Encouragement from home

I've been praying for our home church, churches and Christians in general in our home towns - that they would be seen to be compassionate at this time. Then we got this general email last night from a leader in our home church (it isn't a large church, under 100 members):

I have received a number of telephone calls and emails from people about how the church is going during this time of crisis in Brisbane.  Thank you for your prayers and concerns. It is during these times that community comes together and we have appreciated the support of the wider church community.

MetroWest meets in the Centenary suburbs of Brisbane which have been badly damaged by flooding (suburbs such as Jindalee, Mt Ommaney, Westlake, Riverhills, Jamboree Heights, etc).  A couple of families in our congregation have lost their homes (one with water over the roof, and the other through second story windows, etc), but graciously the majority of our congregation have been spared. All from our congregation are safe, some are still without power, all have accommodation either in their homes or with family.

The church meets at Mt Ommaney Special School and while the road entrance was flooded for a period, the water has subsided and we can access the venue.  This will allow us to hold Sunday services there and to start our flood assistance for the community

A number from the congregation are directly helping with clean up (assisting members of the congregation, neighbours, and workplaces). We have a lot of young families in our congregation who can’t directly clean (mud and flood water are not a good place for young children), so we are organising BBQ lunches for the local residents and volunteers. We intend to feed approximately 500 people a day with a view to continuing until need diminishes.

If you want to give towards assisting us with cleaning equipment, BBQ lunches, and practical assistance in the local area, then you are welcome to donate directly to the MetroWest account. Please mark it as “Floods” or something similar.  (I can supply their details if you are interested - let me know.)

We especially value your prayers:

·         How we can effectively minister in the community, reaching people with the gospel and providing practical support

·         That through these difficult times people would seek God and see His church in action.

·         For those who have lost homes

·         Connections to neighbours and neighbourhoods who normally are difficult to connect with

Regards,
John

Aside from knowing that my family is safe, this is the best news I've heard all week. God lead them to this area only twelve months ago (they don't have their own building and previously met in another area of the city), now He's opening doors so they can serve their community.


Our relationship with our home church has been like a marriage - we've had good times and rocky times. They themselves have just been through a difficult decade. We've received a number of encouragements in the last twelve months regarding our relationship with them and now we're so encouraged to see them moving out in faith. Praise God!