STATUS
The first thing I need to do is apologize for the delay of this newsletter. It was pretty crazy through the holidays and the first of the New Year. Pam had a tough bout with the shingles, very painful which caused us to have to delay, cancel and/or reschedule several holiday celebrations. My computer crashed. I am helpless with that kind of thing. In fact after a couple of weeks of talking to IT guys and taking it to a repairman, who was unable to help, I was looking up the geek squad phone number as a last resort when the problem disappeared, I don’t know what happened. I had been bangin around on it looking for information as to how to fix it for weeks and now all of a sudden it just works. That’s a miracle, halleluiah. I am so excited I can’t type fast enough. Not your typical CR testimony but God blesses us in all our endeavors. Enough about us, here’s what is happening in this ministry that you support and pray for so faithfully.
We celebrated with a group of nine men that recently completed their 12 step group. Each of them shared a bit of their take away from the experience of pursuing God through this model. It was a holy moment when these men, young and old, shared openly how God has set them free from many destructive hurts, habits and hang-ups. Two of these guys are continuing on in a new 12 step group as the facilitators for the group. Praise the Lord! That’s how it is supposed to work. They are now leading a group of 12 men on this life changing journey. We will be having another step group graduation ceremony this week for a group of ladies that have walked through the process together. I can’t wait to hear their stories of healing and new hope. God is so good. Also there is a couple in our CR who have been so radically blessed that they are preparing to move to Utah in a couple years to start a Celebrate Recovery ministry reaching out to Mormons, to introduce them to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Is that incredible or what? So here is a quick bullet point status report to let you know your prayers and support are producing continuous fruit.
*attendance has been running 45-60 for the past several weeks.
*Four, 12 step groups are in-progress (2 men & 2 women).
* Two groups recently completed the formal part of the process and people from those groups are continuing to serve in the ministry.
*a seventy-eight year old lady recently shared her testimony of how God has healed her of years of horrific abuse suffered as a child. Her psychiatrist came to the service and publicly confirmed the dramatic healing that has occurred in this sweet lady. Her words were, “I finally feel vindicated.” and at seventy-eight years old she said, “It is never too late.”
*We are enjoying a full team of volunteers, bbq team, sound and media guys, men and women small group facilitators, step study group facilitators, encourager coaches, assimilation coaches and training coach and worship team (we could use a drummer and a bass guitar player, but worship has been wonderful). Please continue to pray for us and our volunteers, Jesus said “The fields are white unto harvest,,,” they truly are. We are not running out of hurting people.
*AND ON RECENT TUESDAY EVENING 5 PEOPLE MADE A COMMITMENT TO JESUS CHRIST*
Thank You!
Pam & Jim