Celebrating Progress

Greetings in the Name of Christ,

This week I want to celebrate the great work our congregation is doing to make Stonebridge UMC UNSTOPPABLE for Christ and His Church. Last week I shared with you a vision for our ministries this fall. In this post I want to celebrate the progress we have made. 

In Servant Ministries… This Sunday Andy Prince will be leading a team to Nicaragua to provide water systems to villages that have no clean water. Please be in prayer for these champions of Stonebridge UMC… Roger Dankel, Doug Darby, James Lawson, Camden Lawson, Steve Leonard, Debra Wallace, Stephanie Wells, and Andy Prince. 

Locally we already have over 80 Harvest Boxes committed to Meals on Wheels. We are well on our way to collecting more than the 102 boxes we collected last year. And… we filled every volunteer position in our ministry to the children at Malvern Elementary School. 

In Children’s Ministry… Everyone needs to visit the second floor where volunteers have been tirelessly working to paint and refurbish rooms to be used for our expanded children’s ministry. This ministry is flourishing under the leadership of Molly Gardner. 

In Youth Ministry… Work is soon to begin on improving the look of the Upper Alley where our youth meet. Soon we will be hearing about changes that are coming to make it possible for more teens to join the fun and learning that is happening in this ministry.

In Adult Ministry… We have six groups that will be studying the Lord’s Prayer beginning the second week in September. I will be teaching a group on Tuesday evening. I already have people signing up. I would love to have you join my study. Sign up here or email me and let me know that you will be joining me beginning September 10th. A list of the other groups is available on our adult ministries webpage. During these six weeks, I will be preaching on the passages the groups will be studying. 

In our Servant Volunteer Ministries… Becky Neeley is heading up a group to assess all our opportunities to serve Stonebridge UMC and its ministries. In October, we will kick off a campaign to involve more people in ministry at Stonebridge UMC. If you would like to join this group reviewing our ministries, email me.  

Concerning the Landscaping project… We have finished the preparation work for new grass and flower beds under the leadership of Jim Zodrow. Jim has spent countless hours replacing 50 sprinkler heads, leading teams to level the ground, set the new flower beds, and remove 27 stumps. 

This weekend we take a break for Labor Day and then our journey toward the holidays begins. Will you join me in praying the prayer, “Lord, what do want to do through me?” I can’t wait to see what new champions will step up in the weeks to come to make Stonebridge UMC UNSTOPPABLE for Christ. 

Have a great weekend!

Pastor John Allen