One of the points of conversation following our FunDay the other day was the beauty of a cluster of churches working together with a missional focus. We know that there’s no way The Bridge could have, by herself, provided the kind of quality event that people experienced this past Saturday during the Family Fun Day. We could not have handled the expense, procured the necessary supplies, or raised the army of volunteers needed on our own. One of the the (more…)
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31
Aug
2010
Beauty in the Cluster.
29
Aug
2010
FunDay Follow-Up
We had a great day yesterday at The Bridge’s (free!) Family Fun Day. We had a steady stream of attendance (an average of just over 100 people an hour from the community) and over 120 volunteers from our own launch team and other District churches who helped make the day an amazing success. Some more photos of the day’s events are posted at facebook.com/BridgePGH. Here are the ways God answered your prayers for the day: We asked you to pray (more…)
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27
Aug
2010
Pre-Fun Day PrayerNote
I sent a PrayerNote to our committed prayer partners earlier this morning asking them to take time to pray for our Family Fun Day tomorrow; I’m posting it here in hopes that as you read it, you would also pray for us and the event. Things for tomorrow are shaping up nicely and we’ve been overwhelmed at the response of the community thus far (not to mention the 100+ people who have committed to join us as volunteers!). Here’s the (more…)
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25
Aug
2010
It’s just like riding a bike…
This Saturday, The Bridge is hosting our biggest event of the Summer as an opportunity to connect with our neighbors and build new relationships in Penn Hills. Two weeks from Sunday, we’ll be hosting our first public worship gathering (we’re calling them “Monthly Celebrations” because “preview service” doesn’t really make a lot of sense to people who aren’t familiar with church or church planting). All that to say: we’re in the middle of a big push to gain and hold (more…)
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24
Aug
2010
That way!
As Sarah and I seek clarity on the ‘where’ of our next ministry endeavor (planting The Bridge’s first daughter church in Pittsburgh), the cry of our spirits to God’s has been, “Show us where you are moving and how to join you there.” A few years ago, in zeal and even greater immaturity than I now possess, I probably would have forced an exciting vision to bubble up, created a strategic plan, and then charged after what I had fabricated. (more…)
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23
Aug
2010
My Prayer for this Week
As we prepare for our free Family Fun Day (this Saturday!), I have found myself laboring in prayer on behalf of the people who will be in attendance. My prayer for the week/weekend has been something like this: Father Dear, I know your Spirit is working even now drawing hearts and lives to you. Thank you for your incredible faithfulness and love–without you we have no hope. As we do our part of ‘meeting you halfway’ for Family Fun Day (more…)
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22
Aug
2010
Week-in-Review
Everyone with experience (who also feels the need to give free advice) has told me how much hard work church planting is. It’s true: long hours, late nights, big meetings, laboring in prayer, making connections, planning, designing, preparing, negotiating… it really is tons of work (and our senior pastor at the Bridge, Rick, does a great job of not only coordinating a lot of the work but also getting out and doing it). Now, after hosting another mission team this (more…)
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18
Aug
2010
Remodel
jxgomez.com is undergoing a bit of a facelift–I’ll still be blogging here (hopefully with greater frequency), but the rest of the site will be taking on more of a focus for the freelance work I do. Look for different pages and functionality than before, all coming very soon!
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14
Aug
2010
August JourneyNote, the Final Installment!
A few days ago, we shared with you jus a few of the ways we have seen that the Holy Spirit is undeniably at work in Pittsburgh (I still can’t believe we get to be part of what he’s doing here!). We also shared our very real need for individuals, groups, and churches to support us as missionaries here. Yesterday we sent out a few ways you can help make sure we’re funded, and we genuinely thank you for prayerfully (more…)
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