Grace Church of Gainesville

Last Update

grace — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:11:41 +0000

Thank you to all who prayed for the NYC Missions Trip. This Sunday, August 14, a few members of the team will share during the 10:45 worship service.

Continue to pray that God will grow the seeds of the gospel that were planted last week in the hearts of the people in NY. Also pray that our church’s heart for the gospel to be spread among all nations would continue to swell.

For more pictures from the trip, click HERE.

Day of Return: Saturday

grace — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:04:51 +0000

*We apologize for the lack of updates towards the end of this week. The team will have lots to share upon their return! For now…

How can you pray today?

Pray for a safe and God-glorifying return trip.
Pray that as we return to Grace Church both this Sunday, and moving forward that our team would be a means of God spreading a passion for missions throughout Grace Church.

Day 4: Thursday Morning

grace — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:39:00 +0000

How can you pray today?

Construction Team: Pray that we will get a lot done at the Beach House and that we will have glad hearts in all the work we do.
Pray for protection from Satan’s attacks—especially in the relationships between those on the team.

Day 3: Wednesday Debrief

grace — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:42:27 +0000

If you are reading this on Wednesday night or Thursday morning, here would be the main thing to say: please pray for us! With one and a half days of ministry left, and so much evident lostness here, we want to make an impact! There is a great sense in us to DO something tangible that makes a difference. In a way this is easier for the construction team than the others. We can see the floor get installed, and the post holes be dug. For those in ESL or Children’s ministry, progress is less visible. It’s the work of the heart. But we are continuing to pray that God would save someone while we are here. In one sense that seems beyond the scope of reasonable expectation, but God is able!

Tomorrow will be our last day serving those we have met in ESL and Children’s Ministry. Pray that God uses us to make lasting impressions of the greatness of our Savior.

Pictures are being added when possible HERE.

Day 3: Wednesday Morning

grace — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:19:48 +0000

How can you pray today?

ESL Helpers: By Wednesday we will hopefully have developed some degree of friendship with the students we are helping to teach. Pray that God will open doors for the gospel with them and that we will be effective teachers (though we have little practical experience).
Pray that the connections we form with immigrants will be the beginning of relationships that Urban Impact can follow up on in the months to come.

Day 2: Tuesday Debrief, Cont.

grace — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:07:11 +0000

Team 2 (Cortney, Kristen Rae, Amanda, Dustin, Drew) + Jessy had a good day today doing ESL, Children’s Ministry, and some cleaning at one of the Urban Impact centers. That is until they got stuck behind a car accident and their 45 minute bus ride home turned into 2 hours, and put them back home at 11PM.

All of this is true, but is not the whole story. At some point sitting in the bus, the team began to strike up conversation with those around them. Eventually they were able to turn the conversation to spiritual things. And eventually the whole rear of the bus was listening (passengers were even pulling their ear buds out) and/or discussing as each person on the Grace team took time to talk about Christ, and point people to the gospel. When they finally did arrive back at the Beach House they were gleaming, and recounting the joy they felt in being able to boldly share their faith in an “unplanned” setting.

Your prayers matter. They are essential for our trip. Please continue!

Day 2: Tuesday Debrief

grace — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 02:24:03 +0000

Today our big group subdivided into 3 teams, and was all over NYC. Team 1 spent all day in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Team 2 divided time between Jackson Heights and Brooklyn, and Team 3 spent the day working at Urban Impact’s Beach House doing construction projects. Team 3 (Brian, David, Duane, Corey, Christian, Matthew, and Nathan) with some help from Dustin and Andrew repaired a roof, worked on installing a sub-floor, removed a fence, and began the work of removing a sidewalk. All of these projects are in process, and we’ll spend more time on them Wednesday and Thursday. Everyone worked hard and happily all day, so it was encouraging.
I (Corey) spent most of my day with Team 3, so reports from others are forthcoming. For now, a few more construction pictures HERE.

Day 2: Tuesday Morning

grace — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:16:24 +0000

How can you pray today?

Street Evangelism: Pray that God would open doors for conversation with people that He is already drawing to Himself. Pray that many will accept the Jesus Film that we will be distributing.
Pray for those on the home front who will be managing things without the help of their spouse: Mary Alphs, Lea Dawson, and Kristy Shepherd.

Day 1: Monday Debrief

grace — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:21:35 +0000

This morning, we all got on the Q53 bus, leaving Far Rockaway, and headed to Jackson Heights in Queens. The timidity of the team was immediately evident when they started loudly singing children’s VBS songs on the bus with a few dozen New Yorkers listening in.
Today’s groups from 2 people to 10 did some of the following:
-pairing up with English Language class students
-knocking on doors in an apartment building filled mostly with Bengali Muslims and Hindus to offer them the Jesus Film (on Thursday we will return to the apartments of those who were eager receivers of the film)
-sharing the gospel in a barber shop
-leading children’s ministry program in two places
-passing out flyers for various programs while in the park

Click HERE for more photos!

It was encouraging to see young people be flexible and stretch out of their comfort zone. Its was encouraging to see the joy that filled the team as they sensed that God was using them to point others toward the Savior. It was encouraging that from the youngest on the team, to the oldest, we can be used of God for His sake.

Tomorrow construction work begins at the house where we are staying. We’ll follow up on relationship that began yesterday. Please continue to pray that God will use us to gain renown for His great name!

Day 1: Monday Morning

grace — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:26:52 +0000

How can you pray today?

Children’s Ministry: This will be our first day with the children, so please pray that we are organized, and that the love of Christ is communicated through us to the children.
Pray that God would make each member of the team a bold witness for Christ—both during this trip and upon our return.

We hit tons of traffic, but made it in last night around 9PM. We’ll leave our “Beach House” this morning at 8AM, and begin what we came do. This morning half the group will be serving as conversation partners in the South Asian Community Center (SACC) English classes, while the other half prayer walks in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Later we’ll be leading out with Children’s Ministry, going door to door with the Jesus film, and participating in more ESL classes.

Thanks for praying for us!