Support raising seems so long ago.  I remember sitting down with many of you to talk about the dream of starting a church in Culpeper.  I look back on the prayers we all prayed together for our Lord to raise up a beach head for the gospel along the 29 corridor into Washington DC.  I still have notes and emails of encouragement that I collected during those preparatory months.

And today I sit in the middle of the dream I talked to you about.  We're 7 months post-launch looking back on what the Lord has done.  And I'm amazed.  I'm humbled.

Thank you for sending me as your missionary to Culpeper, VA.  There isn't a week that doesn't go by that I don't run into somebody who has been affected by our—yours and my—ministry here.  If we were to pull out today there would be a noticeable hole in the lives of so many here in Culpeper.  There would be a noticed absence in the community we've grown to love. 

Your giving and praying sent us here and are keeping us here.  You are as much a part of this ministry as I am.  I talk about you often to our people.  I thank God for you in my prayers.  Wherever this email finds you, know that our God has provided you with tangible proof that his kingdom is expanding as the gospel of his Son is preached. 

Thank you.

Update on Hallie

We were hoping that Hallie would be pain free following her surgery.  But so far, she still feels pain often in her neck and arm.  The doctor told us this could just be a part of her vertebrae fusing.  It's been discouraging.  Please continue to pray for Hallie.

Growth

We continue to grow.  In fact, we are growing faster than I expected.  We continue to bump at and over the 100 person mark Sunday to Sunday.  This past Sunday was the first Sunday we had to set out all of the chairs in the gymnasium—150 in all.

Over the summer one of my church planting coaches counseled me to start thinking and acting like we were a church of 150 people.  I thought he was crazy.  Sitting here in October, I'm glad I heeded his counsel.  As I tell my folks on Sunday morning, pray for our worship to be busting at capacity.  But don't do it so that the name of Christ Covenant would be great.  Instead, do it so the name of Jesus would be great. 

Community Groups

We started three community groups this past Fall.  I'm happy to report that all three are healthy and growing.  Every Sunday evening they meet to apply the morning's sermon to their lives.  They are also scheming of ways to serve Culpeper and invite non-Christians to join them as they discuss the gospel. 

Not Settling

Our big push right now is to make sure that we are actively seeking the lost of Culpeper.  The temptation at this stage in our growth is to become complacent as a church experiencing healthy growth.  What makes assessing our health at this stage difficult is that most of our growth is from professing Christians.  I meet non-Christians all week long.  But so far, they aren't comfortable enough to attend our worship.  We don't want to settle to just gather disenfranchised Christians in Culpeper.  As our Lord calls, we want to see non-Christians challenged with the claims of the gospel.  We want to see adult baptisms.  We want to see people bend the knee to Jesus or be offended by him.  But we don't want to settle.  Pray for us. 

Giving

Thank you for your faithful giving to the work of our mission church here in Culpeper.  We are on track to be self-supporting by year 4 from our launch date.  Your giving is a crucial part of our financial health.  I know many of you are not just giving out of your budget but giving sacrificially.  As the close of 2010 approaches, I want to thank you for your gifts this year.  And if you know anyone who is looking to make a year end gift toward a tax-deductible group, we'd love to be the recipients. 

Prayer

1. Pray that God would give us courage and skill in reaching the lost of Culpeper.
2. Pray for Hallie and her recovery.  Pray that she would pain free.
   
3. Pray for our congregation as we suffer.  We have a number of families that are undergoing significant trials.
4. Pray for the Holland family—for our protection and growth.  Pray that we would keep Jesus first.
   
5. Pray that our community groups would be effective in equipping Christians to reach their neighbors.
6. Pray for me as I preach the gospel each week.  Pray also that God would be near to me whenever I'm tempted to feel discouraged.
   

True Christian righteousness is the righteousness of Christ who lives in us. We must look away from our own person. Christ and my conscience must become one, so that I can see nothing else but Christ crucified and raised from the dead for me. If I keep on looking at myself, I am gone.