Ministry Update
Common Ground Christian Church
“The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth; all our work adds nothing to it.” (Prov. 12:22)
God moves, when we give control over to Him. We leave it completely up to God to determine what His blessings will be, where, when and how He will bless us. To pray for God’s blessings is to surrender yourself completely to the will of God and His power and purpose for life. It is becoming entirely involved in what God desires to do in us, through us, and around us, and it is ALL for His glory.
What could we miss by not inviting God’s blessings to be upon us?
I was wondering about this question. In early November, the wheels were already coming off on the church plant for Saint Petersburg. Bethany and I became disillusioned and discouraged.
Let me tell you something about God: it is the nature of God to bless. However, we limit His blessings on us because we undermine Him. We firmly disbelieve that God has the power and resources to do anything, and we limit God by our failure to ask.
We decided to take the plunge and Common Ground became the best ministry for us. Since we came on board with Common Ground, people are coming together with optimism and resolve to press forward and be the church God has called Her to be. People are connecting with my family and it is truly becoming a positive and inspiring time in the life of our ministry.
Pray for Common Ground’s finances: In January, the church’s financial picture was not good. Our attendance and offerings had fallen. Our 2014 budget calls for giving to be nearly $2,500 each week or about $12,000 per month. Since January, we have met our weekly budgeted amount 7 times — 4 of those times the offerings were a few hundred dollars over the budgeted amount. On 3 Sundays, we were within reach of the budgeted amount. The remaining seven weeks, however, we fell behind substantially. If we were to do a year-to-date average of our giving, we are falling behind every week – some weeks, not so much, but other weeks, by about $1,500-$2,000. Please pray our people will learn to give as the church turns a different direction. Our next 8 weeks are crucial for us as I am teaching on the vision for the church. Please pray our people will grab hold of the vision and invest in Common Ground.
Our ministry: The day before Easter Sunday, we had a very successful Spring Fling, thanks to many volunteers. By my observations, we had well over 60 children and their families at our church. The best highlight was our petting zoo filled with ducks, rabbits, and chickens. It was a sight to behold as I watched children from the neighborhood learn more about farm animals. The next day was Easter, with an attendance of 136. Our goal is to be consistently over 100 by the fall.
I also finished a Discover Common Ground class, which introduced our church to new members. We have many families attending, and in the coming weeks, they will commit to membership with Common Ground. We also have two baptisms scheduled in the near future.
Last but not least, another church contacted Common Ground because they were looking for a space to rent. We have met many times with the Pastor and some of his leaders and have agreed to partner with them. They will be using our building for worship services on Sunday afternoons and Friday evenings.
Please take the time to visit our website and our Fan Page (Become a Fan, please.) Here you will find everything you need to know about Common Ground and her mission to the Tampa Bay area. Secondly, some of you have contacted me about giving your financial support to the work in Tampa.
Your gift will go a long way to help the church meet the needs of my part-time salary.
Thank you! You are a friend and I appreciate you reading this letter.
If you are so inclined, here is the information:
Common Ground Christian Church
c/o Bruce Humphrey
4207 North Boulevard
Tampa FL 33603
If you would like to have this gift tax-deductible, please make the check out to Common Ground Christian Church.
Or for Online Giving
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