Praying For A Victory!

Living Hope Family,

I want to make you aware and ask you to pray for this opportunity. Yesterday, James, Gerry, and myself went to the Victory Center here in downtown Marysville to meet with Dr. Michael Witzky. They purchased the building a while back for $150,000 and are looking to sell it. It will need an enormous amount of work, but the space and opportunities are endless here in the heart of Marysville. I know of several mission teams from around the country that would be willing to come and help us renovate it and be used as a lighthouse for this city and community!

Anyway, I do not mind asking, remember we have not because we ask not, so I did. I asked if he would go back to his board of directors after sharing the vision with him and see if they would donate the property and building to Living Hope. He said he did not know, but he LOVED the vision and that is what they want the building to be used for! So, please pray and I will keep you up to date. The Victory Center building is located next door to the U.S. Post Office here on Main street.

"The problem is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer." - Dr. Adrian Rogers
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New Partnering Church

I am pleased to announce that Living Hope has a new partnering church, the First Baptist Church of Central Florida. Dr. Clayton Cloer is the pastor of this mission minded church located in the heart of Central Florida. God continues to bless Living Hope with biblical and missional church partnerships that have a heart for the nations. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:3-5, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Please be praying as I turn most of my attention to praying and seeking new church partnerships for Living Hope in 2010.

Time to Face the Music

Here is the latest from Dr. Al Mohler and a panel from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Are we willing to change in order to reach a lost generation or do we desire to decline at a record pace? Click here to read, listen, and watch...

A Great Commission Resurgence

Well, it is Monday and I am back in the office. It feels weird to say this, but I had an awesome time on vacation; however, am glad to back in Ohio and in the office. A church ought to feel and be a home to members and that is certainly what I love about Living Hope! There is an urgent call for our Southern Baptist churches across America to be praying and take part in a Great Commission Resurgence. Find out more at the new official website just launched by clicking here...

Lessons Learned Already

We have been here at the beach for only a day and yet the Lord has already begun to reveal some things to me. On the way down Saturday, my phone went dead a few miles outside of Louisville. The iPhone battery saidf it was fully charged and for some reason it died. No problem, Jennifer got one last month so we could just use her phone. Well, she did not have much battery life left on hers, so I told her to to turn it off and conserve the power in case we would ever need it. Keep in mind that we have an ever excited and energy filled 4 year old little boy in the back and an almost 3 month old that is not a big fan of her car seat. Usually people put their kids in the car seat to make them go to sleep while they drive; however, Abigail prefers to actually sleep in her bed already and nowhere else!

So the LONG journey continued through Kentucky with construction delays, Tennessee (yes I saluted), and Alabama finally led us into the panhandle of Florida around 9 o'clock. My wife kept asking me, "Are you sure you know where you are going?". Thankfully, I printed off google maps as a back-up to my iPhone GPS. So here we are, it is dark now with both phones dead, the kids and wife ready to get out of the car and I have no gas in the van with no station around for miles. I begin to wonder about Heaven, because I might be there soon if we run out of gas and my wife gets really upset with me:) Not 3 minutes later in the middle of nowhere a gas station appeared and boy did I fill up as quick as I could. I felt as if I was at a pit stop in the Indy 500!

As I got really anxious, the Lord reminded me that He was there and to cast all of our anxieties upon Him for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7)...Needless to say we are here and having an incredible time already with lessons learned. What are you worried about today, just give it away to the one who wants to carry it for you, Jesus!

Back at the Beach

Well, we finally made it to Destin, Florida! You will not believe the story I have to tell about our journey here from Ohio yesterday...gotta love construction and sitting still on the interstate with 2 kids in the back:) I will be writing and updating again in a few hours, but I gotta get out there and soak up some sun!

Have You Been to P.E. Lately?

This past Sunday evening, PE (Personal Evangelism) began here at Living Hope. The Bible teaches us to be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15). Our Associate Pastor, Gerry Wiley, teaches the class at his home on Sunday evenings @ 6pm. 23 people from the church came and even some visitors! Imagine...a church full of trained soul-winners combined with the power of prayer. Keep praying and proclaiming...do you have a story to tell? If you are saved you do!

Love Loud

Today, we began our new sermon series called, "Love Loud." Yesterday, a team of 110 students from 1st Baptist Church in Collierville, Tennessee helped us pass out over 2,000 cards to the neighborhood as they stopped on their way to Cedarpoint. It was a huge success as we had several first time visitors this morning. Some indicated they desired to know more about membership, some wanting to know more about establishing a relationship with Christ, and one couple even wanting coffee with the pastor. God is good and today I preached one verse, John 3:16. This is the loudest act of love ever known to the world...God sending His one and only Son Jesus Christ. Keep praying...