We are so glad you are following along with our journey of planting a church in Sioux City, Iowa! Here is a little bit of what's been happening lately in the life of Connect Church. Just to set the scene, Clarissa will be writing most of these, so it is from her perspective. Items written by Nate will be noted as such. :)
After several snags, Nate and I finally got to close on our house on April 11, and moved in the next day. We had a large group to help us, and we couldn't have done it without them! It went so smoothly and quickly. We are pretty much unpacked and settled in now. So much so, we decided to get a dog to join us on our crazy adventure! We adopted Murphy the sheepadoodle on Memorial Day weekend and he has been an excellent addition to our family. He is settling right in as well. He is a great watchdog who barks at everything (and sometimes he barks at nothing at all!). I've included his picture below (it's much cuter than ours).
Connect Church is an official 501c3! In April, we received documents through the Missionary Church to be such, and we are in process of filing these documents with the state and opening a bank account for Connect. More to come on that.
We have been meeting on Sunday mornings in our home, just me and Nate so far. We first went through Acts 2:42-47, as this is the model of church Connect will follow:
"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals...and to prayer..."
Since then, we have been going through the book of Nehemiah.
We are beginning to talk to and ask people who God has placed on our hearts to be a part of Connect Church. Please pray that these conversations would be fruitful and that the LORD would open peoples' hearts to being a part of this church plant.
Nate and I have also begun coaching sessions with various people from the Missionary Church. He continues meeting with Pastor Edgar several times a month for mentorship, coaching and encouragement. He also receives bi-weekly coaching from Tim Roehl and bi-weekly strategical coaching with Tim Maki. I have begun to meet with Shirley Roehl, Tim's wife, and receive coaching and guidance from her bi-weekly also.