“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.” Psalm 126:2-3

Reflecting on the past several weeks since launching public worship on Easter Sunday, I can’t help but echo the psalmist. The Lord has done great things!

Sunday Morning Worship

One of the most exciting aspects of church planting is recognizing our dependence upon the Lord. He alone has the power to draw people to Himself and He is working out His sovereign will.

We have faith that He will bring those who He purposes to be a part of Providence Presbyterian Church. So every Sunday morning we arrive at the American Legion building with open hands, expectant for who the Lord will bring.

We’re currently averaging 50 people for worship each week, with many new visitors and returning visitors. It’s been encouraging to see many different generations represented - singles, young families, empty nesters. Some have grown up in the church, others are coming back to church after years away, and some have never been a part of the church. We know that people will be in and out throughout the summer, but we’re excited to see who the Lord will bring to worship with us.

I’m currently preaching through the gospel of John and I anticipate that it will take us well over a year to go all the way through. We’ve been sharing the sermons (along with the Worship Guides for each Sunday) on the church plant’s website here and we hope to begin live streaming our services in the near future.

Our core group has been invaluable for coming early on Sunday mornings to set up the sanctuary, nursery, and lobby areas, arrange chairs, prepare the Lord’s Supper, greet people as they walk in the door, sing in worship, serve in the nursery, and tear down everything once worship is over. These early months (and most likely, years) of the church plant require all hands on deck, and we’ve been grateful for their willingness to serve in all of these ways.

Fellowship Gatherings

Another great aspect of church planting is that no one is an outsider; everyone is new! So over the past month we’ve tried to provide fellowship opportunities to allow people to get to know one another better.

Men got dinner together at Mission BBQ, ladies met up for coffee and dessert at Evie’s Bistro & Bakery, moms and children have started gathering one morning each month to play and spend time together, and we’ve met up on a couple Saturday mornings for coffee and donuts at Longwood Park. We also had our first church potluck (or as one friend put it, “pot-providence”) after worship at the American Legion’s outdoor pavilion and it was a lot of fun.

While we hope to begin book studies this summer and Bible studies this fall, these fellowship events have been helpful for building community at this stage of the church plant.

Support Update

The Lord has blessed Providence through the generosity of so many individuals, families, and churches. We continue to exceed our goal for our first year’s budget and, thanks to pledged support, we are $1,500 away from reaching our goals for our Year 2 and Year 3 budgets as well. Praise the Lord!

In addition, we have also been given a generous donation of $75,000 to go toward a building fund. To say we are grateful and humbled would be an understatement! The Lord continues to go before us and provide for our every need.

Thank you so much to all who have financially supported Providence Presbyterian Church.

If you’re interested in supporting our church plant, you can give online by clicking the button below.

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Prayer Requests

Please continue to pray for Providence! We would especially appreciate prayer for:

New and returning visitors. Please ask the Lord to add to our number! We want more to come, hear, and respond to the gospel, return to worship with us, and become part of what the Lord is doing at Providence.
Our congregation. Pray that the Lord would continue to sustain us and provide rich community among us as we serve and worship together.
Continued favor with the American Legion. We are grateful for a good relationship with the folks at the American Legion and pray that the Lord will continue to give us favor with them.
Interactions and opportunities in our community. Please pray for our interactions with friends and neighbors as we tell them about Providence. But even more importantly, pray that we would be especially mindful of opportunities to share the good news of Christ with those around us.

Thank you again for following along with what the Lord is doing in and through Providence.

-Jake