Community Groups
As Hallie was undergoing surgery I was sitting in the hospital cafeteria. I had brought work to do but it was hard to concentrate on any one task for long. I ended up offering up short prayers, worrying some, trying to work, and repeating the process again. But in the midst of what was a rough two hours I was humbled as I thought about how many people were at that moment praying for Hallie. Many of you who receive this update prayed for her and her recovery. Her name went onto prayer sheets and into prayer meetings. Thank you! You continue to be a support to this work and to my family. I'm pleased to report that Hallie continues to recover. Bone fusion is measured in terms of months and not weeks. So please continue to pray for her healing.
In the midst of family trials the work of planting Christ Covenant has gone on. I spent the summer training 3 community group leaders. Those groups will launch this coming Sunday. Pray for their success. We're really excited for what these groups mean for our ministry in Culpeper. As a result of the housing market bust God has given us a unique opportunity to reach Culpeper. Let me explain by telling you a little bit about Virginia Ave. When people started moving to Culpeper en masse there was an immediate need for housing and new subdivisions. Builders met demand by building homes and neighborhoods as fast as they could—like the three subdivisions that were built on Virginia Ave. These homes were a hot commodity pushing their prices up to highs of $450,000 in 2007. Since then those prices have dropped as the recession has come and gone. Just a year ago those same homes that were going for $450,000 had depreciated by over 50% and were selling for $200,000. This took a neighborhood that had been populated by a homogeneous group of upper-middle class folks and immediately made it a mixture of three different kinds of people. The first group of folks are people who bought at $450,000 and stayed. They are underwater in their mortgages and would move if they could. The second group of people are those who bought at $200,000 or lower. And the third group of people rent these homes from the folks who bought at $450,000 and couldn't stay in their homes. These folks are all in one place when they are in their neighborhood. But they scatter in every direction during the week. This is a huge opportunity for us. As we create community groups in neighborhoods like these we have the opportunity to reach vastly different people with a very few resources. Please pray for our community groups, that they would reach the lost in their neighborhoods. This is an amazing opportunity that we want to take advantage of. We believe that as the lost are brought to salvation in Christ they become missionaries in their neighborhoods and communities. Imagine a host of missionaries leaving Virginia Ave and dispersing into Culpeper to make much of the Jesus that saved them from their sins. It's an amazing dream. And we're praying that God would make it a reality. I look forward to telling you next month how these groups are growing. Thank you for your prayer and financial support. We literally cannot do this ministry without you.Your servant in Christ, Joe
In the midst of family trials the work of planting Christ Covenant has gone on. I spent the summer training 3 community group leaders. Those groups will launch this coming Sunday. Pray for their success. We're really excited for what these groups mean for our ministry in Culpeper. As a result of the housing market bust God has given us a unique opportunity to reach Culpeper. Let me explain by telling you a little bit about Virginia Ave. When people started moving to Culpeper en masse there was an immediate need for housing and new subdivisions. Builders met demand by building homes and neighborhoods as fast as they could—like the three subdivisions that were built on Virginia Ave. These homes were a hot commodity pushing their prices up to highs of $450,000 in 2007. Since then those prices have dropped as the recession has come and gone. Just a year ago those same homes that were going for $450,000 had depreciated by over 50% and were selling for $200,000. This took a neighborhood that had been populated by a homogeneous group of upper-middle class folks and immediately made it a mixture of three different kinds of people. The first group of folks are people who bought at $450,000 and stayed. They are underwater in their mortgages and would move if they could. The second group of people are those who bought at $200,000 or lower. And the third group of people rent these homes from the folks who bought at $450,000 and couldn't stay in their homes. These folks are all in one place when they are in their neighborhood. But they scatter in every direction during the week. This is a huge opportunity for us. As we create community groups in neighborhoods like these we have the opportunity to reach vastly different people with a very few resources. Please pray for our community groups, that they would reach the lost in their neighborhoods. This is an amazing opportunity that we want to take advantage of. We believe that as the lost are brought to salvation in Christ they become missionaries in their neighborhoods and communities. Imagine a host of missionaries leaving Virginia Ave and dispersing into Culpeper to make much of the Jesus that saved them from their sins. It's an amazing dream. And we're praying that God would make it a reality. I look forward to telling you next month how these groups are growing. Thank you for your prayer and financial support. We literally cannot do this ministry without you.Your servant in Christ, Joe
