We want to share a simple note of thanks with you.
We are in Raleigh for our final Thanksgiving in the States before moving to London. We spent the day at the house resting and taking it easy. Tonight we had dinner with the Evans and their family (we look forward to many more Thanksgiving meals with them in the years ahead!). We are thankful to have a lazy Friday ahead of us before Thomas preaches at The Summit (North Raleigh) on Saturday and Sunday.
Here are a few things we are especially thankful for this Thanksgiving…
Friends + Family
Thank you to all of you who have joined us on this journey of planting a church in London. Your interest, excitement, encouragement, and care for us ministers to us in ways you don’t even know. We are thankful to have met many more friends during this process of preparing to plant and are incredibly grateful to God for how He sends the right people at the right time to support us on this journey. We are thankful for supportive families back in Alabama and also for the friends that are closer than family around Raleigh.
Partner Churches + Networks
Thank you to the many supporting churches that have recognized the grace of God in this process, committed to supporting us, and already made us feel like valued family members. We are thankful for lead pastors, missions pastors, elder boards, and leadership teams - of all varieties - who care so much for seeing the unreached become the reached. We are thankful for churches that get practically involved in supporting the great commission through church planting teams.
We are also thankful for church planting networks that combine resources and specialities to undergird the work of church planting. Of all the networks we are connected to, we could not imagine planting this church without The Summit Network. We are thankful for the training that networks are focused on providing. We are thankful for the camaraderie that is found in belonging to a church planting cohort.
We are thankful for the men, women, and families who provide the necessary funding to such churches and planting networks. It’s humbling to receive training and support from churches and networks that are funded through the generosity of people we have never met. We are thankful for people who care more about supporting others than they do about their own lives. Their generosity preaches a powerful sermon.
Prayer + Investment
We are thankful for your continued prayer and beginning financial investment.
Thank you for joining us in helping plant this church through prayer. We say it all the time because we earnestly believe that it is true: The best thing you can do in helping plant this church is to pray for us. We face insurmountable obstacles that can only be moved by God. Thankfully, prayer moves the heart of God. Thank you for praying for us.
Thank you for financially investing in this church plant. We are willing to go and that means we need a number of strong individuals and families to support us by holding the rope as we descend into the need. We cannot plant this church without you believing enough in the need to financially get involved in reaching the unreached in London and around the world.
Giving Tuesday is coming up this week: Would you consider making a one-time gift, or even establishing a recurring monthly gift, to help us plant this church? You can get involved financially through this link right here.
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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. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:3-6