Time to Rebuild!

Thank you for giving into Living Waters as we move into all that God has and all that He will do through us in the remainder of 2021. 

From time to time, Kate and I have taken teams to work in areas affected by natural disasters. The spark for our first trip ignited in our hearts as we watched the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. After that initial trip, we also took or sent teams to Biloxi, Mississippi, Vernonia, Oregon (in 2007 after a flood there), and Haiti after Hurricane Matthew in 2010.

When the fires hit our area last summer, we were thrust right back into that relief work reality. Right out of the gate after a disaster is the emergency response phase. It’s an “all hands” on deck time. After that, it’s all about recovery. In the recovery phase, we helped people get back on solid footing. The most basic needs were met. Food, gift cards, household supplies and small kitchen items, “ash outs” of home sites, vouchers for gas or the bus, places to host trauma counseling, and for caseworkers to meet with clients. Then, as people got their feet under them, organizations like ours that focused on the first two phases began to take a backseat to those positioned for rebuilding. 

We are so proud of how this church community served those who were reeling from the devastating fires.

As the need for a multi-agency warehouse to collect and dispense relief supplies decreases, we are now able to clear the warehouse and turn our attention back to the renovations as we work toward meeting in that space as one united family by Fall! 

This year we watched the church cycle through something similar to what our community went through after the fire. Due to Covid and the subsequent shutdown of businesses, schools, and large gatherings (and a hundred other factors), an unexpected but extreme polarization has occurred. This last season has caused people to lose connection, friendship, and even part with family due to different views on what has happened, why it happened, and our responses. This was a form of a disaster that won’t be covered on the news, but the aftereffects and devastation are very real. 

Like a small but growing town hit by a tornado, every growth goal was halted, community-wide endeavors put on hold, and any sense of normalcy was thrown out the window. All the 2020 stuff added up to be a catastrophic experience within the life of any church, including ours. What we had dreamed and planned went out the window for over a year! Our idea of “normalcy” was turned upside down. Immediately our goal shifted to relief and recovery – responding to people in their place of greatest need and using every means available to remain present in a way that carried the light and hope of Christ. 

But now that we are rapidly coming out of that relief and recovery mode, it’s time to move forward! In some areas, the momentum of our church was temporarily halted (like renovations to a warehouse when it became a relief center). Still, we are committed and ready to go together as we gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of what God has done through this last season.

There is much more CONNECTION and MOMENTUM ahead than we can imagine as we REBUILD AND GROW TOGETHER! 

Join us as we believe for Jesus to be made known in our midst and our community and for financial resources to be abundant as we continue to work with Him to reach the heart of this city with the Gospel! 

Rebuilding BEGINS with PRAYER

Here are JULY PRAYER POINTS:

As supporters of Living Waters, you matter. Your generosity matters. Your commitment to this house matters. Your prayers with us matter! The impact of a praying group of committed people is incalculable. The work before us won’t be accomplished because of our effort and ingenuity. It will require a move of God. Miraculous provision and acceleration are the only way we can have the impact on families and our community that God has called us to, and that only takes place when we reach into the miraculous resources of Heaven in prayer by agreeing in faith for God to move. Join us in praying for these things this month:

• For RELATIONSHIPS to continue to be healed and restored, and for people to heed the call back into community at Living Waters after the last 18 months of fragmentation. For relationship with those who have joined us to be powerfully grafted into the heart and mission of our community and grow with us! 
• For RESOURCES released into and through Living Waters. Giving has understandably decreased over the last 18 months. We are believing for giving to increase and grow past pre-Covid levels by the end of 2021.
• For the REMOVAL of fear around the future that would hinder us from boldly standing on the HOPE of JESUS in the middle of our city/valley. Fear that would close mouths, stymie kingdom entrepreneurial endeavors, expect the worst, and carry the negative report.
• For the RENEWAL of our commitment to live FULLY ALIVE in Jesus, to be together in HIS PRESENCE, experiencing the JOY that strengthens, and the HOPE that never disappoints. In corporate gatherings, we often experience healing, miracles, ministry, unhindered worship and see our lives intertwined in a healthy way that reflects true KINGDOM COMMUNITY where we become one in CHRIST. 
• For REPENTANCE to sweep through our church. That each of us individually would invite the Holy Spirit to search our heart and life and turn from anything we are holding onto that diminishes our appetite for a fresh move of God. As pastors of this house, Kate and I are repenting of any pride, individualism, self-sufficiency, judgment, bitterness, frustration, anger, hopelessness, self-righteousness, and ambivalence that exists in our body. 2020 was a season of purification and recalibration. God forbid we come out of it unchanged by what we have walked through. This will be a house of HEALING and HOPE! Our desire for and dependence on God must increase! 
• For RESTORATION of all that has been stolen – relationally, resources, momentum, opportunity – whatever it is, for our people, their families, and our church. God is bringing back to you what has been stolen in the last 18 months, tangibly, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. I hear the Lord saying, “take an account.” Take account of what you lost. All of it, even the smallest things that may seem inconsequential to others but matter to you, and bring those to the Lord in prayer and petition. We’re doing that for our church and believing that God will do it. If He does it for us, He will do it for you! Let FAITH arise. TAKE AN ACCOUNT. Not just that you can track what is lost, but so you can measure it against how much more is restored to you in the months ahead!