Hello, Texas and all of you who support us here at Lifestone Church Herriman through the giving of your finances and through prayer. We are so thankful that through your generosity, we are able to do God's work here. What a privilege it is to sit beside new friends as they hear about the Jesus of the Bible for the first time, witness as families come to put their trust in Jesus alone and one by one ask to be baptized, to see lives change completely on a regular basis. We are constantly in awe of Him as we watch Him grow His Church in what many consider to be an impossible region of the nation for evangelism!
We closed out 2015 here in Herriman, Utah with a beautiful Community Candlelight Christmas Eve Service. We were delighted that even with many of our core members out of town for the holidays, 149 men, women and children spent that holy evening with us as we celebrated Jesus' birth by sharing the Gospel to many who have likely never heard it presented before.
A NEW YEAR
We kicked off 2016 strong with 125 in attendance Sunday morning, January 17th, our highest Sunday morning attendance outside of Easter services in our 2 and a half years here. We have come to recognize that even "small" successes are the work of our God's mighty hand, and we thank Him always for working miracles despite the challenges that come with planting a church in Utah.
This January, the women of Lifestone are "Seeking a Heart Like His" through Beth Moore's David study. We had no idea what kind of participation to expect and could not be happier that 15 ladies are gathering each Tuesday-some are even leaving work to be a part of this mid-morning gathering on top of spending hours and hours alone with God each week for what will be 11 total weeks! Once again, we are seeing such a hunger for God's Word here, reminding us to never take for granted our access to Truth, as many of us did growing up where the Truth is so prevalently taught.
As we work to increase the impact Lifestone Church has on our community, growing our leadership structure will be vital. We have recently assembled a team of 5 directors who will serve in the following areas of ministry:
GATHER Director (Sunday Service)
GROW Director (Discipleship)
GIVE Director (Administration)
GO Director (Ministry & Outreach)
Family Ministries Director (Kid’s Life & Students)
Lifestone Church's strategy is Gather, Grow, Give, Go and we love that each aspect of this strategy will receive proper time and attention from its respective director. We believe the Bible teaches that healthy churches and Christians exhibit a well-rounded approach to following Jesus, and we are excited to see each of these aspects of life change play out within the body of our church. Please pray for these new directors who have agreed to generously give their time and talent to serve our church family and the people of Herriman.
As a church, we are studying 40 Days in the Word in our Worship Services on Sunday mornings, Kid's Life Sunday mornings, Lifestone Student Ministry on Wednesday evenings, and in LifeGroups throughout the week! We currently have 68 people participating in LifeGroups throughout the week, and more jump in each week! We love giving so many people the opportunity to connect with one another and God's Word in this small group setting. LifeGroups are the heart of our church-this is where life change really happens!
Please begin praying now for Easter Sunday at Lifestone as we plan and begin to promote our Worship Service and Egg Hunt. We know that this is one of the biggest opportunities we have all year to welcome non-believers into our midst to hear the Good News. We are praying that God brings 200+ out for the day, including many who do not yet know Jesus as Savior. Please join in on this God-sized prayer.
SUMMER 2016
In June, we'll take our students for the 3rd summer to the beautiful Big Canyon Ranch (near Park City, Utah) for camp. In an area where our Christian students are outsiders, we love that this camp assembles various churches from the valley and allows students to be encouraged by witnessing hundreds of their peers loving God and His Word! Please pray that we have the privilege of taking many, many teens to camp and that God moves in their hearts and lives.
We are also presenting our students with their first mission trip on the road! This summer, we are heading into the heart of Los Angeles to serve the people who live and work there! We are excited to partner with Center for Student Missions (CSM) to provide our students with a mission opportunity that we wholeheartedly believe will change their lives forever. CSM partners with ministries in urban centers who work year-round and are in need of short-term volunteers. Our students will be given the opportunity to use their gifts to share the love of Jesus through meeting both physical and spiritual needs of the people we will meet. How awesome to think that the youth of Lifestone Church will serve on the front line of ministry right here in our own nation and have the privilege of "helping the weak" in Jesus' name!
In July, we plan to reach out to our community by offering a day camp for kids 1st-5th grade where we'll share the gospel in fun, creative ways- we're calling it Kid's Life Camp- you Texans know it as VBS! We will meet in the middle school across the street from the high school where we meet Sunday mornings and have access to the gym/auditorium with a stage and several classrooms. We can't wait to share the Gospel with kids who we might not ever have the opportunity to reach on a Sunday morning. Pray that we are able to point the families of the kiddos who participate in Kid's Life Camp to our Worship Service the following Sunday morning and that God uses us to share life-changing Truth with them, too!
WHEN YOU THINK OF US, PRAY.
When you think of our church plant out here in Herriman, please thank God for His continued provision for all we need and for using our efforts to grow His Kingdom. Thank Him that He is doing a work beyond what we could have imagined or hoped. Please also join us in asking Him for a permanent home. In the past couple years, He has proven to us that He can and will accomplish His work no matter where we meet-- but we believe He has big things in store for Lifestone Church, and that He will answer our prayer for a building one day!
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