Well, here we go! This Sunday The church in DeKalb will be gathered for Sunday morning worship at 10:00am at The House Café for our first ever worship service!

Obviously we’re pretty amped for this and really the whole week leading up to our first service. As well as the service we have a lot going on this week, officially, in our Community Group, and our Food Drive on Saturday, as well as all of the preparation for Sunday morning like printing programs, finding offering plates, checking the sound and setup at The House Café, practicing worship songs and scripture readings, and writing a sermon.

I hope you’re praying for us and for our events this week as well as the “spring board” effect of our Easter service as we’ll be launching a second Community Group and other fellowship and service events following Sunday’s service.

More good news:

Cherron I found a house! We’ve gone from a farmhouse to a house on a farm. The blue farmhouse that we liked very much sold about two weeks ago but we kept our eyes open and actually found a house on a farm on the outskirts of DeKalb. The rent seems very inexpensive for what we’re getting: a three bedroom house with a basement on over three acres with a play set and swings for the kids, a basketball court and a baseball field! God has given us more than we asked for! It’s going to be a great house for TcD events and gatherings…a great house for building great community.

Cher, the kids and I will be moving in on May 1^st. Thanks to the Winters for their friendship, their support, and allowing us to rent their Batavia house for the last three years.

Praise God that giving has been good so far this month. We have a goal to raise $4000 for April’s TcD budget needs. So far we’ve raised $1265.00. Our support usually comes in at the beginning and end of the month so we’re hoping that you can help us in the middle.

*Break*

I just had another great conversation with a local high school Spanish teacher as I was writing our weekly update. She was very impressed with our desire to be a church for the whole city and very helpful in recommending some ideas to reach the Hispanic part of town on the East side of the railroad tracks here. Got to talk about her church background a bit and it was awesome to be able to invite her and her family to worship this Sunday morning!!

*I’m back…*

We’ve picked up one or two more $40 per month supporters but still need over 20 more. Please consider giving online at www.reachingdekalb.net or by mailing a check to Redeemer Fellowship at 1125 Oak Street St. Charles, IL 60174.

If you haven’t checked out the website it’s new and updated and looks amazing! Thanks to Brian Malcolm for his help! Check it out www.reachingdekalb.net

Also, if you aren’t familiar with Twitter you should check it out (www.twitter.com). I use Twitter throughout the day and I have found that it is a great way to follow, almost live, what I’m doing in DeKalb. It’s a great way to stay up to date, know what’s always happening, and helpful if you’re one of our prayer partners to know specific ways to pray for TcD and me. Once signed up with Twitter you can add me, my user name is pastorjamie. I’ve also created a TcD specific account where you can follow official TcD happenings. Sign up and also add TchurchD.

*Break, again*

Just found out that NPR will be airing our Food Drive ad for FREE!! Sweet!!

*I’m back, again…*

Alright, lots to do this week in preparation for Sunday! Thanks for continuing to support us, and thank you for your partnership in the Gospel!

Grace and Peace,

Jamie

One of the things that Cher and I missed the most during our venture to Texas, that strange and foreign land, was the definitive changing of the seasons. Texas seasons just do not change as dramatically as Northern Illinois seasons. My favorite season has always been spring. I’ve always been eager for the deadness of winter to pass into the newness of spring time; the grass greening, the trees budding, the tulips emerging from the recently thawed ground. And baseball too! Spring is the beginning of my favorite sport. As a kid I longed for the spring, looking forward to breaking out my baseball glove to play catch with my dad, my brothers, or just to throw a ball against the garage door.

Spring for me has always been a season of expectation, of looking forward, of hope.

As a Christian Easter has buttressed my feelings of spring time too, as Easter celebrates the risen Christ and points to our own hope of being raised with Him. We rejoice, as Paul says, in hope of the glory of God!
This spring I find myself looking forward to more than usual as we are now just two Sundays away from our first Sunday morning worship gathering, and with that the launching into a new phase of planting the Gospel here in DeKalb.

This week’s update is more about looking forward to the weeks ahead than a reflection on this past week (which continued the awesomeness of what God is doing here, we had a new record high of 16 at our community group and have a guest list of over 60 for our first Sunday service). My hope in being forward-looking this week is that you will join with us in praying about the opportunities that lie ahead of us over the next few weeks.

Of course the big event upcoming is our first Sunday morning worship gathering which will be taking place at 10:00am on April 12th at the House Café. We’re hoping to have a great turn out and already know we have friends and supporters coming from at least 4 states! Of course too we want to have a good turn out from new people here in DeKalb.

The day before Easter we’ll be having a food drive at Schnuck’s grocery store here in DeKalb from 10:00am to 4:00pm. We’ll be collecting non-perishable food to distribute to needy families here in DeKalb and giving the balance to the Northern Illinois Food Bank which supports numerous food pantries across Northern Illinois. We’re hoping too that the food drive, while being a great opportunity to serve people, will also be a great opportunity for us to meet new people in DeKalb and be able to share our vision for planting a new church here. Pray that we can collect a good amount of food. Pray too that we are able, through the food drive, to meet people who need to hear the Gospel and get plugged into a local church.

The same week as Easter we will launch our second Community Group which will meet on Wednesday nights, giving TcD people, and visitors to our Easter service the opportunity to connect on either Tuesday or Wednesday nights for Community Group. We’re hopeful that the addition of a second Community Group will help to multiply the number of people getting involved in TcD.

We’re hoping to have our second Sunday service on May 10th and that same evening begin our first Members Class which will run through the rest of May each Sunday night. In our members class people will learn what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be a member of The church in DeKalb. We’re hopeful that after the completion of our first Members Class, which will end on May 31st that we will have a number of candidates for baptism. Then at our third service, June 7th, we will have the opportunity to baptize our first TcD members!

While these are the “big” things that are going on with The church in DeKalb, there are many smaller, daily things happening both now and over the next weeks. I’m busy meeting new people every day and getting to share both the Gospel and our vision for TcD. Too we have a good number of people already involved with our church who I have the awesome privilege to meet with weekly for discipleship and shepherding. Pray for our people. We’re a church of folks with a good amount of things happening in our lives, and thankful that God has brought us together and is making us into a community by the Gospel. I’m also busy doing fundraising (and wishing that I were more successful at it!)
We’re hopeful for much this spring!

Thank you for continuing to support us in prayer and encouragement. Thank so many of you who responded in big ways with financial support last week!

We still have much need for financial support. If you’re able you can give through the website at www.reachingdekab.net or by mailing checks made out to Redeemer Fellowship and clearly marked for the DeKalb church plant to 1125 Oak Street St. Charles, IL 60174.

Speaking of the website…it has been updated a great deal just yesterday, check it out!

As always, thank you for your partnership in the Gospel! God continues to do great things here in DeKalb!

Grace and Peace,
Jamie