Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Oh Sun Stand Still

I'm going to invite you into something personal if that's okay.  Tomorrow Trey and I are going to start a 21 day fast, along with the rest of the Relate staff. We have ALOT that we are going to be bringing before the Lord during this time.  And we would like to invite you to be apart of these prayers.  First of all let me try to update you on what's been happening.

Trey is still working at Robert Allen.  I am still substitute teaching.  Jaxson is in 5k at Grassy Pond.  We're also caring for Trey's grandmother whose condition has progressed over the last month to Alzheimers. We're commuting an hour several times a week to Hendersonville.  That's a little bit of why I haven't been able to keep this blog up.  Sorry about that.  :)

GOD is moving at Relate! Every time I think about it I just want to step back and Praise Him! The church is growing faster than we can keep up.  We're located at the Old Highland Theater on Main Street in Downtown Hendersonville.  With seating capacity at I believe 100.  We have 2 services and are averaging attendance at 200.   We have seen people cross over from death to life every Sunday! (We need a baptistry or we're going to spend hours at the river this Summer, Hallelujah!) The church has quadrupled in size since August! WHAT!  We're needing to start a 3rd service on Saturday nights.  In order to do that we need more committed volunteers to get involved. :)

We are outgrowing our Children's Ministry area and we need more volunteers for that ministry as well.  The student ministry is blossoming and it's exciting to see students who are excited about what God is doing at their church.

In Joshua 10:12-13 Joshua, in Great Faith, because they were defeating their enemies and the battle was nearing the end and it was getting late he prayed for God to make the Sun Stand Still and God did!
I pray to be a woman of great faith! I pray that I will have faith that isn't afraid to ask God for something that looks impossible.

So as we begin this fast we have some impossible "looking" prayers we're going to begin praying.  Some more radical than others.  But we hope that in our sharing with you that you would pray along with us!
  • I pray that God will increase our Faith! Ours and the leadership of the church.  That we will have clear unified vision for the direction God wants to take this movement.  
    • We often refer to Relate, not as a church but as a movement, because our vision is not to increase in size as a church but to reach the Nations for Christ. Relate is just a seed, and we pray God blesses it!
  • We pray Sun stand Still that God will send and equip passionate volunteers who are committed to serving and filled with great humility, faith and vision.
  • We pray Sun Stand Still that God will supply Relate with a New Campus and the financial resources to move and keep the Theater as our Satellite campus and Student Ministry Hub. 
  • We pray Sun Stand Still that God will work things out to smoothly move our family into Hendersonville so we will be closer to the ministry.
  • We pray that God will use us up 100% here where we are currently planted!
  • We pray Sun Stand Still that the church will be blessed to pay the Pastors Full-Time.
  • We pray Sun Stand Still that God will provide us with another car.
  • I pray Sun Stand Still to see 1000 people come to Christ in the coming year through this ministry. Last year I prayed what looked impossible to see 500 come to Christ and I KNOW God did that.  (I lost count though).
From where we stand many of these prayers look impossible. That excites the life out of me because this time last year Trey and I did the Daniel Fast and prayed many "impossible looking" Sun Stand Still prayers and one by one God answered them ALL Abundantly!!!  We serve the God of impossible!  This year in Great Faith we want to invite you to join us in these prayers because if you're here you're apart of this ministry too!





His Clay,
Melissa