Hoping for more of the same

We were very fortunate to have the launch that we had on Sept. 9th. It is hard to believe, after moving here with only my family, that God has birthed this church into existence. Yet, it was exactly what we had prayed for.

We prayed for a healthy, vibrant and new church. While we had no idea who would come or what this would look like, and yet it happened. God showed up and delivered a new church to Tampa.

We hope and pray that God continues to do just that - show up and deliver some more. Our hearts are not satisfied and there so many to reach and so much work to be done.

Continue to pray that we stay out of God's way and join him when he is "up to something new." May God bless and keep you this September.

We made the news

If you haven't seen the article that was in the Tampa Tribune, check this link below.

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/15/st-church-offers-common-ground/?news

It is a great article. I hope we can find ways to get back into the press some more. Things are going better than we could imagine.

God is good.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, .... and launch!

Today was a great day! We had no idea what to expect and frankly - we had little sleep because most of us were up thinking about it.

We got to the building at 8:00 AM. The band warmed up, the coffee was brewing, the building was in place, and here came the people. 255 people came and made a priority to be in worship with us.

There was a great attitude of worship and our community matched our vision - a multi-ethnic urban work. It is clear God has us here to do more than repair a facility, but restore a community.

Thank you to all the people who were in prayer and supported our ministry. Don't leave us now - however. It takes a village to raise a child and the church universal to give stability to this new baby church. Keep us in your prayers and stay connected. We need you know more than ever.

Snack Attack a big hit!

What is a "Snack Attack?" We'll it usually involves 4 people, one van, and a boat load of Krispie Kreme Donuts. (Even if you aren't hungry, you will be!)

Common Ground Staff and Family (Julie Scott, Julio Cruz, Nolan and Monica English) have been bombarding almost 100 local businesses with donuts. We put a stick on it that basically says "hello and thanks for doing what you do" from us.

It is hard to believe some businesses actually turn this down, but they do. None the less, we have been very pleased to spread some fun around Tampa.

Lunch on us is a great success

We met today after our final preview service to go serve our local community a free lunch. Over 200 bottles of water, 15 12 packs of pop, about 150 bags of chips, and a ton of hot dogs and hamburger were served. We anticipate about 250 people were served at Mega Supermarket off Nebraska - north of Martin Luther King.

We met Chuck - a former southern gospel singer. Eric and Samuel, two new attenders jumped right in and showed they have a real gift for evangelism and encouragement.

So many hands were shook. I must have introduced myself a hundred times.

What is "Lunch on Us?" we partner with local businesses or apartment complexes and to provide lunch for them. This provides us a chance to prove trustworthy with our business owners and engage our community in a neutral format.

Obviously most people are shocked when you give them something that is truly free. We had a few lines for quite sometime and many people got to hear about Common Ground. There was a promotional piece int he bag about us.

It was a great time. Thank you to our Nolan English for lining this up and connecting us with Mega Supermarket.