Family Fun Day « jxgomez.com | Your message matters.

28 Jan 2011

Favor: Post 5 (of 5)

In March of 2010, we hosted a Prayer Walk(athon) in Pittsburgh (the above image is of most of the participants). Rick (Lead Planter) designed a couple of these as significant fundraisers allowing The Bridge to have the ministry dollars needed to carry us through the year. He would later share that he sincerely, genuinely sensed $30,000 would be raised for ministry purposes. It was also a tremendous way to build interest and momentum for church planting in Pittsburgh. The people who participated in the Pittsburgh Prayer Walk(athon) contributed in a big way. But by the time all of the fundraising was calculated, less than $7,000 had come in. This was enough to cover ministry during the summer and provide a number of opportunities to connect with the community. But it wasn’t $30,000. And we still had the biggest event of the summer to be cared for as well as making sure a facility could be rented for preview, launch, and (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Encouragement, faith, Family Fun Day, Holy Spirit, Leadership, outreach, Pittsburgh, The Bridge, Western PA District
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25 Jan 2011

Favor: Post 2 (of 5)

This post is part of a series celebrating some of the incredible ways God has shown his favor in planting The Bridge. You can read the first post here. “Family Fun Day” was the high-water mark of our summer ministry season in 2010. If you read yesterday’s post, you saw some of the cool ways God made a way where there was no way in securing a location at the right time. But one of the most exciting aspects of the day was seeing how churches from across our district partnered together to see incredible things take place. Here’s an excerpt from an article I wrote earlier about the day: …during The Bridge’s summer outreach event, a free “Family Fun Day,” held at the end of August when ten of the District’s 28 churches helped provide over 100 volunteers, funding, food, and other supplies which made the day a great success. The Bridge had 425 present at the event, providing (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, courage, Encouragement, faith, Family Fun Day, Holy Spirit, outreach, Pittsburgh, Prayer, The Bridge, Western PA District
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24 Jan 2011

Favor: Post 1 (of 5)

The Bridge is having a Grand Opening Celebration this weekend (it’s our ‘official launch’ for those of you who prefer church-planty lingo) and we are incredibly excited. It’s hard to believe the day will actually be here — especially when you stop to consider that a year ago neither the Coxes nor the Gomezes had yet become residents of Pittsburgh and our Launch Team could have been described as ‘embryonic’ at best! In preparation for and celebration of this weekend, I am making it a point to share some of the ways we have seen God’s favor in the adventure of launching The Bridge. So, I’ll be posting one example of this each day from now to Sunday. Here’s today’s: The Park At the end of August, The Bridge was hosting a “Family Fun Day” as a way to connect with the community. More details about the day will be included in tomorrow’s post, but the biggest hurdle early on (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, courage, Encouragement, faith, Family Fun Day, Holy Spirit, Pittsburgh, Prayer, strength, The Bridge
Posted in church planting | 4 Comments

15 Sep 2010

FFD Video

I still can’t believe I get to be part of what God is doing in Pittsburgh. One of the highlights thus far has been our Family Fun Day, held at the end of August when we were able to connect with a ton of people from the community and see what can happen when many churches come together just to love on people. If you haven’t seen it already, this highlight video is well worth the four-and-a-half minutes or so it takes to watch — it does a great job of giving you a little sense of what it was like to be there. (Thanks again to Ken Depeal and the Sandy Lake Wesleyan crew for shooting, editing, and sharing this video.)

Tags: church, church planting, Family Fun Day, Pittsburgh, video
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31 Aug 2010

Beauty in the Cluster.

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 things that made the day great was seeing so many of our District churches, all with different histories and of varying sizes, partnering together to love on the people of Penn Hills and demonstrate solidarity with us. The same is true for church planting: for some churches, there’s no way they could, by themselves, daughter a healthy, multiplying church; at least not yet. For all kinds of reasons, raising up a church planter and sending them out with a healthy (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Cost, courage, Encouragement, Family Fun Day, Leadership
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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 for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and we definitely sensed we were operating in God’s strength and by his favor. We asked you to pray for safety and security and we had no serious incidents; we were able to leave the park in better shape than we found it. There was one medical need that occurred immediately following the arrival of area medics who wanted to check in–the timing was amazing as God provided the right people at the (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, faith, Family Fun Day, Pittsburgh, Prayer, The Bridge
Posted in Prayer | 6 Comments

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 Note: We know…that a great event without the activity of God’s Spirit is just a fleeting moment; with God’s hand at work and his response to your prayers, tomorrow can be more than the opportunity for good publicity for The Bridge–it can be the day eternities are changed as people meet Jesus. To that end, we’d ask you to pray as you think of us today and tomorrow for… …the anointing of the Holy Spirit on our volunteers, leaders, and (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Family Fun Day, Pittsburgh, Prayer, The Bridge
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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 momentum. It has meant a lot of long days for Rick, our families, and me, and a ton of behind-the-scenes coordination and ‘procurement’ by people on our launch team. We’re pushing the limit in terms of energy and emotional RPMs. But just as much as we have been determined to push hard for what’s taking place in the next couple of weeks, we have noted the need to take time to refresh and renew. Our sense is that ministry, apprenticeship, (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Family Fun Day, Leadership, The Bridge
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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 and preparing for our PreView service, help us to remain faithful and focused on sharing your love and hope with those around us; give us eyes like yours and courage to speak, act, and love when prompted. God, we have asked you for twenty people to come to know you this Summer as a result of your interaction with them through The Bridge–help us to be a vessel you can use this weekend and as we make connections; would you (more…)

Tags: faith, Family Fun Day, Prayer, Preview Service, The Bridge
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jxgomez.com | Your message matters.

Posts Tagged ‘Family Fun Day’

Favor: Post 5 (of 5)

Favor: Post 2 (of 5)

Favor: Post 1 (of 5)

FFD Video

Beauty in the Cluster.

FunDay Follow-Up

Pre-Fun Day PrayerNote

It’s just like riding a bike…

My Prayer for this Week

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