and God has answered. While you may not hear as much about praying for three non-Christian
friends and family members in the future, please continue to pray — and please let us know
how God answers those prayers.
In addition to this great outpouring of evangelism, God has also used the Gospel of John
to move us in other ways. In John 12, the story of Mary’s extravagant gift of perfume resulted
in the extravagant offering as part of our Good Friday service. The generous giving by the
congregation will allow us to build a permanent prayer garden on our campus, and through it
God has given us an opportunity to “live the Bible” today and follow in Mary’s footsteps as she
honored our Lord Jesus Christ. I can’t wait to see how God is going to use this prayer garden in
the life of Calvary Church.
As for the coming year, God has impressed upon the Calvary Church leadership that our
focus is to be on encouraging and developing community. First, we want to see every person at
Calvary part of our gathered assembly on Sunday mornings. Second, every person also needs to
be engaged in some form of smaller community. The purpose of these communities is to provide
opportunities for group members to meet together, pray for each other, grow spiritually as they
study God’s Word, and care for one another. Whether this is a small neighborhood group or an
adult Sunday class, God is calling us to connect more deeply with a smaller group of people at
Calvary.
As part of the emphasis on community, God has given us the book of Ephesians to study
as a church on Sunday mornings. The letter of Ephesians is designed to show believers how to
create biblical community by establishing a theological framework and then providing practical
guidelines. The series is entitled Life {Together}, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store
for us this year. My own family is excited as our neighborhood community group officially
launches this fall. We are praying that every person who is a part of Calvary Church will also be
part of this important initiative.
Thank you for your continued prayers for Calvary Church. May God continue to grant us
the grace to experience his presence in the midst of our worship services and may we experience
deeper levels of true community that are possible only in and through Jesus.
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