At New Wine Anglican Mission this month we have entered into a Season of Prayer and Fasting. We are praying about our future, for an Awakening in our church and the people around us. We are praying for revival in our community and praying for growth in the wider church in Michigan.
Honestly one of the most critical issues that we are bringing before the Lord is the question of what lies ahead for this mission. We were birthed in the summer of 2005 and are coming up on 9 years of ministry as an Anglican Church plant. Our story has been a constant testimony of God’s provision. He has used us to impact one life at a time and I could list several dozen names of people we have impacted, two of which even went off to seminary. Our focus has been all about building relationships. We have been building relationships with each other and relationships with the Lord.
As pastor I have seen us at our peak of numerical outreach impacting over 50 people at one time involved in several small groups while our maximum Sunday was only around 25. Presently we are only gathering around 18 or so on a Sunday and our groups around 25.
Practically this reduction has impacted our support. A few months ago I started part-time work selling cheese at the Flint Farmers Market. With the opening of a second counter in the area this will mean I will be working 2 days a week outside the ministry. We hope this is only a temporary stop-gap solution required to make up for a reduction of $460 a month in church pay.
New Wine must grow numerically and financially in order for Deb and I to stay the course in this work. New Wine can continue without us, but as we have experienced, there are always changes in the comings and goings of our church community. More of our members are traveling away in winter months, reducing a sustainable level of involvement. Without a permanent pastoral presence, it may be difficult to maintain a sustainable mission community in Flint.
Please pray for the Mission and for us as we look at what is ahead for our life together.
Interestingly, since I announced our season of prayer, we have had several new people come to Sunday worship. I even had one long-time acquaintance express a desire to talk about meeting since he has recently been looking for a new church home. In this same period several friends of members have come to visit and I have been following up with one on one contacts. This rise in interest has encouraged me, suggesting to me that we are on the right track to be “on our knees” as we seek God’s favor and guidance.
I end with an encouraging note. A person joined our fellowship about a year ago. Seeking to reconnect spiritually, and hurting after the end of bad relationship, they found themselves connecting with New Wine. Over the year it has been our joy to see this person grow and develop in their faith as a result of worshiping with us and joining a cell group. They have sought mentoring type relationships and readily confess a new sense of peace and well being as they celebrate this first year at New Wine. God has been working and we rejoice in these relational victories. This seemed to be a reminder to me that “this is what disciple making is all about”. The Lord suggested at our last Listening Retreat that this would be a year of “Healing and Restoration”.
Keep us in your prayers as we work in the vineyard of the Lord at New Wine this summer.
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