The New Promises class from WMC had a work night Saturday at Compass. Much painting on both floors was done, the basement was cleaned out, and the kitchen floor was stripped and re-laid with new boards, and a half-wall for safety was constructed in the stairway. Enjoy the pictures of some of the 20 that came to serve!
Thank you for your help!!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Some Photos & A Prayer Request...
This is part of the main room which will be used for various purposes. This is where we will serve the children their snacks, they will hear a devotional, play table games and work on homework. (This photo shot also gives you a glimpse into the adjoining room [the room with all the polka dots on the walls] which will remain the 'movie room.')
Thank you to the WMC family for your generous contributions and donations to The Compass! Progress continues. Above are some photos of the Coffee House/The Compass once is was emptied, work had started to present day. There is still much work to do, but there is much work that has already been done. It couldn't have happened without the help of awesome people like you, without the help of an awesome church family, and without the awesome help of the Most Holy, Awesome God! God has, and will continue to provide as He promised, those with skills of every kind to continue to volunteer -- We have faith; because God has promised and He is faithful to His promises! We hope you will be just as blessed to hear about what God is doing at The Compass, as we are watching Him!
Please continue to pray for the Compass, its continued renovating process, its future reaching out to children (and their families) and its newly commissioned Advisory Board. The members are Jon Andrews, Rob Henschen, Jack Lengacher, Sr., Jeff Lengacher, Lisa Lengacher, Jim Mast, Jim & Colleen Shay and Leslie Yoder. The Compass has many important decisions, policies and a mission statement that needs to be written on its behalf. The Advisory Board will be responsible in making most of those decisions, regulating the policies and drafting a mission statement, with each of us prayfully seeking to remain within the center of God's will; each person represented by the Advisory Board for The Compass, and every volunteer, values and appreciates your prayers.
A Few Additional Thoughts...
Through another year of praying, seeking, discerning, trusting and waiting, Jeff patiently waited as I realized God was calling us to an afterschool ministry for children (and their families). Within this past year, God has confirmed it often through circumstances, other people, and through His Word. Some of the verses most encouraging to me have been, "Learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him.... So take this seriously.. The Lord has chosen you.... Be strong and do the work.... Be strong and courageous and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work... is finished correctly. the various divisions.... will serve God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer..." I Chronicles 28: 9-10, 20-21. Those verses reminded me again of God helping me to remember my time in Mississippi serving with the youth's mission trip. He seemed to be telling me then, as he reminded me again as I read the verses in Chronicles, I just needed to do the work God was calling me to and not get distracted, God had promised to take care of the rest -- and He has!
It makes it even more exciting to think about all of the unique and awesome ways God will reveal Himself to the children, their families, and our community through the ministry of the compass. We know that He who is faithful can, and will, do it! (based upon Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:1-12 & Luke 5:17-25)! Having the opportunity & privilege to see people brought into the presence of God, and God drawing them unto Himself to the point of repentance and a true acknowledgement of Him; and the children, and/or the children's family member(s) choosing to receive Jesus as their Savior, and making Him Lord of their lives, and watching Him change their lives forever -- that won’t just change their lives, but the lives of the people living in this community around them, and us! I can't wait! Can you?
It makes it even more exciting to think about all of the unique and awesome ways God will reveal Himself to the children, their families, and our community through the ministry of the compass. We know that He who is faithful can, and will, do it! (based upon Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:1-12 & Luke 5:17-25)! Having the opportunity & privilege to see people brought into the presence of God, and God drawing them unto Himself to the point of repentance and a true acknowledgement of Him; and the children, and/or the children's family member(s) choosing to receive Jesus as their Savior, and making Him Lord of their lives, and watching Him change their lives forever -- that won’t just change their lives, but the lives of the people living in this community around them, and us! I can't wait! Can you?
Getting Started...
God has had this planned for a long time, a very long time. Long before He brought our interim-pastor, Jim to our church, long before He brought Pastor Paul and Laresa into our church family, long before He began working, moving and speaking in indivuals hearts. God has sovereignly and faithfully been orchestrating, moving and piecing things together for quite awhile and I will do my best to help bring you through every step of the journey all with us. Us: the church of W.M.C. , the church body of fellow-believers represented by other churches within the Wakarusa community, the many volunteers who are working to renovate the shared space of the Coffee House/the Compass, and of the volunteers who desire to be the hands, feet and face of Christ to the children we're believing God to entrust us with once the Compass doors are open.
Where to begin? The best place, the beginning. God revealed a need within this community and a call was born within Jeff's heart. God opened Jeff's eyes to the many children who seem "lost," afterschool and seem to "have no where to go and nothing to do." Through a special relationship with two children, it helped Jeff have a unique perspective, and sensitive heart, during that time, to what God wanted to say. After many months of listening, praying and seeking Him, Jeff begin to feel called to begin some kind of afterschool program. When he first approached me about it, I told him, "That's really nice honey. I think that's really cool God's calling you to that. I'm behind you 100% and I'll support you however I can, but I don't want to help you run the ministry or anything. I'm not really interested in that." We dialogued a little more about it and then, to my relief, Jeff dropped it. The subject came up, pretty naturally and innocently (on Jeff's part, and in his defense) when several months later, we were up at Willow Creek for a Children's Ministry Conference. It seemed like Jeff couldn't stop talking about it and was met by such enthusiasm by everyone else on the team. I began feeling pretty bad for not feeling the same way. I was excited to see Jeff called to something he truly believed in and knew without doubt that it was the direction God was moving him toward, but for me, that was basically it. One of the last days of the conference, however, God had different plans. God used a speaker's visual illustration to get my attention. The illustration was shopping carts filled with little orange balls. Three filled-carts represented the time that church ministry has to impact children and the homes they represented (included mid-week and weekly services). 12 filled-carts represted the time parents have to impact their children. I had to leave the auditorium and spend some time alone with my Father. I knew He was doing something in me. My heart was being pulled toward all of those families represented. My mind kept asking, "how do we reach the families? Isn't one of the best, easiest ways, through the children?" Even though I didn't realize it at the time, I had begun sensing the change God was doing in my heart to call me into this ministry with my husband.
Where to begin? The best place, the beginning. God revealed a need within this community and a call was born within Jeff's heart. God opened Jeff's eyes to the many children who seem "lost," afterschool and seem to "have no where to go and nothing to do." Through a special relationship with two children, it helped Jeff have a unique perspective, and sensitive heart, during that time, to what God wanted to say. After many months of listening, praying and seeking Him, Jeff begin to feel called to begin some kind of afterschool program. When he first approached me about it, I told him, "That's really nice honey. I think that's really cool God's calling you to that. I'm behind you 100% and I'll support you however I can, but I don't want to help you run the ministry or anything. I'm not really interested in that." We dialogued a little more about it and then, to my relief, Jeff dropped it. The subject came up, pretty naturally and innocently (on Jeff's part, and in his defense) when several months later, we were up at Willow Creek for a Children's Ministry Conference. It seemed like Jeff couldn't stop talking about it and was met by such enthusiasm by everyone else on the team. I began feeling pretty bad for not feeling the same way. I was excited to see Jeff called to something he truly believed in and knew without doubt that it was the direction God was moving him toward, but for me, that was basically it. One of the last days of the conference, however, God had different plans. God used a speaker's visual illustration to get my attention. The illustration was shopping carts filled with little orange balls. Three filled-carts represented the time that church ministry has to impact children and the homes they represented (included mid-week and weekly services). 12 filled-carts represted the time parents have to impact their children. I had to leave the auditorium and spend some time alone with my Father. I knew He was doing something in me. My heart was being pulled toward all of those families represented. My mind kept asking, "how do we reach the families? Isn't one of the best, easiest ways, through the children?" Even though I didn't realize it at the time, I had begun sensing the change God was doing in my heart to call me into this ministry with my husband.
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