Alameda Prayer Requests (and Answers!), 5/18/12

[Jeff Locke]

Everyone, thank you a thousand times for your prayers. It is enormously encouraging to know that you are all interceding with us before the throne of grace. The church is always a body, and even in this pre-plant stage, I'm grateful to know that so many members of Christ's body are with us in prayer.  

A (Major) Answer to Prayer!

This week we signed the lease on our new apartment in Alameda! We will be located on the west side of the main island, on Haight Ave one block off of Webster. Kathy is already furiously selling all our old furniture and packing things into boxes, and Jonas reminds us every day that our current place is our "old house" and that we have a "new house" in Alameda. Thank you all for asking our Father for housing for us. He has provided abundantly (3 bedrooms, 2 baths!). This first tangible answer to prayer gives me all the more boldness to bring my requests to Him in Jesus's name, confident that He will hear.

We will be moving the morning of Saturday, June 2nd. If you would like to help, either with loading the truck in SF or unloading in Alameda, please let me know. My contact info is at the bottom.

Requests:

• Pray for people in Alameda – This request is first and foremost for us. We want to plant because we want to reach people with the gospel of God's grace in Christ. Please join us in praying that God would bring 10 people to faith in the first year of the church's ministry. The planting prize is the advance of the gospel and the glory of God. Keep this in prayer.
  
• Pray for Wellspring and Christ Church – Please pray that each of our sending congregations would be united in their desire to see the plant go forward. Also, pray that God would bless each church as this is a significant step of faith and sacrifice on their part for the sake of the gospel.
• Pray for the plant team – Please pray that God would both build the team numerically (bringing everyone he's called to be part of the church) and spiritually (binding us together in love and empowering us to do the work He's called us to).
• Pray for discernment – There are several important decisions on the horizon, from meeting location to broader affiliation. Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom to discern His will, and His Spirit to guide us.

We are excited to embark on the mission Christ has called us to, but know that it will be accomplished "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6). Thank you again for your praying to the Lord and relying on His Spirit together with us. 

If you know of anyone else who would like to join us in prayer, send them this link where they can sign up for this group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/plantalameda. 

Blessings in Christ,

Jeff Locke

415-742-1675

jeffc...@gmail.com