Some Godworks For July 4th!

I'm stoked (not a word I usually use...and probably too outdated to be "cool"...but its how I feel so seemed appropriate!) about Friday (July 4th). In short, ClearView is walking in New Albany's parade that a.m. and serving at the pre-fireworks festival that evening. This is New Albany's largest annual event and event planners are estimating 20,000-30,000 people in the town center area that evening.

Some praise notes:

• God is bringing together plenty of help for our efforts. I was concerned about this because several of our families are out of town. But, our team is stepping up to the plate big-time and God is bringing new friends to us that are willing to help...some that I just met at Driven this past weekend. Amazing.
• We have the opportunity to serve our city while communicating about ClearView. We will be loaning out 5 people to events planners to help organize the parade participants that morning AND I just found out that two of our people will have the opportunity to carry the LEAD New Albany banner along the parade route! It has been so fun to serve those in charge of these events. They are not accustomed to people offering to serve unsolicited...I love that we can do that and meet a need in Jesus' name.
• We'll be one of the main attractions for kids and families at the festival that runs before the fireworks. We have some free giveaways and will be doing face-painting, tattoos, colored hair spray, crafts, etc. Should be fun and a GREAT opportunity to interact with many families.

God has truly given us favor in the lead up to this big day. I praise Him for this. My heart is full of thanksgiving. Would you pray God would use us to touch many lives for Jesus and lead us to teammates?

Movement In Teammate Area?

You're tired of hearing me ask for prayer for teammates. I understand! But, I just talked to our team about praying persistently this weekend (see Luke 11:5-11)... so I better keep at it.

I've learned to be slow to think I can put my finger on what God is doing in building our team. It is an intricate process fraught with ups and downs. God is working on His time table and perfect blending of people. I have learned that its not up to me what happens or WHEN it happens.

However, I sense, over the last 6 weeks or so, God is up to something. There is more interest in and awareness of ClearView than ever. This is true among churched and unchurched people in our area. More Grace Brethren people in our community now (finally) know we're here. Our friendships are growing with other believers that we can network through to find teammates. And, we've made more contacts with people that Jesus loves that don't yet know Him than in any period of our (short) history. There are people out there thinking and praying about teaming with us... I can sense it.

Please pray that God would draw people to us that He's appointed to our work. To paraphrase Matthew 9:37-38...The "harvest" truly is great...and the workers truly are few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of drawing people in northeastern Franklin County to Himself and ask Him to to send out more workers for His fields. By God's grace, those He brings to us will work in His fields. We just need to see God move to gather His team.

"Big Give" Turns Out HUGE For ClearView!

I was elated on Saturday (6/28) as 56 participants from the Driven Conference assisted ClearView with contact making in the New Albany and Gahanna areas. In a nut shell, the concept was this: each person was given $10, formed into groups of 5, and then each group was challenged to creatively invest their collective $50 to make as many contacts for ClearView as possible.

I'll be honest... I didn't expect that many of these fantastic young adults to participate. This event was held during their afternoon free time, and they could have just as easily headed to the gym, took a nap, or enjoyed some time with new friends. Yet, in the end, most of the conference participants served in the Big Give in some way. Groups decided on their own what to do- some bought water, others Popsicles, one group even included some treats for dogs. Then they found places where people were gathered (ball parks, shopping centers, YMCA, etc.), smiled, and gave out the free stuff with ClearView information attached.

I had the privilege of hearing their stories when they returned. I praised God as I heard stories of groups that worked as a team, people that persevered when they were persecuted, and young people that stepped out of their comfort zone. Some groups were able to pray with people they encountered and many, many people were blessed. I'm sure at least 500 ClearView info. pieces were given out!

I was blessed to interact with these young people and so excited about their work for Jesus and ClearView in our community. Two neat stories:

1. I got a note from one of my friends and contacts at the YMCA sharing about how blessed they were to have one of the Big Give groups there washing windows and taking out trash, etc. I've been sharing Jesus with this friend and it was so neat to hear his excitement over these young people.
2. Another group was buying ice cream for people in downtown New Albany. They ended up buying a cone for the neighbors that live behind us. I've shared Jesus with the husband of this family and the daughter was impacted by our Bible Club last year. We've been inviting them repeatedly to our gatherings. It was so great to have them blessed by someone else as well!
   

Praise God for the Big Give. Please pray that this effort would translate into guests at our first few gatherings at the YMCA (beginning this Sunday, July 6) and that God would continue to form ClearView's launch team.

The "Big Give" Comes To The New Albany Area

Be praying this Saturday... A group of young adults from the Driven Conference are going to be coming over to the New Albany area for the "Big Give". In a nut shell, each participant will be given $10, grouped into teams of five, and each team will be challenged to invest their collective $50 to impact as many people and make as many contacts for ClearView as they can.

Pray for great experiences for each participant and that God would lead them to bless people in Jesus' name in our community. Pray for positive contacts for ClearView.

For more information, click here.

ClearView At Creekside!

Gahanna's Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival is Gahanna's largest annual event with an estimated 50,000 people enjoying great music, food, and vendors throughout the third weekend in June. I'd been praying about how to be involved and communicate about ClearView with this huge audience. God answered this prayer when I found out about the Gahanna Area Chamber of Commerce's Business To Consumer Expo. held this past Saturday afternoon from 12-6p.

ClearView set up a booth and had a great time interacting with hundreds of people. I was able to meet and communicate about ClearView with many people and connect with some previous contacts. There was great excitement among several people about a new church in the area and God allowed me to talk with several families that are looking for a church. It was thrilling to be able to invite people to the YMCA for our first gathering there on July 6th. I'm hoping this will enhance our ability to attract people and be able to connect with people for the first time.

Of special note: God gave me the opportunity to further our relationship with the Chamber's leadership team by sharing our helium tanks with them.

Please pray that God leads these contacts to check out one of our gatherings and join our team. Thanks!

New High!

Praise God for 25 people at ClearView's worship gathering (in our home) on 6/1!

Please pray for our group as we have our first official Launch Team planning meeting next Sunday 6/8. We're excited to communicate vision, share our strategy/process, invite involvement, and get input from our group on strategic decisions we must make in coming months as we move toward a "Grand Opening" this October. Pray for each family to be able to attend and other guests to come and just check out what we're doing.

We Need Miracle-Grow

I've been dreaming about a goofy, but hopefully effective, summer prayer campaign.

I just (finally!) finished the spring landscaping at our house. I made the mistake of planting way too many small, weak, begonias. I should have bought fewer flowers and invested in bigger, healthier plants. I'm left with some tiny sprouts that are going to struggle without just the right light, water, and hefty doses of MIRACLE GRO throughout the summer.

It didn't take long for my bright mind (?) to make the connection between these beautiful little flowers and ClearView Church. These small plants have much potential to be spectacular with the right care and some MIRACLE GRO. Without the right care and fertilizer, they'll wilt under hot sun and the little feet of two young boys tramping all over them. Like these begonias, ClearView has a start, is growing, is seeing God move, and has much potential. But, we also need a healthy dose of MIRACLE-GROW this summer.

Would you pray with us for Ephesians 3:20 type miracles? Specifically, pray:

• that God would provide us with the right worship leader.
• that God would help us build a great children's ministry.
• that God would lead us to the right location for worship gatherings.
  
• that God would bring us a family from New Albany in June.
• that God would bring us a family from Gahanna June.
• that God would add 50 people to our team by end of September.
• that God would bless our extensive outreach efforts with the fruit of teammates and changed lives.

Answers to these prayers will all be miracles. We need God to dump His magic formula all over us. Certainly He is able. We'll, with you, give Him the glory. Please pray for miracle growth and that God would put the right pieces in place to move us toward a healthy launch this October.

This Made My Day

I was encouraged Wednesday by the opening line of an e-mail I received from the vice president of New Albany's Events Board. I've been corresponding with her about the July 4th parade and ClearView's involvement. She opened her note with:

Hi Andy,
The relationship between the New Albany Community Events and ClearView Church is one that we wish to happily continue.

Praise God for the favor He has given us with key leaders and community organizations! Pray with me that this translates into people loved to Jesus.

Great News!

Yesterday's lunch meeting was a good one! I met with a family that has prayed with us and is now communicating that they are excited to join ClearView's team. Wow... God is good. This is a huge victory for us and a miracle-level answer to prayer!

Those of you who know me might find this amusing. If you know me, you know I'm pretty reserved (to put in mildly). So, as Trish and were talking about this meeting before it took place, she asked, "How are you going to react if they say 'Yes'.?" She was encouraging me to be sure and show my excitement (which is genuine).

So, when our new friends said "Yes," I made a point to get out of my seat and jump up and down right there in the restaurant. :) Praise God!

Pray for more...