Wow, there is so much to do in starting a new church, it both almost overwhelming as well as very exciting! This week I am in Chicago attending the School of Congregational Development. I just finished m last session of my ministry track, called the Pre-Launch. It was ed by a pastor who was very successful doing a new church start and is a very resourceful fellow. The sessions wee great and provided me with a lot of information I was lacking in terms of these first few months. One of the things I will try to get started on while I am here is my ministry plan. I had started one before, but was not quite sure what were some of the activities I needed to be engaged in doing. I have a much better idea now and want to put it down on paper before my head bursts with all the information. I also learned that for the most part I am on the right track. In addition to my ministry plan I want to start working on funding sources that will help me to have the funds needed to fund the music ministry position. Although I have reviewed dozens of resumes, there have been few that would meet the needs of the Field of Grace ministry. There is one that looks very promising and I would like to offer him the position, but I have not been able to obtain any clips or videos of his work. Someone I know might also be interested in the position, but there is more conversation that would need to happen around that. Being here has also connected me with people and resources that I needed for the FoG ministry. I met one woman who is willing to edit my Spanish translations of the website and met another who might be able to connect me with someone to do any translations I need. Right now as I try to make sure everything I produce is in English and Spanish, it takes some time. There are still some translations needed on the website, but it is mostly complete. The website logo is also now done and I am very excited because it provides us with a way of branding ourselves and increasing our visibility. Check us out at www.FieldofGraceUMC.org. Well, before heading to dinner, I'm going to work a little on my ministry plan and also give the fellow a call about our music position. Hasta Luego

When starting a new church it is very important to offer activities to the community that not only meet the needs of the community but help to raise the visibility of the new church. Along those lines I had been reflecting on what type of non-threatening ministry Field of Grace could offer to the community in order to start to build relationships with folks who live in this area. One of my thoughts had been to offer some type of financial program that was from a Christian perspective. Well today I was speaking to a friend of mine and he told me about the Financial Peace University (first part of the blessing). It sounded like a great program and one that would be a good thing for our church to offer. I went to the website and was very impressed by what I read. Then came the shocker: The cost for the kit to offer the 13-week training was $299. After I caught my breath, I knew that I would have to decide between paying for the kit myself or getting the bank information from our treasurer in order to pay for the program. (they do not accept credit cards because their whole premise revolves around helping people to make sound financial decisions.) I decided to wait on the program and gave them a call to find out if they had bilingual material. In the course of the conversation, the very nice rep on the other end told me that because we are a new church start and the company understands the financial restraints of small and new churches, he would sign Field of Grace for the program and we would not have to pay the $299. for the facilitator's kit!!!! (second part of the blessing). We would just need to try to sign up at least five families to take part in the course. Field of Grace is registered and we will offer the course starting in September. The timing could not be more perfect: Next week is our first week at the Wilkes-Barre farmer's Market where we will have a table to distribute information and survey folks about what they would like to see a church offer to the community. The rep has sent me the promotional materials and next week we can start promoting the event to those at the Market. After the conversation, I was overjoyed and almost moved to tears of joy as I just kept thanking God for responding in such a way to our need to offer something to the community. Our God is absolutely amazing and always faithful! Today I was also blessed with meeting a woman who runs a Christian T-shirt store called "3:16 Athletic Wear." I was thinking about ordering a green shirt with the Field of Grace name and our tag line, "The church as God intended it to be." I wanted something to wear while at the Farmer's Market and to wear around town. She had a t-shirt of a nice shade of green and said that she could create the t-shirt in just a few minutes while I waited. We googled the sunflower graphic that I have been using and in a few minutes I had a really nice t-shirt with our name and a logo on the front and our tag line on the back. It looks really great! Ask and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened, often with God providing beyond what one is seeking. Thank God for unexpected blessings! Hasta Luego

An Angel in Disguise

I had the most interesting encounter today. I had gone to the UPS Store to mail a few items only to discover that the store was closed. Thinking I had arrived before their 10:00 opening time I decided I would go back home and then return. As I was leaving I saw an older woman approaching the store and I told her that it was closed. She asked what where I was going and I told her that I was going to return home and then come back a little late. She asked if I would like to sit on her steps and wait with her until the store opened: I declined and then she asked again and if I would have a cup of tea. I said "yes" and accompanied her to her home. This dear soul was named Agnes, and she told me stories of growing up in England during the war (WWII) and coming to the US with American soldier whom she had married. It was a delightful time hearing of her life since coming to the States as she showed me many photographs of her children and grandchildren-of whom she was very proud. She repeatedly invited me to stop by anytime for a visit, and I told her I would. With the slightest hint of a British accent still in her voice, Agnes shared her stories, her life with this complete stranger. She even surprised herself that she was sharing so much. I enjoyed the time and feel blessed to have met this wonderful woman. I will indeed stop by to see her again. May God bless you with an unexpected encounter. Hasta Luego.

First Steps

I now have business cards that I can hand out and Field of Grace has a page on Facebook. I am now working on trying to get a website uploaded. I tried working with a "green" group but that did not work out because their software would not allow me to create a website nor make any changes to the domain name so that I could use another website host. So I have asked for a refund for the hosting services as well as the domain name registration. I am now using a pastor who was part of a new church start and works with other new churches in designing and hosting their websites. What a 360 degree difference. He is very accommodating and willing to work with all of my ideas and requests, including making the site bilingual. It should be up and running in about two weeks. I have registered for the UMC School of Congregational Development training later this month, and will also register for new church start training to take place in August. I have lots of ideas about what I need and want to do but need the training and a coach to determine the best course of action. On Sunday I will have the first meeting with the remnant of folks from the closed churches. I hope to gather an initial group of 12 to start meeting and to serve as the core group. These folks I will then deploy to serve as the group leaders for 6-8 additional groups. We will use the Wesley class meeting format with a little updating, and will follow a multiplication model for discipleship and evangelism. Please keep us in prayer as we move forward, sepecially that God would send us someone (bilingual) to lead our music ministry. I will also plan to spend 1-2 hours each afternoon on Spanish review. Hasta Luego.