Gathering – Outreach Plans

The band “Consider This”, made up of members of Sonlight House Church in Surprise, has taken a step of faith and reserved Amp Island at Encanto Park for the full day of February 28.   Because of the weather that time of year, probably 12-5 would be the best times to be out in the open and probably when the most people will be at the park.  ”Consider This” can play for a couple of hours and that would leave time for possibly other music suitable for outreach.   That would really be the purpose of the gathering; outreach to the many people that come to the park on a typical weekend day.    

What we are looking for now is some house churches to commit to being a part of this gathering and outreach.  There may be some expense, providing food and/or drinks, labor for getting everything there and setup and for cleanup at the end of the day.  At this point, I’m not sure what other needs there will be.  

If you and your house church has been looking for some way to reach out to others in the city, while working with the other house churches, this could be it.  Please contact me as soon as possible with an email, ljoh3106@cox.net, or phone call 602-524-9400.

Update – Coming Up

Please note the new link on the left sidebar to a Calendar of Events.  This is a running calendar of events for the house churches in Phoenix.  If you have an event planned or a need for assistance, please let me know and I’ll make sure its posted and put on the calendar.

Our meeting went well last week.  But it seems that our agenda is not God’s agenda.   I truly feel that God is showing us that His heart is for us to work on building strong relationships between the house churches so that we can truly be His church in Phoenix.  For the immediate future, this involves regular meetings with those men and women who are leading the house churches.  As we deepen those relationships, God will present new opportunities for ministry and gatherings.

Each meeting, it seems we are meeting some new people that are active in the house church community.

In our previous meeting, we met Rick Schmidt.  Rick has a long history in ministry worldwide and wants to jump right in here in Phoenix to serve the house church community.  You can find out more about him at http://www.amfb.org .  We talked at length a couple of days ago about possible men’s retreats and couple’s dinners to grow our relationships with each other.  Rick is also part of a house church meeting with Ralph Roberts.  That meeting was all about sharing where we are in our respective journeys.

Last week we met Ryan Ellison.  Ryan is a Senior Area Director for CARES by Apartment Life.  Find out more about them at http://www.apartmentlife.org/ .  Ryan is also a part of a new house church in the 48th St and Baseline area named Parea House Church.  They are planning a street party October 31st on their street that includes a bounce house, SMORES by an open fire, outdoor movie, popcorn, candy, and drinks.  If you are interested, they plan to start around 6pm.  They could also use some cleanup help.   For more information on this even, email Ryan at RyanEllison@apartmentlife.org .  Another reminder will be posted prior to the 31st.   God changed the agenda of this meeting to one where we all shared how we got started in the house church movement.  

From the feedback I have received, both meetings served to help build stronger relationships between some of the house churches.  

Our next church leaders meeting is tentatively planned for November 15 at the Durango Grill.  More on this will be posted as we get closer.  I pray that we see more house churches taking advantage of this opportunity.

Please call me at 602-524-9400 or email me with any feedback or comments.

Saturday Meeting – Gathering Planning

Well, it has been several weeks since our meeting at the Durango Grill. Thanks to those who took time out of their busy schedule to share their journeys with the rest of us. I know some of us have been praying about our next steps toward a valley-wide house church gathering for the fall.

In a nutshell, we would like to propose an outdoor gathering at Encanto Park in Phoenix. The weather is cooling off and this seems to be a very central location and also has an amusement park for families with small children. In addition, perhaps there could be some type of outreach ministry to the other families using the park that day. I don’t know if that would work or not, I’m just brainstorming.

I would like to get together with any house church folks that would be interested in helping put together a valley-wide gathering in early to middle November, one of the weekends before Thanksgiving. Toward that, I propose another meeting to discuss this at the Durango Grill, at 9AM, on October 11. Again, there will be coffee and donuts, courtesy of our host, John Rowden. The Durango Grill is very central to the valley, located at 3341 W. Durango, just west of I-17. There is now a new sign on the south side of Durango so it should be easier to find. I ask each group wanting to take part to send at least one representative to discuss how they could contribute to this gathering. Please let me know if you, or someone from your fellowship, is planning to attend.

( For those who were at the last meeting, please note that we are starting an hour earlier.)

I know its short notice but I hope many of you feel, like I do, that gathering together as often as possible is very important. Our last gathering was March, 2007. For pictures of that and previous gatherings, see the Photo Albums page on this website.

Also, Ralph Roberts is starting his move this weekend.   After the meeting would be a great opportunity for anyone who can, to meet at Ralph’s to help him with this first stage of his move.

Reminder – East Valley Prayer

Title:		East Valley Prayer
Date:		Wednesday October 1, 2008
Time:		7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Repeats:		This event repeats every other week.
Location:		Meeting at Coffee Rush, Gilbert and Baseline, Gilbert, AZ
Notes:		Every other Wednesday, get together with other house churches in the East Valley to pray. Call Larry at 602-524-9400 for more information and directions.