all in all we had 30 people for our first event, so that was good and God blessed us! We first arrived at the school this morning at about 10 o'clock for our Car Show/Car Wash and that lasted until 4 then we worked to get ready for the movie tonight at 7, so it was a very busy day. Bascially we left the house at about 10 this morning and got back at 10 tonight! But again, thanks for your prayers and all you who came and helped, I truly appreciate it! And thanks again to those who came to the Red Shield Lodge and helped us to serve food to the homeless folks this past Wednesday, it was a blessing to serve others! It was exciting today to see us finally have our very first event for the future Life Pointe Church of Roanoke! I thank God for blessing us as He did and prayfully it is the start of many more blessings to come in the future as God opens doors and hearts for us to glorify Him!

First Event for Life Pointe Church!

It's exciting! It's amazing! We are, after much work, but importantly, after GOD has SHOWED HIMSELF mighty, we are going to have our first Life Pointe Church event! This coming Saturday at 7:00 pm we are going to have Monthly Movie Madness. A time that family in our neighborhood and community can come and enjoy a free movie, along with free popcorn, and free drinks, all compliments of Life Pointe Church. We have banners up in the yard of the school that we hope will grab folks attention as they drive by these next few days. I just pray that God will bless our efforts and work as only He can to show folks that we are going to be there for them. I can't believe we're hours away from washing cars, (that's from 10:00 until 4:00) and showing cars, (we've asked some folks to come show their nice cars off) and showing a movie to show folks we care. May God get the Glory for all we do. Why He chooses us, I don't know. Why He chooses me, I don't know. But I am just so glad He did. So humbly we will continue to march, blaze new trails, and do things that bring joy to us, put a smile on His face, and hopefullly and prayerfully will make a difference for eternity. God Be Praised!

Blessings From God!

As I begin this new week, I cannot help but think again and thank God again at how richly He blessed us so much last week with so many answers to prayers. Some we didn't even have the chance to ask, He just took care of it before we could even think of it. And some of them are small details while others are big ones, but still God is moving and proving Himself to be in this adventure that He has called us to be a part of. To name just a few of the things He took care of last week, consider the following:
1. Andy designed a web page for the church on Sunday to go along with the blog page Ashley had already set up for us. The site looks great and I think will really tell folks about us in a good way!
2. We put our freshly designed website up and then on this past Friday even signed up to have our own personal domain name which is: http://www.lifepointeroanoke.com/
3. Andy also put me on FaceBook so to help spread the word about the church and what our future as well as current plans are.
4. A church stamp was designed and ordered so we could put our name on the tracts, booklets, etc. that we hand out to anyone.
5. Flyers, bulletins, and tickets were designed and then printed up for our very first event which is this Saturday, June 21st, 2008! We are going to have a Car Show/Car Wash from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and then show a movie at 7:00 p.m. It will be a busy day!
6. Folks are volunteering to bring their cars for the car show.
7. Andy designed a banner and I took the idea to the Fast Signs and we now await the banner being finished so we can hang it out at the school so folks will see what we are doing. Should be a great advertisement for us and hopefully will get the word out to our community and neighbors!
8. Final confirmation and approval was gained to use the site we have selected, Huff-Lane MicroVillage Elementary School.
9. Ginny, Ashley, and Andy continue to be a big blessing to me and a great help in getting all the work accomplished that needs to be done.
10. I was interviewed by the Pocket Testament League and I was able to share some of the ways I have used the great little books they make available. The booklets contain the Gospel in the front and the book of John following these pages. With the colorful covers, these books are great to witness with and I encourage everyone to try and get some and use them. In case you need the web addreses here it is: www.pocketpower.org
11. Finally God is a Great God and continues to show Himself Mighty!

Missions

I write this at about 10:00 pm after spending some time tonight meeting with friends who were hosting a man whose home is Ndhiwa which is a village of Kenya, East Africa. When I first met and spoke with Peter, he seemed like a pleasant man who spoke of things "back home" including a school for first through fourth graders of which he serves as sort of a "headmaster". Plus he has planted four churches of which he is still the pastor of the last one he planted. And then he spoke of the orphanage which has over 280 children as participants. During dinner, he spoke of these things, and quickly after dinner wanted to share the video of slides that showed the things he had been talking about. As I watched, I watched with keen interest and then as I heard Peter's heart and saw the young children who so deperately need clean, clear, drinking water to survive and classrooms to learn, and a dormitory to live, my heart began to break. I went into the other room just to think and pray and waited for a time to speak to Peter about what was going through my mind and also touching my heart. As I had the chance to speak to Peter again in a short time, my tears flowed, my heart broke, and I prayed with a brother who I had just met this evening, but who has a burden for souls and has a background that I so much can identify with in some ways. A headmaster of a school; a person who left education and wanted to plant a church; and a person who has a burden from Jesus to help others. Although I am much more blessed here in the U.S., I still felt a connection to a fellow brother in Christ. I want to help Peter and so I pray for him and give to him, and would indeed count it a privilege to actually go and help him with the school, church, and orphanage that he wants to build and grow. So pray. Pray for Peter and his family of not only a few, but hundreds of people who are blessed by this man's vision and the hand of our loving, gracious, God.

God's Goodness!

I am just reminded again today at how good God is to us and how He has really blessed us this week in getting more and more things ready for the church He wants us to plant. Andy's work on the church webpage is so valuable and makes it so much easier for folks to look us up and learn more about us. I am excited and very pleased at all the things he has been working on and making look so good to give the church a pleasant "look" for folks to see. Web pages take forever to work on sometimes and yet Andy's got it ready and we will soon have our domain name to put out there for folks to see. It's exciting! And Ashley continues to be a blessing to me too with her working out many of the details and planning things so they will be taking care of as our future events draw closer. And even designing this blog page to let me both chronicle things as they happen and to inform those who want to know what's going on and how God is richly blessing us so much is just great! And yesterday Ginny let me know that several things that need to happen for us to have our first event on June 21 are now in place. Obtaining permission and getting forms in, and just a host of details that need to happen, yet take so much time to do, are now in place and it's again just a reminder to me that "the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord". To me that means not only does God give the orders, which are great, but God places things in order, which is also great. I'm glad God gives us our orders and puts things in order, so everything is organized and works to the very best! I am so blessed to have the most supportive folks around to be the ones in my very own family. I am indeed blessed beyond measure.

Pocket Testament League

I don't recall right off if I have mentioned the Pocket Testament League or not but it's an organization that can help folks obtain a small booklet that gives the plan of salvation in the front few pages, then also gives the complete book of John for folks to read after they accept Christ as their Savior. The little booklets really are great and I find myself using them more and more as I try to share my faith with others. Tonight, after Bible Study, and after us talking about Jesus sending the 12 disciples out in the world to witness (Matthew chapter 10), our study group went over to Sonic to get a milkshake. There is this one particular young man who is always kind and courteous to us and after we got up and got ready to go, I gave him a booklet and then got the chance to share with him for about 2o mintues. Pray that God will touch his heart and he will consider some things I shared but more importantly, he will read the booklet that he now has and see his need to have Christ in his life. If you want to get some of these booklets, try the address: www.pocketpower.org and you can see how to get them. And if they ask you for a reference number you can use this one: 272039. I really think these are great, and I really encourage you to try to share your faith more with others. Remember, Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. We really need to take an active part in helping this to happen.

God Is Working!

God continues to show Himself mighty and open doors and just bless situations when we need His help! I went today to check on getting a banner made for the upcoming movie nights that Life Pointe wants to do this summer as an outreach to the community, so before I even got out of the car I just bowed my head and ask the Lord to bless as we do the work He's called us to do for the church, and whether it's small details, or big ones, just bless us and work things out so we can accomplish much for Him. I said "amen", then walked in to the office and ask to speak to someone I had worked with long ago. He came out after a few mintues, remembered me, offered me help, showed me the colors I wanted to use, gave me encouragment and by the time I left, had gave me a price that was probably half of what I was expecting to pay. Again, God provided more than I ask and gave me a "lift" just by showing me He is in what we are doing and will take care of all the things we need to get done. It's humbling to know the God who made the universe takes time to work out a price on a banner. He's good to us and if we all can just keep that in mind I know we will "worry" or "wonder" a whole lot less on how we are going to get things done.

Good Weekend!

This past weekend was a good one starting even with Friday night when Ginny and I got to go out and celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary! There is a resturant called the Liberty Station in Bedford that we like to go to for special occasions and this definitely qualified for that! With presents for me and roses for Ginny, the evening was very nice and I am indeed thankful for a pretty wife that is so supportive and faithful and thoughful, especially when I have often, over the years, led our family over some rough terrain, but to places that I knew God was leading. It seems I am continuing to do that as we seek to plant Life Pointe Church here in Roanoke. But God has been faithful to us over the years and I am confident that He will continue to show Himeself mighty in all that we are attempting to do for His Glory and pleasure. And Andy and Ashley continue to be a blessing to me also. Andy worked very hard this weekend to produce a web page for the Church with lots of good info and details and it looks great, so be on the lookout for that soon as it will help us get the word out about the church in a better and probably much faster way! It is really exciting to see things taking place and I know that so much work goes in to something like a web page or making banners, etc. even though it may not appear like that at times. I certainly know better! So a big thanks to Andy for working hard on the web page and just for he and Ashley for all the work and encouragement they do and give to me as we pioneer the start of the church. God has given me much to be thankful for and I do praise Him for it!

God Is Good All The Time!

I know God is good all the time but on some days He really outdoes Himself and shows Himself mighty in ways that can only be Him! Today is one of those days! When I arose this morning I soon was talking to Andy and Ashley and found that they had stayed up till about 2 a.m. working on things for the church. That alone blessed my heart knowing they share the same vision I do and are willilng to sacrifice sleep and are excited to keep right on working even though it's late. They shared with me what they were working on and ways to make our summer outreach ideas even better! And I was excited just hearing about their ideas and how we could implement them. Andy had designed a flyer with Ashley's ideas in mind and I thought they were great. After talking for awhile I had to get on to school, but I was blessed to see how much effort and time Andy and Ashley both had put in to helping make our summer outreach and thus the church to be as effective and encouraging as it can be! Then after arriving at school I emailed a person who is vital to granting us permission to do certain things this summer and after praying and giving the matter to the Lord, He just seemed to say, "I'll take care of it!" And then he gave me the verse as I was praying, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" and I just felt peaceful after that and knew that He would indeed take care of it and take care of us. I just thought, what could be more His will than this, when we are trying so hard to reach the people of the community and to provide hope and a connection to the church that I believe He will use to reach so many people. So I had peace and as it turned out, a few hours later, I learned that the person had indeed said "ok" to our requests and God had helped us take not a big step, but a giant leap in the direction we need to go! So praise His name for His answer to prayer and His confirmation that we are right smack dab in the center of His will! The blessings didn't stop there though, for when I got home from school, I found that Andy had established a spot on FACE BOOK for me and Ashley had found out some news about showing our movies this summer. Again, I thought God is so good and I am grateful, thankful, and surprised and excited at just how much our Good God can accomplish through us and others all in the span of one day! I'm grateful for Andy and Ashley's invaluable help and for a God that just has blessed me over and over today! God is good all the time but today He was, as Tony the tiger would say................... GRRRRRRRRREAT! Makes you wonder, what is our Great God going to do next??!!

Plant, Plow, Harvest!

I had the opportunity to attend the Evangelism Conference held at Green Ridge Baptist Church back in March, sponsored by the SBCV which had the theme PUSHING BACK THE DARKNESS. One of the session speakers there was the evangelism professor from Liberty U., David Wheeler. I recall he made the point that if we plant and plow, then God will bring the harvest. This is so good to remember because we often feel that we have failed if we don't win someone to the Lord instantly or everytime we share our faith. It's God who brings the harvest, so that should help us to know that if we are just faithful "plowers" and "planters" then God will do the rest. With that said, I felt I had a good night of plowing and planting last night even right on the very street where I live. It seems God is allowing me to talk more to my neighbors and get to know some of them better and even last night let me meet a couple that I had never spoke to in my life. So with new folks moving in or just with those that I haven't had the opportunity, (or taken the time or opportunity) to meet, it seems God is honoring my heart's desire to allow me to get more acquainted with folks, build bridges, establish relationships, and (prayerfully) plant and plow where I never have before. It's just amazing how for so long I would just come home, go in my house, and not really been concerned about those around me. Sure I might say hello, but not much more than that. Now though, since doing my prayer walk, and catching more of what God's vision is, I see "needs" not just neighbors; and souls not just people. And God has just really encouraged me that if I don't grow weary and if I continue to plant with tears of joy that one day, maybe even sooner than I think, He will being harvesting, and what a day that will be!

Summer Events

I must admit I get a little anxious or "antsy" sometimes for things to hurry and start and then again on other days, (like the past couple) instead of feeling like "yeah, let's get going!" I feel a little low or wonder "can we really do all this?" But then again, after not staying low or fretful for very long, (Praise the Lord!), Jesus helps me to think through things and again focus on Him, His power, and the things that lie ahead. He gets me excited about them and reminds me that they will take place soon enough, so just stay faithful and keep preparing for the things He has placed on my heart to do. Like today, I was encouraged and got excited just by talking to Ginny, Andy, and Ashley about some things we are planning and want to do for this summer. One of these ideas is to have a family movie night every month this summer and thus introduce the church to the neighborhood plus give the folks a fun, family time together in a Christian atmosphere. What better way to build the church than to have evangelistic outreaches? And I started picturing big banners, and then Andy designed a "poster", which is what the big banner will look like, and I just started getting excited again about all the possibilities that await us and the church God wants to build. Does that mean all the details have been worked out?? Of course not, so please pray that they will be worked out and that these dreams and visions will soon take root and become reality, not just ideas. But please do pray because I believe God is with us, and as the Bible says..."If God be for us, who can be against us?" but we need everybody's prayers to do all that God wants us to do.

Sharing Your Faith

We just finished our 4 week study in our Bible Study Group about sharing your faith with those around you. Although our study was just a month long, I am reminded daily how important this endeavor is and that we need to be looking for ways to share our faith everyday. Visitation and sharing our faith is not something that happens every Thursday night at 7:00 pm but should be something we are looking to do 24/7 with whomever God places in our lives. We need to be alert for this because it could be at Sheetz getting gas; at the credit union with a teller; or with one of our neighbors that just happens to be walking down the sidewalk. I Peter 3:15 says "always be ready with an answer for those who ask you to give an account for the hope that is in you..." May this be our constant goal in life, so we can help do what Jesus our Master came to earth to do and that is "to seek and to save that which was lost." Who does God want you or me to talk to today?

Steven Curtis Chapman

With all the good things the Lord blesses us with it's certainly no reason to ever have reason to not be thankful and happy in the Lord. Yet I know that all of us have days that we struggle and don't necesesarily want to smile about what is going on in our life. I can imagine that today is such a day for the Steven Curtis Chapman family. While this man has certainly been a blessing to me over the years with his uplifting and God honoring music that has both made me have tears of joy as well as tears of tenderness, I just cannot imagine what it must be like for him and the rest of this Godly family to lay to rest their youngest member, Maria today. At the tender age of 5 years old, how could this family say goodbye to someone who has captured their hearts in such a short time on this earth? Saying goodbye is never really something we look forward to but can you imagine what this family must feel today? Pray then for the Chapman family who must endure a funeral today for someone who just celebrated her 5th birthday a few days ago. With one son, Caleb, graduating from high school and the oldest daughter Emily announcing her engagement to be married and now for the family to have the difficult task to make funeral arragements, could a family have any more emotional pulls than this family has had in the past week? My heart breaks even though I don't know this family personally, although I have had the joy of shaking hands with Steven Curtis on a few occasions and thanks to his music feel like I do know him. But I even wonder myself, why am I so touched and effected when I don't really know these guys? It's amazing that God gives us a heart for our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, especially in times of sorrow when they need our prayers so much. So we do as the word says and rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep and are reminded that we have not a high priest who has not been effected with hurt and sorrow of His own. And above all, we are not a people without hope. So let's pray, especiallly today for the comfort and healing of the Steven Curtis Chapman family. I'm sure they would appreciate us doing that.

BLOCK PARTY in September!

In the past few days I am reminded that there are always details to work out as we plan events or activities for the church and that's to be expected so that's ok. (A little tiring sometimes but still ok!) And the minute you figure out one thing, then it seems there are a couple of other things to consider and finalize, but with all that said, and with a couple of meetings with different folks to help sort things out, it appears that our community wide BLOCK PARTY on September 20th is definitely an all GO! So on September 20, 2008 (a Saturday) we will conduct our community wide BLOCK PARTY to help folks have a fun day with the whole family and to invite them to be a part of Life Pointe Church. And more importantly that day, we hope to expose folks to the love and saving grace of Jesus and introduce them to the only person who is able to forgive their sins, provide eternal hope, and give purpose and peace to their lives. So whether folks become a part of the church or not, please pray that Jesus will be honored by our efforts and become the Savior of many of the folks who choose to attend the BLOCK PARTY that day. Things are exciting and God is working, and that alone is reason to praise the Lord! But I'm glad there are so many other things to praise Him for too, aren't you? I will be putting the details of the BLOCK PARTY on the blog page soon, but do keep the event in prayer, because God loves it when we pray!

Gateway Person

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word.......I'm again filled with joy and song as I think today of how much God blesses us and loves us! Max Lucado said in one of his books that "your picture is the one held on with a magnet on God's refridgerator." The mere thought of when I speak to God that I have His undivided attention and complete focus is just incredible and overwhelming. "Oh, how He loves you and me" as another song says! And I again am amazed at just how Great and awesome God worked yesterday as I met with a person who can help us acquire a building to use for our church. She was just so encouraging! I could have said so much more in yesterday's post but I thought it was probably long enough as it was but I just have to mention the fact that I think yesterday God gave us our "gateway" person. A gateway person is someone who can be instrumental in helping the church acquire things they need and sort of "pave" the road as we establish the church. I ask after I posted yesterday to make sure if I could mention her name and she said "sure", so I want to thank God for allowing me to meet Gloria Williams yesterday. She was so encouraging with her faith and her enthusiasm for Jesus! The fact that I walked in not knowing exactly how my meeting might go and instead walked out feeling I had been to a praise and worship service is simply amazing. Gloria's love and strong stand for the Lord is great and her concern for her family and others is also quite evident, so I thank the Lord for Him not just allowing me to work towards getting a building to worship Him in, but to let me meet a fellow servant of His who greatly blessed my heart and encouraged me! May God bless us all by letting our paths cross with those who love Jesus and desire to praise Him and lift Him up as much as we do. It was wonderful to have a kindred spirit especially with someone who was a total stranger an hour ago! Only a great, wonderful, and loving God can do such things, so the praise is His!

More Building News!

Praise the Lord, oh my soul! And all that is within me, praise His Holy Name! God is so good; God is so good; God is so good, He's so good to me! I'm astounded, I'm astonished and amazed.......I am speechless! I thought I would start off this post with some singing since God has indeed blessed me today in a very special way! This morning I decided to go (again after God seemed to place it on my heart) and speak with the person who is in charge of renting school buildings and allowing groups to use a school for a certain reason. I think it's even neat that on the application and information page they refer to it as a school plant. Since we say the words "church plant", it sounds like we are on the same page even before we start. Anyway, as I got ready to leave my car before I went into the office of the person that I needed to talk to, I again prayed and said "Lord, be with me and bless me today as I meet with this person; I know I haven't bathed this matter in prayer as much as I would like to, but since I just found out who I needed to talk to on Tuesday, I want to follow it up and find out what I need to do to further nail down the details of acquiring the school that I believe You want us to use for our church. Be with me as I meet with this person." God could not have answered my prayer and blessed me and the meeting anymore that He did! After hunting for the office a few mintues and actually seeing a couple of people I knew, I finally made my way downstairs to the office of the person I needed to talk to. As I walked into the office, I noticed a Bible sitting on the corner of the person's desk. As I begin to tell my story there was an instant connection and I found myself both listening and telling about families, needs, faith, and living for Jesus. By the time I left, we had both been blessed by the Lord, shed some tears of joy, and even prayed together! How could God have blessed our meeting any more than He did?! I was greatly encouraged and am looking forward to how God will further open doors to hearts as well as buildings to help us acquire just what we need so we can point lives to Him and see folks saved and changed. I felt like I had been to a prayer meeting when I left the person's office. God gave us a spirit of not only cooperation and fellowship but a reminder of the spirit that comes only from Him, the Holy Spirit, which just seemed to prevail as we met. Isn't God amazing? Instead of a meeting, two believers enjoyed fellowship! Hallelujah!

Building News

Although it's nothing definite because I know there is still much work to be done, never-the-less, I was encouraged yesterday when I paid a visit to the main office of Roanoke City Schools to talk to someone about obtaining the building that I have been praying about ever since we have even thought about planting a church. I had wrote a letter about 3 weeks ago and after not hearing back from anyone I decided to go and check out what the situation was. It seemed when I got up on Tuesday morning that the Lord brought the building to mind and it just seemed like it was a good time to go and see what was going on with the process of obtaining it. I must admit I was a little scared to go because I didn't want to hear NO for an answer. But God reminded me that He is in charge so I made the visit and then learned that who I had previously wrote the letter to wasn't even the person who was in charge of renting the buildings. So, I was given another name to contact along with instructions on how to obtain forms, etc. to send with my request. At least I felt like I was now getting somewhere. When I was later able to check out the forms and prices on line, I again was a little hesitant to look at the price list but to my delightful surprise, the rental prices weren't as high as someone had mentioned to me before and I again was reminded that God will indeed take care of us and provide for us, especially when we are going about the business of winning folks to Him. As I mentioned at the first, I still have to fill out some forms and meet with some people, but the goal is clearer and nearer than I feel it use to be, so God is working! Praise His Name!

New Day, New Week, New Opportunities!

I dropped Andy off at the airport early this morning at about 5:07 am so he could catch his flight to Cleveland, Ohio. He is going to a Christian Leadership-Pastor's Conference at Parkside Church where Alistair Begg is the pastor. Andy loves to hear Alistair speak and has many of his sermons recorded, and Alistair's words have influenced Andy very positively to study more and dig deeper in the scriptures, so as a Dad I am thrilled Andy gets to go hear him in person! God has provided Andy a host family to stay with and with transportation to and from the conference so it's an exciting time to watch God work even before the conference begins! Pray that Andy is blessed richly while in Ohio and attending all the seminars and hearing the different speakers, and pray that Andy will be a blessing to all those he comes in contact with too. As I watched Andy go through the line this morning and then through the restricted area where I could no longer go with him, I was sort of sad as I waved goodbye and then found myself looking forward to seeing him again. I was then reminded of another Son that is coming back and how we need to have a sense of urgency about us to tell everyone about Him before He does. And just as I look forward to seeing Andy when he returns, we all need to be looking forward to seeing Jesus when He returns to catch us up to Himself. As we wait, may we that know and love Jesus be actively telling and sharing with others about the love that Jesus has so richly given and shared with us.

Blessings This Week!

I am reminded today (again!) of just how good the Lord is to us! Of course we all know He's good and that He takes good care of us and provides us with blessings that we just don't deserve but today, as I glance back over this past week, I am filled with thankfulness. On Thursday, May 8th, we got to celebrate our son Andy's 25th birthday! He's such a blessing to us and many others. And then today we got the next blessing to be part of our daughter-in-law Ashley's graduation from the University of Mary Washington. Despite the fact it rained most of the graduation ceremony, we still were glad to be a part of it and very proud of Ashley's accomplishments. So not only did I (and others) enjoy Andy's birthday and Ashley's graduation this week, but just the fact that both of them are growing in the Lord and continue to be a big, BIG, blessing to me as I work to plant the church is just enough to fill my heart with joy. God is indeed good!

Bible Study

Tonight is the first night in our Bible Study series about "Sharing Your Faith". It is such a vital part of what I want our church to be. The Lord Himself said He came to seek and to save that which was lost so if it was the major reason for His coming to the earth it certainly ought to be something we hold dear to our hearts as well. Pray that we all "catch" the vision and do what God would be pleased with.

New Blessings!

Prayer walking continues to be a blessing to me. For those who don't know or remember what I'm talking about, several few weeks ago I simply started praying for those people who live right on the same street as I do. Since I had been walking Tory our cat on a leash for years, it wasn't really too much difference to add in a prayer as I walked. Now as Tory and I stroll along, I sort of pause as I pass the different houses and ask God to bless those who live in the house; bring them to a relationship to Himself; and provide me a way to share what the Lord as done in my own life. As I was walking up and down the street last night, I thought it would be so good to share with someone or simply to meet someone that God may just later use to become part of our church and be a blessing to others. As I was wondering which house or person God might use, a dog started barking and ran across the street to me. As I reached down to pet him, the person who owned the dog came across the street to retrieve him. We spoke only briefly but long enough to exchange names so that now I have a name to pray for. As I continued walking down the street back to my house, I couldn't help but ask.."Lord was that the person I was praying for?" Who knows, but it sure seemed like God gave me a quick answer to prayer if it indeed was. I was also reminded as I thanked the Lord for the opportunity He gave me to say hello, that as we pray for souls to come to Him, what could be more closer to His heart than the prayer for someone to be saved. After all, Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.

New Series in May

I want to start a new series in the month of May for our Bible study that we are currently having on Tuesday nights. The series is "Where's The Fire?" or subtitle: "Giving Your Faith Away!" It is really a series on seeing the need to witness to others and finding a comfortable yet effective way to do so. With many folks it often seems sort of like Neil Armstrong's statement when he walked on the moon, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!" when we try and witness to others. It's something that can be intimidating at times, but nevertheless something we can learn to do, need to do and are always glad we did! The series will cover the fears, excuses, and reasons we sometimes hesitate in sharing our faith, but then establish some useful, practical, and hopefully effective "tools" that anyone can use to better share their testimony and faith with others. And I believe I can benefit from this series just the same as anyone else and it's been good for me in preparing it because God has given me, especially since calling me to plant the church, a stronger sense of urgency and to boldly speak up and share with others their need for Jesus. Pray that all of us at the Bible study gain a new found confidence in sharing what God has done in our own lives with those around us that need to hear the good news of Jesus.

Prayer Walks

I mentioned in another post that I had started my prayer walks several weeks ago on the street where we live. I must admit that up until our Basic Training sessions I hadn't really thought too much about taking prayer walks but it really does help. I'll go out at night usually and while I am walking our kitty cat Tory on a leash, I will pause (as much as Tory allows me to) in front of the houses of my neighbors and lift them up to the Lord and just ask that He work in their lives. There is nothing magical or mystical about pausing in front of a person's house and praying for them, it's just that this simple activity has helped me personally to visualize the needs of my neighbors and to condition and prepare my own heart so when the opportunity arises for me to speak to them, I am already focused on what I want to share with them. Up until now, I might have only noticed a neighbor for a few seconds going into their house. Now I try to picture them and what their spiritual needs might be and how God can use me to minister to them. I must admit that the simple act of taking a prayer walk has really helped me to better "know" my neighbors without saying a word. God is preparing me and I thank Him for that.

Place to Worship

The letter I wrote concerning permission to use a local elementary school for our place of worship is in the mail and on its way to the person who can grant us that permission. Pray that we get a positive answer soon and that we can begin to make more plans for Life Pointe's new home! It would be so good to finally have a place to call our own and one that we can direct folks to when we talk to them about the church. This would be a huge step for us in the progression of our church. Please pray for God to show Himself mighty!

Praises and Requests!

I am happy to say that a person from the street we live on came to our Bible study this past Tuesday night! This is the same person God allowed me help jump start her car just one week ago! God is beginning to work on our street so Praise Him for that! I would also quickly add that for the past few weeks I have been doing a prayer walk on my street asking God to open doors and just allow us to offer hope to the folks who are our neighbors. Isn't it interesting that since I have been praying that God answers my prayer and gives us those opportunities? God is good and deserves all the Praise! It's exciting to see things starting to happen, right on our own street! Pray that it continues and more folks come as we have opportunity to talk to them about the Lord.

What's Been Happening Lately!

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I would "catch up" and mention a couple of things that have happened lately that continue to help confirm, excite, and encourage me in what I believe God has called me (and others) to do! One thing is that I finally received a box a week ago that I had ordered from the Pocket Testament League. The box contained the 30 little booklets that serve as a tract but also have the book of John in them. I first saw these booklets when my son Andy, my daughter-in-law Ashley, and I went to the SBCV Evangelism Conference at Green Ridge Baptist Church here in Roanoke March 11. Andy showed me the booklets and I thought they were really good to hand out to people, especially since they had a colorful cover to them and were "eye-catching" in that respect. Then I forgot about them until we all went to our second weekend of Basic Training in Hopewell, Virginia at the end of March when a pastor who I had met at the first training session named Barry Ginn gave me a few more of them from his pastor's study. It was neat being reminded of these booklets again and between seeing them again plus the fact of being encouraged to share our faith from the Basic Training sessions, I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and give them away. I ended up giving three of them to the maids who were working out in the hotel hallway. It's amazing of how God gives you new boldness and blesses you to step out and share with others. I even got online before I left the hotel and ordered some more booklets to give out from the Pocket Testament League who offers all types of them with different covers, etc. It turns out they are about a dollar a piece so I couldn't immeadiately pay for them, but then learned after being put on a list that someone was willing to "sponsor" me and so this past week I got a box in the mail from the Pocket Testament League that contained the 30 booklets that I ordered so that was encouraging and so now I have more to give out to those that God crosses my path with who are willing to listen and accept them. This may sound like a simple thing but still was a big blessing to me to see how God has blessed so much in the past few weeks especially. And we continue to be blessed with our Tuesday night Bible study and it seems folks enjoy coming and learning more about God's Word. The past few weeks we've been doing a very simple yet effective means of studying the Word in that we've been taking one verse and then writing it; paraphrasing it in our own individual words; then sharing how we can practically put it to use in our lives. After talking about sharing our faith with others a week or so ago, I was able to instantly put this to use as I was outside walking our kitty cat Tory (yes, we walk our cat on a leash) and it so happened that one of my neighbors was outside working on her car and needed a jump to start it. Just that little incident gave me a chance to share my faith and learn more about one of my neighbors. I just thought it was so neat how God instantly answered my prayer on wanting to share with someone. He sure answers our prayers fast sometimes!

WOW, where do I start?!!

WOW, where do I start?!! So much has taken place, both in my life and within my heart during these past 5 or 6 months that it’s sometimes difficult to grasp. Maybe the thought, idea, or vision to what I believe God has now called me to do, has always been around in the back of my mind or has at least crossed my thoughts before but never has God told me to do it…….....until now! And I am so sure that He has. I should mention I have spoken at summer Bible camps for over 20 years; spoken at weekend retreats for church groups; filled the pulpit many times for different occasions; spoken at banquets; taught Wednesday night Bible study for months; taught Sunday school for years; and even preached one revival and two funerals (my precious Momma and Daddy). Still I don’t think God had called me to do what I am about to do until He called me now.
Maybe it got a little more close to me about a year or so ago in the summer of 2006 when my former pastor Greg Naude announced he was leaving the church to go and plant a church in Northern Virginia. He invited me to go with him one day and meet Tony Inmon who helps folks who want to plant churches to do just that and was helping Greg to plant one in the Haymarket area. So I went and talked, and mostly listened, but just didn’t feel it was what God wanted me to do at that particular time. Then Greg left about 6 months later at the end of December to go to the Haymarket area, (I even got to preach for him the last Sunday, December 31, 2006) and I started the new year, 2007, trying to keep up a couple of things God had led me to do at the church and the church started the new year without a pastor.
As the months grew on, I tried to fill in where I could (mainly doing Wednesday night Bible study for a good while) and continued with the “Monthly Movie Madness” on the last Saturday of the months and also with Stage II, a contemporary style service we had also stared about a year or so ago on the last Sunday night of the month. I can still remember one Saturday night in the summer when we had almost 50 people come to our movie night, when we showed it outside on the back of the church wall, sort of like a “drive-in” without the cars. With good hotdogs, snacks, praise songs, and a time for devotions, I felt God blessed, and the evening seemed to go real well despite the rain that caused us to move the event inside for the last portion of it. As the fall months came, things seem to change somewhat and at times get tougher, and I felt God starting to speak to my heart about doing something else.

Answer to Prayer

As God was touching my heart about doing something more for Him, He also taught me a very valuable lesson on how to pray with more intensity and the amazing thing, is that He did this using a little kitty that we adopted and named “Hokie”. Just a word on how we came to have “Hokie” in our family. Last April on the first Sunday after the horrible shootings at Virginia Tech, I wanted to go to Blacksburg to see if I could help by handing out cold drinks and just seeing if I could pray with anyone. I felt God blessed my time and did allow me to pray with a few people but as I drove back to Roanoke I almost felt sort of numb. When I reached my home I felt so heavy hearted that after going inside to let my wife Ginny know I was home, I just wanted to sit out in the front yard for awhile and think and pray. As I prayed, I ask God to bring comfort to those people I had just talked with at Virginia Tech because they seemed so hurt, so sad, and so in need of answers and comfort. Then I said “and God I could use some comfort as well, just a touch from you to let me know everything is ok.” As I prayed this prayer, I looked around and a small grey kitty came into our yard and came over to me. And though I had never seen him before he still trusted me enough to come over and let me pick him up.
To shorten this story, we brought “Hokie” into our home only to find out in the fall that he has severe asthma. We ended up keeping him in our room every night and watching him carefully because of his almost constant coughing, but even at this, “Hokie” almost died one morning, as we raced to the emergency vet to try and save his life. Through the next few weeks God taught me to take pray to a new level and to pray with intensity and power as I prayed for God to heal “Hokie” and to keep him alive. On more than one night both Ginny and I prayed to ask God to keep “Hokie” alive through the night and to keep him from coughing. With little sleep, and kneeling with our heads to the floor, we spent several anxious nights talking to God and trying to help “Hokie”.
Although we did have to make many trips to the vet, with two trips even to the Virginia Tech veterinarian school of medicine, we still saw God save “Hokie” for us. Now we give him medicine every day and keep the inhaler close by, but he hasn’t coughed in months after almost dying coughing that morning. So God used a kitty to teach me or remind me to pray with all my heart and to expect God to work for the best, and with power, all the while being patient as I waited on Him to do it in His own time. God has proven Himself mighty and every time I walk into the house and see “Hokie” walking around, I see an answer to prayer and a testimony of how good God is and how He answers the desires of our heart when we pray with all of our heart.

"We could do this"

With all this happening in the fall, and with God testing us and growing us in our faith, I felt more and more God wanting to do more in my life and I knew that would mean some big changes. Some specific things or events come to mind with one of them being when we visited our daughter-in-law Ashley at her school in Fredricksburg, Virginia. Ashley was getting close to finishing at her college, Mary Washington University, and she and my son Andy surprised us by taking us to a large church on October 20 and then presenting us with tickets to a concert of my favorite contemporary Christian singer…………Steven Curtis Chapman! It was an great evening of enjoyment and worship and helped me to feel closer to the Lord. The next morning as we went with Ashley to her church, I walked in knowing that something special and exciting was going on there. And I started thinking………."we could do this”. God was planting or growing the seeds He had already been putting in my heart about doing something special for Him. The urging in my heart was as strong as it had been.
As we drove back to Roanoke later that day, my son Andy and I talked almost the whole way back about the possibility of ……………starting a church! It was exciting dreaming and envisioning all the great possibilities that God could accomplish with us starting a church. It was a giant step towards taking the leap of faith to start the church I believe God had called me to start. In the next week or so, I got the chance to talk to my daughter in law Ashley about the idea of starting a church and she was just as excited and in favor of it as my son Andy had been. It seemed that I finally was accepting the fact that starting a church was what I needed to be doing and to get started doing it! Of course I then went through the routine the next few days of feeling like I could conquer the world about every evening and waking up every morning of “can I really do this?” Then as more and more days passed, the doubts begin to leave and the feeling that I could do something great for God begin to be on a more continual basis. I knew for sure God wanted me to start or plant a church close by to where we lived.

Headed where HE wants us to go

I should also mention that as these few months passed that God continued to encourage me by letting me read great books like Jim Cymbala’s: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire! and his other similar book, Fresh Power! Both reminded me and encouraged me to step out in faith and to depend on prayer and power from on high or else I couldn’t do anything. These books were great reminders for a person looking to start a church and to look for God to do a mighty work, beginning in my own heart! My wife Ginny was reading the books too, and Ashley had brought these into the house, reading them herself, so it seemed God was gearing us all up to a special work.
I shared my vision with a few folks, including my former pastor who suggested that I contact Tony Inmon, (the person I had met almost 6 months ago) and tell him what God had put on my heart and to ask him to help me further my intentions of starting a church. This meant leaving the church we were attending, so exactly one year, (isn’t God amazing?) as to when my former pastor had left the church, the Moser family left the same church. I had missed the first meeting planned with Tony (I was at VA Tech with “Hokie” on that tough November morning) but was able to finally meet with Tony the second Sunday in January. He was very encouraging and more than willing to help me in any way he could so I was glad we were able to finally get together. We had started the New Year off by visiting a couple of different churches and seeing how they conducted their worship services so with the meeting with Tony on the second Sunday of the new year, it seemed God was already working greatly to show me we were all on the right road and headed where He wanted us to go.