The Adventure Continues...

And the adventure continues. So much has been going on the past couple of weeks, I can't believe it's already mid-July and summer's closing up! Well I have done lots of traveling in the past few weeks. I went from Colorado Springs to Dallas to Joplin. I was the camp missionary at Cyokamo Camp about a week and a half ago. That was a wonderful time! I got to hang out with kids (400 or so to be exact) and talk a little bit about church planting with them. They were a pretty awesome bunch. They raised over $1,500 for Epic Missions. Such a blessing! Then, last Sunday, we partnered with the YMCA in Andover to do, what we call, "Summer Countdowns." Epic comes in and we set up our moonbounces, have free-throw contests, prizes, and homemade Italian Creme Sodas (My Personal fav). Yum, Yum! On Tuesday we hosted "Summer Fun Days" at the Andover Library and that was a wonderful time as well. Again, we set up our moonbounces, handed out free popsicles, blew bubbles, drew with sidewalk chalk and hung out with kids. We sat up to meet the kids and their moms right after story hour concluded. One of the coolest things about church planting has been getting out into the community and just meeting families. Jory, our brand new worship pastor also came on Tuesday. Our staff is now up to 5...woo! He's here for good and is preparing for launch. Wednesday night we had a "Welcome" BBQ for him and a bunch of people came over to our house for that. Also on Wednesday night, Trista and I attended our first midnight premier--yes, we went to see Harry Potter (nerds, I know)! We also went bulk shopping for our children's ministry. That was AWESOME. I can't wait to start up and meet the kiddos! As we are getting closer please be praying for this stuff:

• Perseverance, perseverance, perseverance and strength!!
• Our launch team and our new worship pastor, Jory
• The Epic community God is formulating...
• ANDOVER (seriously this is huge)
• Our mass advertising day on August 29th and youth groups/small groups to help us out
• LAUNCH on September 13, 2009 (Can't wait, I'm so antsy!)

Service, burning for Jesus, Date night with Peter!

Another great weekend has come and gone! Yesterday Epic volunteered at the new YMCA in Andover. The Y just recently opened, and their outdoor water park's grand opening was yesterday. We helped grill free hot dogs, hand out free pop, baseball tickets, and sign people up for door prize drawings! It was pretty awesome to get out and serve in the community. We met tons of cool people and had the chance to chat it up with them. I also got a ridiculous sunburn on the back of my leg...burning for Jesus. The things we do...:) just kidding. But really, if you ever get the chance to check out the Andover water park...NIKE (just do it)!!!! It's pretty sweet. I wanted to trade in my epic shirt for a swim suit yesterday and take a ride on the lazy river. So fresh.

Also, last night, Kent and Jenni went out to dinner and a movie with a couple that we met at the Marble Slab one Tuesday night so Trista and I got to have a date night with our favorite 9 month-old stud, Peter Wagner! Great times at the Wagner household. Then, this morning, we headed over to attend church at Gracepoint, a 6 year-old church plant in Wichita. They meet at Northwest High School, and are gearing up and getting ready to head into a permanent facitility sometime in 2010. It was awesome to be a part of their family for a Sunday. The atmosphere was so real. People were themselves. That's what I really appreciated about Gracepoint. My favorite part of the service came when the pastor called for people who needed prayer to stand up. Then, people around them just went and laid hands on those who needed prayer. I loved that. There's such a bond in praying together.

Tonight we have a launch team meeting at the Y, and we are spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing and gearing up for another week.