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Apr/May Praise & Prayer Requests
TWE Praises
for March and April 2013
· We celebrated our fourth anniversary as a church March 17th
with a praise and testimony service. It
was a HUGE blessing and encouragement to hear one person after another praise God
for the work He’s done in their lives in and through our church. It seemed like the praises could have gone on
all day! You can hear all the
testimonies online on the Stories page of our website www.thewatersedge.net.
· We had our annual meeting March 24th and set our
budget. I was so proud of the cuts that
everyone was willing to make in order to adjust to significantly lower
projected giving. Since then, Lincoln
Park CC offered to give us some beautiful office space for free and giving has been ahead of budget. Praise God for His hope giving and faithful
provision!
· Easter was week was a huge blessing and success at TWE this year! We had a nice turn out for our Good Friday
service and we had a HUGE turnout Easter Sunday. Lots of people came early for breakfast and
over 150 came for the service. Jesus was
proclaimed, worshipped, and adored, hearts were touched, and some of the first
time visitors have been coming ever since! Praise God for the boldness and faithfulness of all who invited a friend
to church whether they said yes to the invitation of not. Way to go!
· Speaking of first time visitors… we had several new people not only
check us out but stay in March and April. Our average attendance is back up above 100 again, and God is on the move
in the hearts of many.
· 15 or more ladies, including some who are very new to the church,
attended the women’s retreat April 19-20 and were greatly blessed.
· We had a baby dedication on April 21st. Jaxon, Maximus, and
Alivia were all dedicated and were joined by lots of family and friends who
don’t go to our church. It was a very
neat Sunday, and once again the Lord was on the move.
· Speaking of babies… Eva Gabrielle was born to Phil and Jessica (4/27)
and Clayton Scott was born to Rob and Bethany (5/1). Praise the Lord for these new additions to
the TWE family!
· On top of all of that…
o There was a great turnout for the guy’s wing night
o Dave E, Kellen, and Caleb all got new jobs
o Brina and La’Shawn’s wedding reception went great
o Jonathan and Denny both preached and did super
o 7 people completed the membership class and are considering membership
o Pastor Erik is taking the final steps in his ordination process and
his ordination service is set for June 2nd
o Erik L completed the final leg of his training for FCA
o Church basketball was a huge blessing and is looking like it will
continue into the summer
· Bearing fruit…
o We were able to
use the benevolent fund to help two people with rent and another with utilities
o We were able to
help a new friend move into his new apartment
o At least three
families took a serious look at their finances and how they could be better stewards
of the money God has given them
o A young lady “saw
God today” as He worked in and through the lives of those around her
o A couple on the verge of divorce, sought help, humbled themselves and
apologized to one another, and made the
decision to reconcile and take divorce off the table from now on
o A long time marriage that was hurting, began to be healed
TWE Prayer Requests for May 2013
· Pray that God would just keep doing what He’s been doing! That He would continue to touch our hearts
and build our church as we head into the summer. PRAISE THE LORD!!!
Mar/Apr Praise & Prayer Requests
God has been really blessing Hannah and Samantha as they lead the
Wednesday night women’s Bible study. One
veteran of Wednesday night’s said she’s loving this new study and looking
forward to it every week. Praise God!
· God really blessed Pastor Erik and the pastor/elder candidates (Erik
L, Denny, and Jonathan) at this year’s Desiring God Pastor’s Conference in the
Cities in early February. All would
agree that though the teaching was wonderful, the best part was the time spent
together. One commented, “We went down
as friends but came back as brothers.” Amen to that!
· The February 17th combined worship service with
· Nearly 20 of us came out for the Feb 22-23 marriage simulcast by Mark
Driscoll and were hugely blessed and challenged by his engaging, truthful, and heart-touching
teaching. We hope to offer the webinar
again in the month’s to come.
· Nineteen men attended the March 1-2 men’s retreat, including a handful
who are not regulars at TWE. The
fellowship was wonderful and the Lord moved in our hearts as we considered together
how to grow as men of integrity.
· Max and Patty are into their new apartment!
· Chris and Brenda had their new baby, Sydney Ruth!
· Bearing fruit…
Clark and Naomi
decided to become members.
Andrew felt God’s
call to teach and preach.
Lindsey had
really cool encounter with the Holy Spirit.
A dozen guys took
a late night time out from the men’s retreat to help some friends in need.
TWE Prayer Requests for March 2013
· Pray for the culmination of our budgeting process this month. Pray for wisdom as we make necessary cuts and
sacrifices and for God’s generous financial provision in 2013.
· Praise God! TWE is turning four
years old this month! Pray that both the
Lord and our church would be greatly blessed as we come together to praise Him
for all He’s done at our March 17th Anniversary Praise and Testimony
Service.
· Pray that we would be diligent in preparing our hearts for Easter,
March 31st. May we be much in
the Word and in prayer as the week of our Lord’s Passion approaches. May the Lord fill us with recognition of our
sin, love for Jesus, and love for others as we concentrate on the cross, and
may we be bold and loving in our sharing with and inviting of others.
· Pray that God would bless the women’s Mugs and Muffins event March 16th
and the planning of the women’s retreat.
· Pray that the Lord would motivate the men to continue to gather
together regularly and to spur one another on to grow in holiness and integrity
following the men’s retreat.
· Pray for healing for Wendy’s back following her surgery and for
healing for Karen and Justin’s hearts following the loss of their baby Elionna.
· Pray that God would use the hardships of 2012 to prune us, in order
that we can bear much fruit in 2013.
· Pray that we would take time to be holy in 2013, making time every day to spend unrushed, uninterrupted, quiet time with
the Lord, just like Jesus did.
· Pray that as we take time to be holy in 2013 that we would not forget
about the need to reach out to others. In fact, pray that as we take time to be holy and grow to become more
like Jesus, we would become more and more outreaching just like He was.
· Pray that God would light a real fire in each of Ministry Groups to
know Him, to love each other, and to become more and more like the Acts 2
community.
Jan/Feb Praise & Prayer Requests
TWE Praises
for January 2013
· God allowed Jon
and Hannah to walk away from a serious car accident with only bumps and
bruises.
· The first night
of the Wednesday night men’s discipleship group went very well.
· Prayer week was a
wonderful blessing. We prayed for ourselves, our church, and our world during
the three special prayer nights and Pastor Erik preached about being persistent
in prayer and not losing heart and about not being anxious about anything but instead
praying about everything.
· Church league basketball
got off to a good start. About 24 guys
are playing for our two TWE teams. About
half the guys do attend TWE regularly. Our
prayer is God will change that.
·
· Samia shared a
bold, transparent, wonderful, and hopeful testimony that every young woman and
father should hear.
· Erik L preached
for his third time and learned a lot.
· There was a nice
turnout at the woman’s craft day. The
ladies had a great time and some even finished their scrapbooks J.
· Ron D and the
Emersons are feeling better at last.
· Our first new
comer’s dessert in a while was a blessing and an encouragement to all.
· Bearing fruit…
o Someone asked for
prayer, guidance, patience, and accountability regarding a new relationship that
they want to be sure is honoring to God.
o Another has
endeavored not just to read the Bible once in 2013 but twice from cover to
cover!
o Another has
resolved to keep the commitments they make in 2013 and is setting short term
physical and spiritual goals and meeting them.
o Another is
consistently getting out of their comfort zone in obedience to God and making
big time spiritual, personal, and relational strides.
TWE Prayer Requests for February 2013
· Pray that God would use the hardships of 2012 to prune us, in order
that we can bear much fruit in 2013.
· Pray that we would take time to be holy in 2013, making unrushed, uninterrupted, daily quiet time in our busy lives
to spend with the Lord just like Jesus did; time where our only agenda is to
listen to Him, talk to Him, and enjoy Him.
· Pray that as we take time to be holy in 2013 that we would not forget
about the need to reach out to others. In fact, pray that as we take time to be holy and grow to become more like
Jesus we would be more and more outreaching and inviting as we should be.
· Pray for anointing, leading, passion, and blessing for Hannah and
Samantha who will be leading the next session of the Wednesday night women’s
Bible study.
· Pray that that God would the Feb 22-23 marriage seminar presented by
Mark Driscoll and his wife to strengthen current marriages as well as future
ones.
· Pray for the March 1-2 men’s retreat on Integrity: Doing What’s Right When No Else is Around. Pray for bold inviting, a huge turnout,
wonderful fellowship, and changed hearts and minds.
· Pray for Pastor Erik and the pastor/elder candidates (Erik L, Denny,
and Jonathan) as they head down to the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference the
first week in February. May the Lord
touch their hearts, mold them together, and ignite in them an even greater
passion for God and His church.
· Pray for yearly budgeting process that has begun. Our giving is way down so far in 2013. Pray for wisdom, willingness to sacrifice,
and for the Lord’s gracious provision.
· Pray for our February 17th combined worship service with
· Pray that God would light a real fire in each of our Ministry Groups
to know Him, to love each other, and to become more and more like the Acts 2
community.