Jan. 7th

What a cool and crazy holiday season!

C3 had our first worship gathering "out of the house" on Christmas Eve. Although many of our core group were travelling etc., we still had a great turnout! The facility we rented was pretty ideal for our adults, but since it has only one room, we are still looking for a space that will give our children's ministry the space they need, too.  Please continue with us to pray that God will help us find the right place. We don't want to "lock in" to a long lease, or make a purchase too quickly, so we will be perfectly content to rent on a weekly basis right now. 

While I'm excited about Christmas Eve, our biggest news comes in the area of "Serve the world." 

In early December, I met a couple of great guys who were living under one of the overpasses at an I-10 intersection. From this meeting, some of our core group have begun what we are (for the time being) calling "the overpass ministry." 

I know, creative. 

Anyway,  the name isn't the important part. What is important, are the ways we are getting to know some great folks who don't have a place to live, or sometimes anything to eat. This is not "charity" work, or a handout. This is the Kingdom of God. When we serve someone that might be regarded by some as "the least of these," we are serving Christ Himself. Please join us in praying that our great God will lead us where He wants us to go with this opportunity.

Thanks so much for praying!

In Him We Live,

Jeff

Dec. 24th

Merry CHRISTmas!

Tonight, Convergence will hold our first service outside a home!  We'll be meeting in the Creekstone community clubhouse for our Christmas Eve service, tonight at 6:00. Our long- term prospects here are unlikely, since there is only one room, and our regular Sunday gatherings need space for our children's ministry as well. But it is a wonderful facility and will be great for tonight's service, with seating for almost 50, a kitchenette and restrooms. 

Please join us in praying for tonight's worship gathering. It looks like we may have several guests with us for the first time, and we want to share the light of the Gospel of Christ clearly, and with love. 

I hope this Christmas season is a blessing to you, and hope you will be used by our Mighty God to be a blessing to someone else!

In Him We Live,

Jeff

Dec. 16th

Howdy!

Christmas is approaching, and C3 is hoping to have our first service "out of the house" on Christmas Eve. We are working now to secure a local community clubhouse for this "family-style" gathering, and hope to get a feel for how this location might work for us in the future. Please join us in praying for this gathering!

C3 also just had our first "official" gathering devoted entirely to prayer. It was a great time, and will be a regular part of our schedule. From that gathering, I'd like to share some requests from a few of the people who were there:

• Wisdom concerning a job situation.
• Wisdom for financial guidance during the holidays and into the new year.
• To see people the way Christ sees them, and to love them as He loves.
• A home for C3. A facility that will grow with us; that fits our "DNA." And that in all things we seek God's guidance first, and then continually throughout.

"Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together.  Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer."
     ~ Charles Finney

In Him We Live,

Jeff

Nov. 29th

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our internet connection has been down at home this week (since Tuesday night or maybe Wednesday morning), so I've had limited access over the past few days. Since I've been given the opportunity to "borrow" a connection for a few hours today, I do want to take this chance to ask for your prayers concerning a few special folks this week:

• J.D. is a very good friend to many of us at C3. Though now making their home in Alaska, we still consider he and his family a part of ours. With that in mind, J.D.'s mom is recovering from surgery in Austin this week, and I hope you will join us in praying for her recovery, as well as peace for J.D. as he can't be there with her.
• There is a little girl, just a few weeks old now, named Alexis Hocanson, who is recovering from some fairly serious heart work in a hospital in Columbus, OH. The most recent development involves potential temporary paralysis of some of her cranial nerves. Please pray that the Great Physician will restore this beautiful little girl to full health and allow her to be home in Findlay with her whole family for Christmas.
• Our search for a temporary new location for C3 continues. Pleas continue to pray with us, as we are needing to get into a larger place soon. Our gatherings lately have been possible, but very "cozy!"

Thank you for praying for these needs, and for continuing to partner with Convergence Christian Church!

In Him We Live,

Jeff

Nov. 20th

Hallloooo!

This week, we'd like to ask you to continue praying for some of C3's friends, who are serving our great God in other parts of His Kingdom, as well as some folks close to home:

• Beth is a part of Healing Pointe Community Church in Terre Haute, IN. Please pray for God's peace and encouragement as she faces some tough times.
• Mare is working in Nigeria with Global Christian Ministries and recently had to get all of her co-workers out of jail. Needless to say, they are struggling against both flesh-and-blood and spiritual forces there. Please pray for strength, protection, boldness, and daily bread.
• Please pray for a family member of one of our core team. God knows who it is and what is needed.
• Please pray that I (Jeff) will honor our God through this ministry- that my example would reflect Jesus and my will would be yielded to HIS.

Thank you for praying!

In Him We Live,

Jeff

Nov. 13th

Hi Prayer Partners!

Thanks so much for choosing to lock arms with C3 and join us in this incredible adventure for the glory and the fame of our great God, the I AM! What an honor to be able to "...approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)." It is really kind of amazing when you stop and think about the reality of wide-open communication with the Creator of everything.

As we begin, here are a couple of updates:

• This past weekend, I was able to meet with our trustees, Ed, Charlie, and Ron, and it was fantastic! We got to spend a good deal of time in prayer, and in discussion concerning what is next for C3. Thank you for praying for us- we were able to cover some significant ground that will be very helpful to us as we navigate the next 3-4 months.
• There has been some progress in our search for a place to meet, although any details would still be premature. Please continue to pray that we find a good location at a reasonable cost.
• Our second week of meeting outdoors went very well, with another sunny Sunday! Please continue to pray that we can use this alternative as much as possible over the next few weeks.

As you pray this week, please also remember the following:

• Dorothea (who helped create "Zeke") was in an auto accident earlier this week. Although she was not hurt, their vehicle didn't fair as well. It would be much better for them to get the car repaired, rather than having the insurance company declare it to be "totalled." Please pray that the vehicle with be declared repairable.
• Please also pray for Jessica's nephew. Jessica is a friend of Chris, who is a part of C3. Jessica's nephew is in the hospital being treated for severe dehydration, and seems to be fighting a virus that hasn't yet been identified. Several other members of his family are also sick.
• Finally, please pray for Cliff and Destiny's daughter, Claire. Cliff is a good friend of Ron, one of C3's great servant-leaders. Claire is battling an illness called Aplastic Anemia and will be having a complete bone marrow transplant tonight at 9:00. Please pray that her body will accept the transplant, and that her now completely depleted immune system will be restored over the next few weeks.

Again, thank you! Our God is attentive to the prayers of His children!

In Him We Live,

Jeff

Nov. 4th

Greetings Prayer partners!

This week, I'd like to ask you to pray for some folks who are serving our great God in other parts of the world. These people come to us through Kathy, who is a part of C3's core team:

• Please pray for Beth who is part of a church plant in Terre Haute, Indiana,
• Also for Mare, who is in Nigeria working with Global Christian Ministries teaching AIDS/HIV awareness.

Please join us in praying for these two fellow servants- we don't have the specifics, but we know that God does!

Please also pray for Convergence this week in the following ways:

• I will be joined by our trustees, Ed, Charlie, and Ron this weekend to evaluate the last 3 months and to make some important decisions about C3's official launch and location. These are very exciting, but also big decisions- please pray for God's wisdom in these matters.
• As we search for a more permanent public location, the beautiful Fall weather here has given us the opportunity to meet outside. We have done this once, and it was a tremendous success. The whole group met together for the first part of our worship time, as we sang and celebrated communion. Afterward, our children's workers took the kiddos into the house where they got to use the "big" room just for them- it was great! It feels a little funny asking you to pray that the weather stays nice, but the longer it does, the more opportunities it gives us to maximize our current space- so I'll go ahead and ask you to pray for sunny Sundays!
• On that note, we have some new location possibilities that I am pursuing. Please pray for the right place to be both available and affordable.

I'll end this week's update with the elephant in the room, because there's a donkey there too. Today is election day in the U.S. A quick browse through your "friend updates" on Facebook should easily paint a picture of how important most people feel this election is. I certainly have an opinion about it, and I imagine you do as well, so I hope you voted if you are able.

There is much talk about "God's will" on a day such as this. I find it interesting that, on either side of this decision, there will be people who will say the outcome was "God's will"- usually when their candidate wins. I would just like to point out that, to humanity, God has given the gift of free will, and a day such as this is really an overwhelming example of that.

I am NOT telling you to cease praying for this country, or for the selection of its leaders. Jesus instructed the disciples to pray "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)

What I am asking, is that you focus a substantial amount of your prayer time on how you and the body of believers that you fellowship with can have the most impact for Christ on your families, and friends, and community, and the world- no matter what happens.

Regardless of who is elected, the King remains on the throne.

In HIM We Live,

Jeff